A1 Team India heads to Australia this weekend, for the seventh race in the 2006/07 A1GP season. Having scored their first points in A1GP at the last race in New Zealand, the team is feeling positive ahead of the race at the Eastern Creek circuit, which will see Parthiva Sureshwaren take up racing duties.

Sureshwaren, who made his debut with the team in the Rookie session in Indonesia, will complete the entire race weekend for the team. Narain Karthikeyan, who scored four points for India at the A1GP Taupo, New Zealand, is unable to attend the Australian round due to his F1 commitments.

Sureshwaren has wide and varied experience in motor racing, becoming Indian National Karting Champion in 1998. He then went on to compete in the Indian National Formula Maruti Championship and British Formula Ford Winter Series. By 2000, he was runner-up in the Formula Asia Championship and Rookie of the Year. Since then, Sureshwaren has competed in the British F3 Championship, Barber Dodge Pro Series and World Series by Renault.

Commenting on his first race weekend with the team, Sureshwaren said, "I'm really excited to be racing for India in Australia. A1GP is a great championship and it's an honour to be able to represent my country. I took part in the Rookie Session in Indonesia and worked really well with the team, so I'm feeling positive that we can have a good result in Sydney. Narian called me earlier this week to wish me good luck and to pass on a few tips about racing in A1GP, so I hope this will help me bring success to A1 Team India."

A1 Team India seatholder, Yohann Setna said "The whole team is still on a high after scoring our first points at the last race in New Zealand, but we are focused on carrying this positive momentum into this weekend. Narain did a great job for us, and provided the team with some good feedback on the car which we can capitalise on here. Parthiva impressed the team with a solid performance after just a few laps in the car in Indonesia, and I'm confident that he will be able to progress further in Australia."

The race will mark A1GP's second visit to the Eastern Creek raceway, which features tight and twisting corners over an undulating track, presenting a challenge both physically and mentally for the Indian driver. With a sizeable Indian community in Sydney, A1 Team India can look forward to some enthusiastic support from their fellow countrymen.