A1 Team France heads to Beijing for the third round of the A1 Grand Prix World Cup of Motorsport this weekend. After two podiums and eight precious points won in the first four races of the season (at Zandvoort and Brno), the team's rookie Loïc Duval, supported by the FFSA and Nicolas Lapierre are back behind the wheel of the team's car with the clear goal of winning the third round of the season.

This weekend will be the first time that A1 Grand Prix has visited the completely new 3.104km street circuit in Beijing.

Jean-Paul Driot (right), team principal A1 Team France comments: "We can't wait to get to grips with the new street circuit in Beijing. It will be an amazing experience to race on the streets of the city which will host the Olympic Games in 2008. Our goal for the weekend is simple to get back to winning ways. We may have scored two podiums so far this season but that's not enough for us. We're determined to get back to our winning ways of last year."

Nicolas Lapierre comments: "I'm certain that with Loïc Duval and the engineers we'll understand the new circuit quickly and have an excellent weekend in Beijing. It's a completely new circuit for everyone and a step into the unknown but that makes it all the more exciting for everyone. I'm hoping that the circuit won't be too slippery or too bumpy but either way we are confident of a good weekend."