A1GP Season 2009-2010 Preview and Talk [DISCUSS]

[basic-groove]

A1GP

The World Cup of Motorsport

What is A1GP?

A1GP is the first opportunity in any area of motorsport for nations to compete on a level playing field. It is a series where technology and innovation are deliberately equalised, making success dependent on human bravery and pure driving skill. Team and driver combine to create a performance advantage and the winning nation raises its flag in celebration.

A1GP is more than just another motorsport phenomenon; it's an entirely new concept. Pitting driver against driver and country against country for the first time inhistory, A1GP brings together more than 20 nations, representing 80 per cent of the world's population, to compete as equals, without financial or technological advantage.

A1GP has created a new medium for national and international brands and organisations to promote themselves on a global scale. Through the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, they can join forces with their national teams to become a part of this unique sporting event.

Race Weekend Format



Practise Sessions - Friday

Two rookie sessions are held each Friday during race weekends to allow new drivers or those from developing nations to get to grips with the powerful 600-bhp A1GP Powered by Ferrari cars and challenging race tracks.

Two one-hour general practice sessions are held for all other A1GP drivers - one on Friday afternoon and one on Saturday morning.

Qualifying – Saturday

Qualifying takes place on Saturday afternoon across four 10-minute sessions, between 14.15 and 15.30.

Each A1GP team is limited to one ‘flying lap’ per session and at the end of the first two sessions the grid is determined. The team's fastest single lap from either of these first two segments counts towards its Sprint Race grid slot.

For the Feature the same applies but with the last two segments, so, the teams' fastest single lap from segments three and four determines its Feature race grid slot.

Sprint Race and Feature Race – Sunday

The A1GP race weekend consists of two separate races.

Sprint Race

The Sprint Race runs from 11.00 local time on the Sunday morning for a maximum of 24 minutes (plus one lap) with a rolling start. The race contains one mandatory pit stop.

Points are awarded to the top eight finishers as follows.

First place – 10 points
Second place – 8 points
Third place – 6 points
Fourth place – 5 points
Fith place – 4 points
Sixth place – 3 points
Seventh place – 2 points
Eighth place – 1 point



Feature Race

The Feature race is a maximum of 69 minutes (plus one lap) in duration with standing start and two mandatory pit stops. The Feature Race runs from 15.00 to 16.10 local time on the Sunday afternoon. Points are awarded to the top ten finishers for the Feature race as follows:

First place – 15 points
Second place – 12 points
Third place – 10 points
Fourth place – 8 points
Fith place – 6 points
Sixth place – 5 points
Seventh place – 4 points
Eighth place – 3 points
Ninth place – 2 points
Tenth place – 1 point

A bonus point is awarded to the fastest lap achieved by a team during the Sprint Race and Feature Race.

All points are allocated to the winning Nation and there are no 'driver' points. A1GP is a team effort and a team sport. The winner is the driver, team and most importantly the nation.

Championship points will be awarded for all races however, in a change for Season Four, all teams will only count their best event scores towards their final points standings and not all events. The teams will, therefore, drop their worst result of the season, which will be the total of points from the Sprint and Feature races of one event.

Drivers

Only drivers who take part in at least one of the three practice sessions can take part in the races. Therefore a maximum of three drivers can take part at a race weekend.

Team

The nation's technical team cannot exceed more than ten people to maintain the level playing field concept across all participating teams.

The A1GP Ferrari Car



The A1GP formula provides a single "spec" car for each team. Each car is mechanically identical, built with many technical restrictions designed to limit performance, reduce running costs, and prevent any one or number of teams gaining an advantage through better equipment. This regulation provides a level playing field in which driver skill and team effort becomes the primary factor for success. Ferrari will be designing and manufacturing the cars through to 2014.

Specifically, the cars have a carbon fibre monocoque with an aluminium honeycomb core chassis based on the Formula One Ferrari F2004 chassis, riding on control slick tires from Michelin. The 4.5-litre Ferrari V8 engine is capable of delivering up to 600 brake horsepower (450 kW) in PowerBoost mode - a mechanism to provide short bursts of increased power to create additional overtaking opportunities and action throughout the race.

Technical specifications

Weight: Approx 700 kg including driver, race ready (excluding fuel)
Front and rear suspension: Double wishbone with pushrod operated coil over damper units. Adjustable ride height, cambers and toe, adjustable anti-dive and anti-squat to optimise drive control
Anti-roll bar: Multi adjustable, quick change front and rear roll bars
Chassis: Carbon fibre skins, aluminium honeycomb core. Tested to meet all applicable FIA crash safety standards
Bodywork: Light weight composite bodywork
Gearbox: Six-speed longitudinal sequential. Gear selection via a Magneti Marelli paddle shift system
Drive line: Tripod jointed driveshafts
Brakes: Brembo carbon discs, six-pot aluminium calipers
Dampers: Penske VBP-45, two-way adjustable
Wheels: Front 13” dia. X 12” Rear 13” dia. X 14”
Steering: Titan angle drive bevel and two-pinion ratio’s
Steering wheel: 280 mm diameter carbon, with mounted LCD dash
Instrumentation and display: Magneti Marelli mounted display unit; Multi-channel logging facility for engineering analysis
Seat belt: FIA approved SABELT six-point safety harness
Fuel cell: ATL fuel cell approximately 150-litres capacity and designed to take up to 50 per cent ethanol
Clutch: AP three-plate carbon/carbon with steel hub
Tyres: Michelin control slick and treaded wet tyres

Track Schedule 2009/2010

A1GP Surfers Paradise (Gold Coast), Australia
25 October 2009

A1GP Lippo Village, Indonesia
15 November 2009

A1GP Sepang, Malaysia
6 December

A1GP Kyalami, South Africa
28 February

A1GP Interlagos, Brasil
14 March

A1GP Mexico City, Mexico
21 March

A1GP Assen, Netherland
6 May 2010

PLEASE NOTE! Complette Calender puplic will be coming soon from A1GP. That are only the right now fixed new Tracks.

Nations & Driver Schedule*

Team Monaco - Clivio Piccione & Hubertus Bahlsen
Team Netherlands - Robert Doornbos & Jeroen Bleekemolen
Team Australia - John Martin
Team Germany - Andre Lotterer & Michael Ammermüller
Team India - Narain Karthikeyan
Team Lebanon - Daniel Morad
Team France - Loic Duval & Nicolas Prost
Team Portugal - Filipe Albuquerque
Team Brazil - Felipe Guimarães
Team Canada - Robert Wickens
Team Great Britian - James Winslow, Dan Clarke & Danny Watts
Team Ireland - Adam Carroll
Team Indonesia - Zahir Ali & Satrio Hermanto
Team Pakistan - Adam Khan
Team South Africa - Adrian Zaugg & Alan van der Merwe
Team Malaysia - Fairuz Fauzy
Team New Zealand - Chris van der Drift & Earl Bamber
Team Italy - Edoardo Piscopo & Fabio Onidi
Team Korea - Jung-Yong Kim
Team Switzerland - Neel Jani
Team China - Ho-Pin Tung & Congfu Cheng
Team USA - Marco Andretti, J.R. Hildebrand & Charlie Kimball
Team Mexico - Esteban Gutierrez, Salvador Durán & David Garza

*PLEASE NOTE: the nations and drivers are only added from me privat! if someone have some fixed driver sets from teams. give me a call! thank you



BRING YOUR FLAG!! AND SUPPORT YOUR NATION!!

[basic-groove]

POST #1 Updated: Track Schedule



The Season Five Calendar for A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has been approved by the FIA at this week’s World Motorsport Council Meeting.

Ten dates have been submitted, starting with the first race of the 2009/10 season, the Nitro SuperGP in Australia on 22-25 October.

A1GP Chairman, Tony Teixeira said: “We are in a totally different position to most series as we straddle two calendar years. This makes announcing a calendar with all its dates and venues more challenging.

"However, we are well advanced with all our Season Five contracts, and for those we have yet to make public have plans to announce them with events in the specific countries.”

More on a1gp.com!

[basic-groove]

Assen TT fans got a glimpse of A1GP Powered by Ferrari car at the Rizla Racing Day at the circuit this weekend (Sunday 9 August) ahead of the new season.
The series will head to the TT Circuit Assen to race for the first time on 14-16 May 2010, but last Sunday the Dutch, who have proved one of the most enthusiastic and loyal set of fans, had their first taste of A1GP around the world famous circuit.
At the annual Rizla Racing day, A1 Team Netherlands star Jeroen Bleekemolen put the car through its paces for some demonstration laps and donuts, much to the delight of the tens of thousands on onlookers.

A1 Team Netherlands seat holder Jan Lammers was on hand to see all the action.
"What a delight to hear the sound of our Powered by Ferrari engine start up,” he said. “After the summer break we couldn't wait to get started again. The Rizla Racing Day was another great display of the never fading enthusiasm of our Dutch fans. Jeroen got them to put their hands together again as they applauded the spectacular demonstration that he did for them.

“The A1GP organisation is finalising what I think will be a great calendar with the first A1GP event at Surfers Paradise on October 25. What better place could there be to start our fifth season?”

“The A1GP event in Assen on May 16, 2010 is only nine months away and ticket sales have already picked up. Sponsorship and driver negotiations for A1 Team Netherlands are well underway and progressing nicely.

“A1GP is still the coolest concept and best thing that has ever happened to motorsport so with great ambition we are looking forward to taking on the world again and fighting for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport."

basic groove says....INDEED!!

more on: a1gp.com

[basic-groove]

found a brand new review video of the last season 2008/2009. and this is why i support A1GP!!

SUPPORT YOUR NATION GUYS!! ITS YOUR COUNTRY!! AND YOUR DRIVERS!!

YouTube - A1GP 2008-2009 Highlights

[basic-groove]

2009/10 testing plans announced



A1GP pre-season testing is confirmed as Surfers Paradise celebrates the 50-day countdown to the SuperGP and unveils its new naming rights sponsor for 2009, Nikon.

A1GP teams will get to shakedown their cars ahead of the 2009/10 season at Queensland Raceway on Monday, 19 October. A one-day test for all teams will take place at the 3.12-kilometre circuit located near Ipswich in Queensland, Australia.

The test will be the first time new generation A1GP cars powered by 4.5-litre V8 Ferrari engines have driven on Australian soil and will be the start of the build up to the racing action at Surfers Paradise later that week.

The news means that the celebration of motorsport in South East Queensland will enjoy an early injection of speed, while the local economy will benefit from having the 20 nations of the series on their soil even earlier.




Source and more on: a1gp.com

[basic-groove]

With just a few weeks to go until A1GP’s debut around the streets of Surfers Paradise, Australia, we thought it would be a time to have a look at the history of the famous street circuit. While it might be A1GP’s first time at the Gold Coast, the event has run since 1991, creating a prestigious race and an unrivaled party atmosphere.
Here’s ten things you need to know about the Nikon Super GP.

1) American Indy-style cars were the main single-seater attraction from 1991 to 2008. Two current seat holders are former victors of the event. A1 Team Brazil supreme Emerson Fittipaldi won in 1992, the second running of the IndyCar race, and A1 Team USA chief Michael Andretti won in 1994. Andretti won the race in near darkness after rain curtailed early running.

2) It takes 95 days to build the circuit – but that’s an improvement of when it first started, when more than 200 days were needed to assemble the course.

3) Current A1 Team Australia driver John Martin won the Formula Three challenge at the circuit last season.

4) More than 4.6 million people have watched the event at the circuit over the race’s lifetime

5) There have been 18 races around the 2.79-mile street course, with an incredible 17 drivers winning.

6) Not only is the circuit temporary but so are the surrounding buildings. More than 400 non-permanent structures are used, including 100 corporate hospitality suites.

7) In the first 16 years of the event – there were an astonishing 16 different winners, a feat relatively unheard of on any circuit in modern motor racing. That record was only broken in 2007, when Sebastien Bourdais added another chequered flag to his 2005 victory.

8) USA leads the current nations table of most different victors at Surfers Paradise with two more than any other country. Australia had their first home winner in 2008, with local driver Ryan Briscoe winning for Penske Racing.

9) A whopping 2515 concrete barriers line the 4.5-mile circuit, with an impressive 10km of debris fencing strategically placed in high impact areas.


10) 16km of security fencing is erected to provide a secure precinct for the event. Approximately 100km of cabling is required using 6000 man-hours.




Source: a1gp.com

[basic-groove]

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has been forced to withdraw from participation in the Nikon SuperGP on Australia’s Gold Coast on the 22-25 October in what was due to be the series’ first race of Season Five.
The series found itself in a race against time to make the deadline for when its cars would have to leave the UK to be on track in Surfers Paradise next Thursday. The series organisers never doubted this was possible, but today have been forced to accept this now cannot happen.
This decision was announced by A1GP Chairman, Tony Teixeira, who wanted to address everyone involved in the event.

“I want to personally apologise to the people affected by this regrettable but unavoidable decision," said Teixeira.

"The Queensland Government, Gold Coast Motor Events Co, the management and Chairman of the event have been patient and supportive of us in the past weeks.

More on a1gp.com

[Krutch]

What a shame. I know some drivers already flew to Australia, all the fans there were going to see a better show than last year and then this.

Texeira announced this thing off himself and makes it seems like just circumstances, but really there is one man responsible for this and it is him.

[basic-groove]

yeah....indeed.

oh man...i am so pissed off right now.....so sick about this. i was so happy to see after a long break nice cars, real drivers on a awesome track....and now this.

[Admin]

Next race on the 15th of November then?

[basic-groove]

yeah....hopefully

[Krutch]

No,

race 2 and 3 have been canceled as well and the outlook isn't good:
autosport.com - A1GP News: A1GP cancels China and Malaysia

A1 has lost a lot of credibility because of this - I don't see them catching up even if they get the Euro part of the season underway.

[Admin]

True, doesn't look good, if the season starts at all

[basic-groove]

this is sooo sad