Season 4

[RichardRenes]

Originally Posted by Go_For_Pole

sportmotores claims that Zandvoort isn't safe, it might get cancelled

Quote the complete article please.. hand us a decent translation.

The last time someone quoted Sport Motores, they conveniently forgot to tell that some teams are behind in THEIR payments, only stating that A1 hadn't payed Xtrac yet. (no wonder, if you don't have the money).

Zandvoort has a 1T homologation. If Sportmoteres ever had been to Zandvoort or bothered to find out, they would have known.

[Go_For_Pole]

I think you are in the wrong page, safe as a date not safe as a circuit.

[META4]

The news on Sportmotores.es was mentionning that some suppliers did you not get payments , so they are guessing that Zandvoort could be delayed because all the cars could not be ready , apparently nothing to see with the Homologation of the Circuit.

Any informations about the Team Germany , is it comfirmed?

[RichardRenes]

Originally Posted by META4

The news on Sportmotores.es was mentionning that some suppliers did you not get payments , so they are guessing that Zandvoort could be delayed because all the cars could not be ready , apparently nothing to see with the Homologation of the Circuit.

Any informations about the Team Germany , is it comfirmed?

My point exactly META4. Wrong quote at the right time with a wrong translation can lead to serious misunderstandings.

As for team Germany, their flag IS on the A1GP black/ silver testcar, which is the closest you can get to confirmation.

The Czech flag however is missing... It is covered with a red A1GP flag.

[META4]

Sportmotores reports that "only" 15 cars might be ready for the first race at Zandvoort

[RichardRenes]

Ah, the famous Sportmotores again. The spanish or portuguese part?

[nkfan]

when is the next test session for the countries that didnt get a chance last time ??

i thought there was going to be one yesterday !! ..cant find any news

[Francis Albert]

The test was today and also tomorrow in Snetterton.

As I understand, A1 is trying to balance the mileage each team gets in these tests, so some of the teams that already ran in Donington will have limited running in this test.

15 cars or so in Zandvoort is definitely not a good start! I wonder if they will score any points for the championship?

Richard, that was Spanish Sportmotores, btw. The article also seems to be clear that the Spanish entry is not going ahead.

[RichardRenes]

I wonder where they have their sources... a site from a country that is not competing in A1 seems to know more or inform their readers in a different way than the rest of the world seems to be doing. Interesting

[Adri_tifosi]

Originally Posted by RichardRenes

I wonder where they have their sources... a site from a country that is not competing in A1 seems to know more or inform their readers in a different way than the rest of the world seems to be doing. Interesting

Do you think people working in A1 Team China are from China ?

[Francis Albert]

Originally Posted by RichardRenes

I wonder where they have their sources... a site from a country that is not competing in A1 seems to know more or inform their readers in a different way than the rest of the world seems to be doing. Interesting

I also don't see what might be the problem with this, as long as they get their stories straight.

Just to make it clear, the bit I wrote about the teams having limited testing was not taken from that article. Nor was my question about scoring points in the first race, I just think that would be quite unfair!

Anyway, no news from the test today. Maybe they are waiting and will report on the two days together.

[Kiwi3]

Originally Posted by Francis Albert

Anyway, no news from the test today. Maybe they are waiting and will report on the two days together.

Annoying. In every other test they've had photos up fairly soon on each day. There is news however on the NED site:

Only NED, NZL, ITA and the A1GP test car were present.
Other teams will have a two day test at Snetterton next week (article does not state if is all other teams or not.
Doornbos did a 54.8, Bleekemolen 54.9, Italy 55.8 (not sure which driver). The article does not give the quickest time for NZL or the A1GP test car.

Interesting quote from Olivier Panis of Team France regarding the holdup with hardware, it was along the lines of "the problems are still there but I'm not worried about it". Is he publicly not worried about it because they don't want to scare off sponsors or does he know that despite the holdups it will be "all right on the night", as the saying goes.

[N.A-D.R]

does anyone know when they test at snetterton? i really want to see the results

[RichardRenes]

ok, let me rephrase. Spain is not competing in A1GP, however, Sportmotores seems to be able to publish 'news' or 'rumors' which A1 doesn't know or care about. If such rumors or news found their way to an English site, the owner would allmost definately face a lawsuit if he doesn't remove it.

Still, things that appear on Sportmotores find their way into the non-Spanish part of the world and cause quite an upheavel.

[Lam Pak]

team china is begium people. so many good teams in china they had to pick up one **** team in europe. cheng says tthe china team is handicap.

if the teams are not all testin in sneterton when they are gonna test?in zandvort?better cancel first race again. might the old lolas were ok.

[META4]

Originally Posted by Lam Pak

team china is begium people. so many good teams in china they had to pick up one **** team in europe. cheng says tthe china team is handicap.

if the teams are not all testin in sneterton when they are gonna test?in zandvort?better cancel first race again. might the old lolas were ok.

so many good teams in China... that is a great joke. I guess if the franchise Holder could do it with them he would have done it.

[Lam Pak]

no joke! what a feeling. m3 is link to trident gp2 and art have links to dams. michael ho and champ could take care the a1 team china cause thy hav mechanics and engineers from france. in the begining maybe no good. but chinese people would be proud of them.

[Kiwi3]

Originally Posted by Lam Pak

no joke! what a feeling. m3 is link to trident gp2 and art have links to dams. michael ho and champ could take care the a1 team china cause thy hav mechanics and engineers from france. in the begining maybe no good. but chinese people would be proud of them.

You don't like Belgians so you want mechanics and engineers from France instead?

Actually A1GP Team China DOES have some Chinese personnel, they are not all foreign.

And no, there are not any Chinese teams that could currently handle A1GP. Not by a long way!

[Lam Pak]

champ is a formula asia v6 team. meritus was a formula asia v6 team and won races in gp2 asia. not along way.

why do the west constantly underestimate china? teams in china can hire good overseas mechanics and enginers if need and make a beter job.

[NAC]

I have been hearing rumors downunder regarding the financial stability of the series. I hope it is only that (rumor) and we are all going racing soon.

Then I saw this

A1 series not in crisis, just facing re-organisation

The A1 Grand Prix World Cup of Motorsport series is facing a stiff challenge to straighten out its financial affairs, caused by the current global economic climate.


But word circulating that the series may well come to a screeching halt soon is premature, New Zealand motor racing identities say.
New Zealand hosts a round of the series - in January - and A1GP New Zealand chief executive Gary Dawson said today he had yet to hear from series bosses whether he will have their financial support to run it.

it then goes on to say

London-based hedge fund managers RAB Capital plc, who own 52 percent of the series, apparently have yet to commit for another season which will run new cars powered by Ferrari engines.

But in an effort to improve its financial situation, A1GP has employed corporate consulting and marketing services firm, Octagon Worldwide, to provide advice about commercial strategy.

Sorry the rules wont allow me to post the whole story but go check the rest of that story here

Anyone else heard anything *looks Kiwi3's way*

[META4]

Originally Posted by Lam Pak

no joke! what a feeling. m3 is link to trident gp2 and art have links to dams. michael ho and champ could take care the a1 team china cause thy hav mechanics and engineers from france. in the begining maybe no good. but chinese people would be proud of them.

I guess if Champ and all the chinese teams have to hire "European" staff there must be a good reason. Even if i would love to see A1GP Franchises run by their own country personnel

End of the discussion i guess

[Kiwi3]

One person I would trust more than almost anyone else is Bob McMurray. He's a very experienced campaigner having worked at McLaren for something like 25 years and is also a very down to earth bloke. I'll accept what he says over almost anything else I hear.

[Adri_tifosi]

Originally Posted by Lam Pak

team china is begium people. so many good teams in china they had to pick up one **** team in europe. cheng says tthe china team is handicap.

A1 Team China has one of the best engineers on the grid , Brian Ireland and the only handicap are the drivers.

And Meritus GP2 Asia Team is from Italy.

[diabloA1]

It's easy to comment from our viewpoint on engineering personnel choices made by teams be it Asian, European, American. Seatholders only want the best for their team. They have all the options and are in the position to make the best choices. Why would they want to place themselves at the back of the grid?

It is a fact that there are next to nil when it comes to experienced Asian engineers, particulalry chief engineers. Senior engineering positions are the hardest to fill for any Asian team. For anything below that(mechanics), there are plenty of Asian expertise.

Do have a look at who are the chief engineers in Asian junior formulae teams. It is of course good to have local nationals wherever possible in the technical team. Team Malaysia for example hired Malaysian mechanics from day one. From Meritus and another from Eurasia yet they still had to be trained by more experienced foreign mechs and til today the team can't fill the all crucial senior engineering positions with Malaysians. Take note that Meritus Racing is a Malaysian based team yet they're not running Team Malaysia. It's not that simple. Note that most chief engineers are 40-50 year-olds because experience counts.

[RichardRenes]

There are some very good and experienced Asian engineers. They are earning a lot of money in the Formula Nippon and/ or the Japanese Super GT series. Oh, and yes, they are pretty much all Japanese.

Yes, good to hear Bob McMurray say some wise things. A1 themselves should publish that.