CTD IN SHANGHAI // FROM OUR 'EASTERN OFFICE' TO FREE PRACTICE

With the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix only a few days out, we awoke early this morning in order to catch Friday's free practice session at the Shanghai International Circuit.

The track lies about an hour outside of downtown Shanghai, and with loads of sun in the forecast, Friday looked to be an exciting afternoon at the race track... [read more]

One of the perks of having family here in Shanghai, is the accommodations. A two bedroom flat in the heart of downtown Shanghai will serve as our 'Eastern office' for the next week, as we prepare to visit both the Chinese GP and the 2009 Auto Shanghai.

Seeing as how we are Seattle natives, we couldn't resist a quick stop at 'ShingBucka' before we hit the highway.

With the help of our driver, Lu Ming, we managed to locate the ticket booth, pickup our three days passes and make it through the gate without incident. We did however have an extra pass for Friday's free practice, so Lu Ming joined us for the afternoon, and proved an invaluable resource, negotiating the food stalls and making sure we took advantage of all there was to see.

Our grandstand seats lie just beyond the start/finish straight, and will offer an incredible view of the start.

Looking the other direction, we have an incredible view of both the first turn and the downhill chicane that follows it.

Our grandstand seats provide a decent vantage point to shoot photos from, however my 18-55mm 'kit lens' is rather inadequate...

We spent the latter part of the afternoon wandering around the 'F1 Village.' A great way to kill time in between practice sessions, Lenovo had an enormous booth where they had setup some interactive demo's and a few driving simulators.

Be sure and stay tuned for additional updates, as we return to the Shanghai International Circuit tomorrow morning for Chinese Grand Prix qualifying.

For a look at more photos from our visit to Shanghai, click here