A1 Series
02-10-2006, 07:40 AM
#1
GEEZER
Thread Starter
A1 Series
LONDON --The tickets are cheaper and the cars are painted in national colors. There also are plenty of famous names. A1 Grand Prix, a new open-wheel series, makes its debut this weekend, offering several twists for racing fans accustomed to the established ways of Formula One.
It is almost like giving birth to a newborn baby," said Tony Teixeira, executive director of the series, which opens Sunday at the Brands Hatch circuit in England. "I've seen this all before, but only in my mind. And now it's real."
Each of the 25 teams and drivers will represent a country. There will be two races instead of one. And the cost of competing in the 12-event series will be as low as $15 million -- about 4 percent of what Ferrari spends in a Formula One season.
A1 Grand Prix is the brainchild of Sheik Maktoum bin Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, a billionaire nephew of Dubai's crown prince. He came up with the idea two years ago and approached Teixeira, a Portuguese-born South African businessman.
Teixeira describes A1 Grand Prix as a "complement" to Formula One, a series run in the fall and winter when F1 is idle. He expects to discover new drivers, many from nontraditional racing areas.
"The one thing that will stand out this weekend is the talent of drivers you are going to see," Teixeira said. "And that's what F1 will be looking at, and they will be asking where we found the talent."
This year's series features 12 events. The U.S. race is March 19 at Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. The finale is April 2 in China.
In between, the series goes to Germany (Oct. 9), Portugal (Oct. 23), Australia (Nov. 6), Malaysia (Nov. 20), United Arab Emirates (Dec. 11), Indonesia (Jan. 15), South Africa (Jan. 29), Brazil (Feb. 12) and Mexico (Feb. 26).
Fans for the new series will not be hit as hard in the wallet as they are in F1. A top ticket for F1 is about $450; for A1 Grand Prix it's $70.
The cars will be identical -- Lola chassis powered by 550-horsepower Zytek V-8s, all running on Cooper tires. Teams can alter their setup, but not much else. Top speeds should be about 180 mph.
The driver lineup is a mix of young and old, many with familiar names. There are also some famous team owners. The best-known driver is F1 veteran Jos Verstappen, racing for the Dutch team. Ireland also has a former F1 driver in Ralph Firman.
Several teams are owned by former F1 champions: Niki Lauda (Austria), Alan Jones (Australia), John Surtees (Britain) and Emerson Fitipaldi (Brazil).
Real Madrid soccer star Ronaldo owns part of the Brazil team. The Portuguese team is owned by Inter Milan midfielder Luis Figo and Manchester United assistant coach Carlos Queiroz. The German team is owned by Willi Weber, Michael Schumacher's manager. Up-and-coming drivers include Nelson Piquet Jr. (Brazil) and Scott Speed (United States).
A1 Grand Prix is calling itself the "World Cup of Motorsport." The season-ending champion will represent a country -- not an individual.
Teixeira said the startup cost of the series, including the first season, was about $500 million. F1 has 10 teams and it costs several billion dollars each year to run. The Ferrari team alone has an annual budget estimated at $400 million.
A1 franchises are priced based on the population and wealth of the country. The most expensive franchises cost $50 million and the least expensive $15 million.
"We would be very, very fortunate if we broke even in year one," Teixeira said. "But by year three we should be making a nice profit."
Saturday's qualifying will consist of four, 15-minute sessions. Each team's best two times will determine the starting grid for Sunday's first race.
Sunday will feature a 50-mile sprint race followed by a 100-mile feature race. The starting grid for the second race will be established by the finish in the first. Teams receive points for each race: 10 for first, nine for second -- down to one point for 10th.
The countries entered include: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States.
© Copyright 2005 Associated Press
It is almost like giving birth to a newborn baby," said Tony Teixeira, executive director of the series, which opens Sunday at the Brands Hatch circuit in England. "I've seen this all before, but only in my mind. And now it's real."
Each of the 25 teams and drivers will represent a country. There will be two races instead of one. And the cost of competing in the 12-event series will be as low as $15 million -- about 4 percent of what Ferrari spends in a Formula One season.
A1 Grand Prix is the brainchild of Sheik Maktoum bin Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, a billionaire nephew of Dubai's crown prince. He came up with the idea two years ago and approached Teixeira, a Portuguese-born South African businessman.
Teixeira describes A1 Grand Prix as a "complement" to Formula One, a series run in the fall and winter when F1 is idle. He expects to discover new drivers, many from nontraditional racing areas.
"The one thing that will stand out this weekend is the talent of drivers you are going to see," Teixeira said. "And that's what F1 will be looking at, and they will be asking where we found the talent."
This year's series features 12 events. The U.S. race is March 19 at Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. The finale is April 2 in China.
In between, the series goes to Germany (Oct. 9), Portugal (Oct. 23), Australia (Nov. 6), Malaysia (Nov. 20), United Arab Emirates (Dec. 11), Indonesia (Jan. 15), South Africa (Jan. 29), Brazil (Feb. 12) and Mexico (Feb. 26).
Fans for the new series will not be hit as hard in the wallet as they are in F1. A top ticket for F1 is about $450; for A1 Grand Prix it's $70.
The cars will be identical -- Lola chassis powered by 550-horsepower Zytek V-8s, all running on Cooper tires. Teams can alter their setup, but not much else. Top speeds should be about 180 mph.
The driver lineup is a mix of young and old, many with familiar names. There are also some famous team owners. The best-known driver is F1 veteran Jos Verstappen, racing for the Dutch team. Ireland also has a former F1 driver in Ralph Firman.
Several teams are owned by former F1 champions: Niki Lauda (Austria), Alan Jones (Australia), John Surtees (Britain) and Emerson Fitipaldi (Brazil).
Real Madrid soccer star Ronaldo owns part of the Brazil team. The Portuguese team is owned by Inter Milan midfielder Luis Figo and Manchester United assistant coach Carlos Queiroz. The German team is owned by Willi Weber, Michael Schumacher's manager. Up-and-coming drivers include Nelson Piquet Jr. (Brazil) and Scott Speed (United States).
A1 Grand Prix is calling itself the "World Cup of Motorsport." The season-ending champion will represent a country -- not an individual.
Teixeira said the startup cost of the series, including the first season, was about $500 million. F1 has 10 teams and it costs several billion dollars each year to run. The Ferrari team alone has an annual budget estimated at $400 million.
A1 franchises are priced based on the population and wealth of the country. The most expensive franchises cost $50 million and the least expensive $15 million.
"We would be very, very fortunate if we broke even in year one," Teixeira said. "But by year three we should be making a nice profit."
Saturday's qualifying will consist of four, 15-minute sessions. Each team's best two times will determine the starting grid for Sunday's first race.
Sunday will feature a 50-mile sprint race followed by a 100-mile feature race. The starting grid for the second race will be established by the finish in the first. Teams receive points for each race: 10 for first, nine for second -- down to one point for 10th.
The countries entered include: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States.
© Copyright 2005 Associated Press
02-11-2006, 08:32 AM
#2
GEEZER
Thread Starter
Saw one of these races on speed...was entertaining, just couldn't get behind the "Country Team" Theme. 
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