The Sentul Circuit in the Indonesian province of West Java will host the A1 grand prix, the first motor sports in which drivers compete for their countries, in January next year, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The host country has been asked to upgrade the 4.1-km circuit to make it suitable to the fast racing of the so-called World Cup of motor sports, reported Jakarta-based Kompas.

Tinton Suprapto, president of the Sentul operator company, was quoted as saying the motor sports governing body FIA would send a team to inspect the safety standards in the Sentul Circuit.

"One month after the inspection, Sentul must have been upgraded," Tinton said, adding that the FIA team would arrive next week.

The circuit, which has 11 turns, has been used mostly for smallmotorcycle racing although it also hosted the Asian F3 series.

The A1 Grand Prix to be held in Indonesia is the seventh in theseason, which so far has completed two series.

At the scoreboard, Indonesia and Portugal are tied at 16th place among 25 competing nations. Brazil was top on the table with 30 points, trailed closely by France and New Zealand with 29 points each, Switzerland with 17, Australia and Mexico with 16, Britain with 15, Canada with 14, Malaysia with 11, Germany, Ireland and Netherlands with 8, Japan with 6, South Africa with 5 and Pakistan with 4.

According to the A1 official website, Sentul will host the Grand Prix on Jan. 15 after two days of practice and qualification.

Source: Xinhua