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Australia

Series visits Greal Wall of China

Drivers sample Chinese history The Superleague Formula family geared up for this weekend's street race in Beijing by soaking up some Chinese culture on Wednesday as drivers and teams took a trip to the Summer Palace and the Great Wall of ...

Drivers sample Chinese history

The Superleague Formula family geared up for this weekend's street race in Beijing by soaking up some Chinese culture on Wednesday as drivers and teams took a trip to the Summer Palace and the Great Wall of China.

The historic Summer Palace, or Yihe Yuan, which lies to the North West of the Chinese capital is a World Heritage Site and was first built in 1750.

After posing for photographs with fans, the drivers climbed to visit the five-metre high, bronze Thousand-Hand Guanyin Buddha, first cast in 1574, where they were also able to enjoy stunning panoramic views of the magnificent 2.2-square kilometre Kunming Lake.

"It's an amazing place," enthused the championship-chasing Craig Dolby (Tottenham Hotspur). "It's very cool to come and do something like this and experience some of the culture and history that China has to offer. We climbed a lot of steps to get to see the Buddha, but the views alone are worth it."

After taking a boat trip across the man-made lake the drivers sampled more sites before heading by coach into the mountains to visit the famed 2300-year-old Great Wall of China.

"I've been to China a couple of times before, but I've never had the chance to experience anything like this," said Earl Bamber (FC Porto) who had the honour of winning Superleague Formula's first-ever Super Final to take place outside Europe at the Ordos International Circuit last weekend.

"This trip has been fantastic and to see the Great Wall of China is a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

As the drivers continued to mingle with the packed-crowds at the country's most popular tourist attractions series newcomer Giacomo Ricci (Galatasaray) reflected on the different atmosphere present in the football-themed series.

"I really like the fact that we've had this trip and we're not just stuck in our hotel!" said the Italian. "What is really cool is that all the drivers are here doing this together. This kind of thing almost never happens in other series and it's great because you can really build a team spirit between everybody.

"Superleague Formula is like a big family."

-source: sf

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Edition

Australia