Shanghai round thrown into doubt.

The Shanghai round of the Australian V8 Supercar Series has been thrown into doubt with the news that the proposed date of the Chinese round on the 2006 calendar has been rejected by the Chinese motorsport governing body, the Federation of Automobile Sports of China (FASC).

The event, due to be the second time the Australian series has visited the Shanghai Formula One race circuit, was due to run on June 9-11, the same weekend that the event took place in the 2005 season.

However, this date was rejected by FASC who asked the world motorsport governing authority to remove it from the calendar. V8 Supercars Australia were then informed.

Whilst V8 Supercars Australia state that the date was always conditional on the FASC decision, the actions represent something of a setback for the Australian series which is seeking to widen its worldwide reach.

The series raced in China for the first time in 2005, after a planned 2004 round was aborted, and the championship is also scheduled to race in Bahrain in 2006.

Negotiations now have to be entered into between V8 Supercars Australia, FASC, event promoter the Greenland Group, the Shanghai International Circuit and the Chinese Ministry of Sport about a new date proposal, with the slow and bureaucratic nature of the Chinese decision-making process likely to work against the series.

In a statement, the championship organisers said: "V8 Supercars Australia is very disappointed with this outcome and remains hopeful this issue can be resolved."