A1 GP to visit Manchester

[EvilPumpkin]

As part of the Sky Festival, the A1GP is going to be paying a visit to Manchester and reportedly there's going to be a demo on a street circuit through the city.

More info here

Looks like it might be fun!

[dazbaz_99]

Does sound good, im suprised this is the first we have heard of it, its not far away, just a few weeks. Well worth a visit if you live there! A1GP cars echoing round the streets of Manchester should be impressive!

[SALEEN S7R]

Yeah it does sound very good, shame its a bit far away for me though. Still it will all help boost the profile of A1 GP ahead of the 2006/07 season which can only be a good thing.

[Mike Kelly 1]

I had a phone call from Phoenix rescue a few days ago asking if I could help witha demo in Manchester in mid August. I had to turn them down as I would be away on holiday. They didn't say what it was at the time but it could well be the A1GP demo. It would have been good to see it, but i'm not too disheartened as i'm marshalling at the Zandvoort round in late September / early October!

[dazbaz_99]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Yeah it does sound very good, shame its a bit far away for me though. Still it will all help boost the profile of A1 GP ahead of the 2006/07 season which can only be a good thing.

Likewise for me, hopefully it will get media coverage though. Maybe A1GP website will show a clip or two. Really hope A1GP continues to grow and prosper, it deserves it.

[georges1]

Thats Is Awsome A1gp In The Streets Wow.....lucky The Mancherster's People...........that Wil Be Huge Coverage For Sky

[georges1]

Any idea who and which teams will run in mancherster?

[CATMAN]

Albert Square in Manchester is being closed off and we should have 6 cars running. We start setting up a week on Tuesday, the 8th August.
Loads of famous Manchester Celebs are expected, so if you are a footy fan as well you should be pretty happy
Rocking and with the CATMAN

[Asp]

There is now a thread in Trackside to discuss if you're going to the event. This one can be more about the event itself and its advantages as far as possible

Excellent promotion by Sky and A1GP to work on this. We saw the publicity and huge crowds the F1-run in London got a few years ago; and whilst I doubt this will get the same reaction, I am sure it'll teach a few people that A1GP is a very exciting series, and hopefully convince a few to start following it, who may not previously have realised it existed.

We've been saying since the outset that A1GP needs more promotion. This is a major step in enacting our wishes.

[CATMAN]

Sorry venue is "exchange! square
Forget Monaco. A1 Grand Prix is coming to Manchester and this is a definite must-see. Sky Sports is teaming up with A1GP to bring you and the family a thrilling event. Get up-close and personal with some of the world’s top cars and drivers as you walk through a real-life pit lane and racing paddock. The event then gears up to a spectacular demonstration of A1 cars roaring through a city centre circuit guaranteed to charge Manchester up with the energy that can only be A1GP.

Tickets not required for this event – see you there


Sky Digital Channel No. 401-404 & 408 Hours for the event Venue Date Time
Exchange Square Fri 11th August 10:00 – 20:00
Exchange Square Sat 12th August 10:00 – 20:00
Exchange Square Sun 13th August 10:00 – 12:00
15:30 – 19:00
Streets of Manchester Parade Sun 13th August 14:00 – 15:00

For further information click on the links below.
The nearest metro station to this event is Shudehill.
Sky Sports
http://www.skyfestival.co.uk/skysports.php

[Alan Raine]

autosport.com has just published the road layout. It's a complete circuit from Exchange Square, past the Arndale, up to the Town Hall, down to and along Deansgate then up Market Street. Should be good if a little bumpy!

[Asp]

Just got back from Manchester - I was in for another reason that started at 2, so annoyingly wasn't there for the demo itself, but was able to check out the paddock and walk the track.
Looked like a very nice track - and hopefully did raise the profile of the series, there were a number of people who were asking "What's going on?", but I think once told they all stayed.A ll of a sudden at around half1 the crowds started to build so imagine it would have been well supported.
Also I was pleased to eventually get my first glimpse of the cars - roll on April next year to see them in action properly!
Only got half a dozen photos or so, but if you want to look they're here.

[cos]

Neil Cunningham drove the Australia car, which might mean he's in with a shout of a drive next season (but then again, John O'Hara was in Team Malaysia's car so maybe not...!)

[ZytekWorker]

Just got back from the Manchester... WOW! Even though I was working and based in the area before the start line it looked great from where I was.

Well done to Sky/A1 and all involved on a great demo of these cars.

I think there's possibly a few people who won't be able to hear a lot for a few days though. Robbie's burn-out on the start line with the front wheels locked looked great!

[kipper]

Originally Posted by cos

Neil Cunningham drove the Australia car, which might mean he's in with a shout of a drive next season (but then again, John O'Hara was in Team Malaysia's car so maybe not...!)

I'd say that Neil Cunnigham's chances of driving for Australia are on a par with O'Hara racing for Malaysia, given that Cunningham is from New Zealand.

[cos]

Originally Posted by kipper

I'd say that Neil Cunnigham's chances of driving for Australia are on a par with O'Hara racing for Malaysia, given that Cunningham is from New Zealand.

Oops... well we did see an Italian racing for Pakistan and an 'American' racing for Lebanon last season, so you never know

[madmed]

Originally Posted by cos

Oops... well we did see an Italian racing for Pakistan and an 'American' racing for Lebanon last season, so you never know

Tocaccelo raced for Pakistan because Adam khan was injured and ther was many pakistani fans in durban.
Graham Rahal's father (bobby rahal: 3 time champ car champion and Indy 500 winner) immigrated to Usa at the first lebanese war. (Shakira, Omar sherif and Salma hayek are also from Lebanon)

[Suze]

From the pics I saw, didn't look to busy and only looked one or two people deep in places?

[SALEEN S7R]

According to the figures on the A1 site there were around 25,000 people in total. Not a bad crowd for this type of event. IMO.

[Suze]

Hms well let's knock a few of that for starters because they'll no doubt be adding a few on there

With some of the pics I saw, it just looked pretty empty. Having nto been there, that's all I could judge (and comment!) from.

[madmed]

Originally Posted by Suze

Hms well let's knock a few of that for starters because they'll no doubt be adding a few on there

With some of the pics I saw, it just looked pretty empty. Having nto been there, that's all I could judge (and comment!) from.

Maybe you will change your mind if you look at this:
http://www.crash.net/gallery~cid~83~...ch_string~.htm

[Suze]

Yes and no - things like this http://www.crash.net/picture_view~pi...ch_string~.htm and this http://www.crash.net/picture_view~pi...ch_string~.htm still don't make it look too busy!

[Asp]

When I arrived there was a decent crowd (about 100) just around the paddock area. I wandered the circuit and it did strike me as empty - but it did suddenly get busy, and when I left at half1 there was at least a thousand people just around the staging area. Might only have been 2 or 3 people deep - but around the full length of the circuit, 25k might not be a mammoth over estimate.

[Suze]

Fair enough...I've only had people's pics to judge by! How long was the circuit?

[madmed]

The circuit was 1.5 km length
http://www.crash.net/picture_view~pi...ch_string~.htm