Exclusive: A1 GP to Race in Brazil

Series organisers have maintained that the final few races on the calendar were subject to change, and have dropped plans to hold a street race at San Antonio, Texas this season, replacing it with a race at the Curitiba circuit in Brazil instead.

An A1 Grand Prix spokesperson said: "We still plan to hold a race at San Antonio in future seasons but we couldn't come to an agreement with the promoters. With people like Ronaldo and Emerson Fittipaldi getting involved we looked to South America for a race. The Curitiba circuit is a superb facility."

The Curitiba circuit started operations in the late sixties and is nowadays one of Brazil's major circuits, including hosting a round of the World Series by Nissan. The Brazilian race is set to be announced formally with other calendar changes later this week.

The race to host the seventh round of the series, planned for either Indonesia or Singapore, has been won by Indonesia's Sentul circuit, which will require work to ensure it meets FIA Grade 2 specification.

The spokesperson added: "Although it is currently Grade 4, it has been inspected by us twice, and will not have a problem meeting the requirements. The circuit originated for the country's desire to host a Grand Prix and the race has government backing."

The Chinese round has moved venue, as the season finale will now take place at Shanghai's Grand Prix track instead of Beijing's Goldenport track.

The South African event is also scheduled to go ahead with its plan for a street race in Durban, running on roads around an army base, casino and water park.

Revised A1 Grand Prix calendar, 2005/06:

Circuit              Country         Date
Brands Hatch         Great Britain   September 25
Eurospeedway         Germany         October 9
Estoril              Portugal        October 23
Eastern Creek        Australia       November 6
Sepang               Malaysia        November 20
Dubai Autodrome      UAE             December 11
Sentul               Indonesia       January 15
Durban Street Race   South Africa    January 29
Curitiba             Brazil          February 12
Monterrey            Mexico          February 26
Laguna Seca          USA             March 19
Shanghai             China           April 2