2005-06 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, United States of America
| 2005-06 A1GP of United States of America | |
|---|---|
| Race Details | |
| Race 10 of 11 in the 2005-06 A1 Grand Prix season | |
| Date | March 12, 2006 |
| Location |
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Salinas, United States |
| Weather | Rain during Sprint race, further fine |
| Qualifying | |
| Pole |
 Mexico (Salvador Durán) |
| Time | 2'30.744 (, ) |
| Sprint Race | |
| 1st |
Mexico (Salvador Durán) |
| 2nd |
 France (Nicolas Lapierre) |
| 3rd |
 Portugal (Alvaro Parente) |
| Main Race | |
| 1st |
Mexico (Salvador Durán) |
| 2nd |
 Germany (Timo Scheider) |
| 3rd |
 Great Britain (Robbie Kerr) |
| Fast Lap | |
| FL |
France (Nicolas Lapierre) |
| Time | 1'17.951, (Lap 27 of Main Race) |
| Official Classifications | |
The 2005–06 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, United States of America was an A1 Grand Prix race, held on the weekend of March 12, 2006 at Laguna Seca.
The first American stop for the A1GP (and so far only) was doomed to fail from the start. The race was announced before Laguna Seca announced it. There was little to no advertisement for the event, and very few fans of European open wheel racing in America even knew about the event. Due to constant rain, the A1GP weekend was canceled by the track a week before the race. Fortunately, the rain did stop; however, the ground was still soaked to the point that most of the parking lots were closed in fear of vehicles getting stuck in the mud. Laguna Seca is located just a few miles from the Monterey Bay, and is at an elevation of about 750 feet. The weather chased away more fans as snow fell on Friday night.
Even with snow, a cloud burst, cold temperatures and missing cars, the A1GP was a great weekend for motorsport fans. Unfortunately, fewer than 2000 people (estimate) attended the race.
Qualifying was held in "ideal" conditions compared to the rest of the weekend and the lap times were quick
With rain nearby, officials changed the start times for both races. Temperatures were in the 40's, and the diehard fans were in for quite a show. Less than five minutes before the start, a torrent rain storm hit the track hard. Teams quickly switched to rain tires and put on a great show. By the half way point of the 30 minute sprint race, the rain stopped, yet there was enough water that a dry line could not be found.
By the start of the main race, the track was mostly dry, however there were enough wet spots on the track to make it dangerous for slicks. Many cars spun hitting the wet curbs. There were also some questionable calls by the officials causing Jos Verstappen to storm out of his car in the middle of the race.
Qualifying took place on Saturday, March 11, 2006.
1. Mexico Salvador Duran 2min 30.744secs 2. France Nicolas Lapierre 2min 30.895secs 3. New Zealand Matt Halliday 2min 31.596secs 4. Malaysia Alex Yoong 2min 31.810secs 5. Australia Ryan Briscoe 2min 31.964secs 6. Great Britain Robbie Kerr 2min 31.970secs 7. Portugal Alvaro Parente 2min 32.042secs 8. Ireland Ralph Firman 2min 32.098secs 9. Germany Timo Scheider 2min 32.307secs 10. South Africa Stephen Simpson 2min 32.535secs 11. Lebanon Graham Rahal 2min 32.560secs 12. Netherlands Jos Verstappen 2min 32.571secs 13. Italy Max Papis 2min 32.745secs 14. Czech Republic Tomáš Enge 2min 32.838secs 15. Indonesia Ananda Mikola 2min 33.249secs 16. Switzerland Giorgio Mondini 2min 33.299secs 17. USA Bryan Herta 2min 33.602secs 18. Canada Patrick Carpentier 2min 33.641secs 19. Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 2min 33.686secs 20. Austria Mathias Lauda 2min 34.338secs 21. Pakistan Adam Khan 2min 36.325secs 22. China Tengyi Jiang 2min 37.715secs
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