Late last month, several Boeing 747s landed in Beijing with an unusual cargo: an entire motor racing championship, comprising 30 racing cars, a portable pits complex, administrative offices and a two-storey hospitality suite big enough for 500 people. A1 Grand Prix had come to town.

A1 is the self-styled "World Cup" of motor racing, pitting nation against nation rather than manufacturer's teams. The eclectic roster of owners and drivers who pay the championship for the right to fly their respective country's flag includes a Brazilian football star, a Chinese oil magnate and an African National Congress freedom fighter.