A1 Team Malaysia arrives in South Africa this week for the seventh round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in the 2007/08 season. The Durban street circuit that will host the field of 22 nations competing in the Series has been a fixture on the A1GP calendar since its inception and has quickly established itself as the jewel in the crown for this Series, attracting strong crowds and bringing a party atmosphere to the city for the February 22-24 weekend.

Fairuz Fauzy returns to the driving seat for the team, having rejoined A1 Team Malaysia at the last round in Sydney, Australia. At that event he finished 20th in the Feature race and 17th in the Sprint event. Following this he headed off to Indonesia for the second round of the GP2 Asia Series, where he finished 8th in the main race and took victory in the sprint race. He hopes that this will give him 'extra' momentum for the upcoming Durban event.

The 25-year-old Malaysian says of Durban, "Street races are few and far between in motor racing, but they're a great challenge as well as being good fun. I have raced on the streets of Monaco but I haven't raced on the Durban track. I'm sure it's going to be quite challenging, as it's quite a narrow track and the concrete walls will be very close, so if you make a small error it could be very costly. Qualifying will also be very important as the overtaking opportunities will be limited. The first corner, a tight hairpin, could be a good place to make a pass, and there are some others too.

My preparations for the race weekend include watching the previous two events and when I get to Durban. I'll then walk the track to gain as much knowledge as I can - how close-by the concrete walls actually are, where the bumps are, the height of the kerbs - these are all important factors which are helpful to know. Of course it's best to experience the track and as Durban will be my last chance to run in the Friday morning session, I'll use those sessions to gain as much advantage as possible."

A1 Team Malaysia scored a top ten finish in Durban last season and will be looking to repeat this performance this weekend. Chief Executive, Jack Cunningham, says, "We need to put some more points on the board and that will be our aim this weekend. Durban has often thrown up some surprising results and it can be a lottery with on-track incidents sidelining favourites and lifting positions for those further down the grid. We've seen that if you keep out of trouble and away from the walls, you can bag the points. Last year there were only ten finishers, so it's wide open for everyone at this race weekend.  With beautiful weather expected allowing Fairuz to re-acquaint himself more fully with an A1 car after the hit-and-miss of Sydney, I think you will see us make some progress this weekend."

The Durban street track is a temporary circuit constructed specifically for the A1GP race weekend. Snaking along the shoreline and around the casino, it attracts strong and highly enthusiastic crowds of racing fans. The weekend begins on Friday with two practice sessions, continues on Saturday with final practice and qualifying, and concludes on Sunday 24 February with the two races, one a Sprint race and in the afternoon, the main 70 minute Feature race.