Team GBR take 1st pole!

[Dr Venom]

If all you have said is true, then why have team GB not won a race yet,

Birthdays...........would Alex miss a race just becuase it was his birthday.

And then we go back to a post earlier that the only time team GB is going to win a race if there is a multiple pile up at the start and Team GB don't mess up the pits stop (or have bad luck.......!)

By the way who won the feature race ? (i have not seen the result posted)

[Kebab]

Blimey, I try and be nice and say we were 'unlucky' rather than point fingers and I get mocked for using the word 'luck' ... now everyone is fighting like kids!

Mr Jinxx, you know much more about the team, drivers, etc. than I do but why didn't Arden take Robbie in the next time the saftey car came out (as Silk Cut Jaguar said)? I mean, surely this is about points and prize money not just the glory of winning?

[Mr Jinxx]

Doc, I don't know why we haven't won yet. We have the ingredients. It will come.

Not if he was racing, he wouldn't. But Alex wasn't at this race either.

OK, we may not quite have won this race on merit. France overtook us and so did South Africa, in a straight fight, but we were there in contention. It's only a matter of time.

I don't know the exact reason why we didn't come in at the first safety car, and as for why we stayed out at the 2nd safety car, I don't know that either. There were reports of rain later in the race? Robbie used his new tyres on the 1st stint, not the 2nd? I don't know, sorry.

[Formula John]

I believe a British driver who competes in the Asian F3 series and a friend on Ananda Mikola helped Robbie over weekend. However who was at fault? The team or Robbie? Sky Sports (Andy and Kieth) seem to put the blame on Robbie!

[Formula John]

Originally Posted by Dr Venom

TEAM GBR................. Run by old blokes that dont know twiddy squat, Robbie if you got any sense then get out now!!!! you are better than this team, dont let your career go down the pan, like this team and series is heading.

Most people would not have heard about Robbie Kerr if it was not for A1 GP. However I do believe it is time to put someone else in the car!

Danny Watts or Darren Manning???

[maximus]

Why change him? He's our best bet.

[Formula John]

May be a change of driver would be a good thing. Darren Manning would be an excellent choice.

[rcarr]

I'd rather see a win rather than a pole!

What is the big deal about a pole? It only counts if you can convert that pole into a race win!

[Redracer77]

Originally Posted by Mr Jinxx

That's totally extreme, untrue, and very bad advice Dr Venom, sorry!

You have a professional team that know how to set this car up, and have done from the very start.

You have a quick driver who just needed time to get used to this type of car, to learn to drive it the way it is set up, and to get back into the groove of racing, to find consistency. Consistency is the key.

You have pit stops which blew the others away at the start. Sure, that last wheel-gun race was very unfortunate from a professional, championship-winning team who know how to do rapid pit stops. You may not know exactly what happened this race - whatever the reason, late call, communication, misunderstanding, who knows. In the main, the GBR pit stops have been right up there.

And you have had some bad luck.

But there is an element of truth in Gaz's "luck" comment - the harder I work at things, the luckier I seem to get, is another old maxim with a lot of truth in it. I'm not sure where the bad luck stems from, there may be reasons we aren't aware of.

The GBR car is a race winner, as is its driver. It is just a matter of time before it happens, then you watch how the luck goes.

It was John Surtees' birthday this weekend

And finally, Dr Venom, Robbie was going nowhere until this series happened for him. He has been given a car that can win, and he has proved he has speed at this level - way above F3 power - and is a good racer too. Yes, it's taken time for him to acclimatise, and there's just that little bit of consistency lacking - but that will come with the relaxation that a race win will give him. He has proved - to me certainly - that he would be competitive in GP2. It would be seriously crass to bite the hand that fed you or gave you a career lifeline, and I'm sure he wouldn't do that.

I would have to say it looked like a poor stategy all round.

Jinxy, what is the deal with Alex? Has he been dropped? Seems daft having a reserve driver who is not at the race? What would have happend if Robbie had got food poisoning?

Have they let him go after a Champ Car drive?

[nev]

Originally Posted by Formula John

Most people would not have heard about Robbie Kerr if it was not for A1 GP. However I do believe it is time to put someone else in the car!

Danny Watts or Darren Manning???

If people don't know Robbie Kerr how would they ever know Danny or Darren.
Danny won Formula 2000 a couple of years ago and Darren did what, oh thats it he won Macau. Look at what Robbie has achieved in comparison.

[nev]

Originally Posted by Formula John

I believe a British driver who competes in the Asian F3 series and a friend on Ananda Mikola helped Robbie over weekend. However who was at fault? The team or Robbie? Sky Sports (Andy and Kieth) seem to put the blame on Robbie!

When i watched the race Robbies engineer said that he thought the call came too late and that Robbie wouldnt have seen the safety car till he was past the pit lane entrance. - How could this be his fault.

Im not to sure but i thought all of the driver radio's were 1 way so if he decided to come in without the team knowing he would have caught them on the hop.

I think the reason why they decided not to get him in on the next safety car was due to thier feeling that there may be rain due which was a less risk strategy than putting him at the back of the pack of bumber cars.

[strider]

Originally Posted by Mr Jinxx

OK, we may not quite have won this race on merit. France overtook us and so did South Africa, in a straight fight, but we were there in contention. It's only a matter of time.

I'm not so sure about it only being a matter of time. France overtaking GBR in the sprint race and cantering into the distance was no surprise, but South Africa in the feature race? And Canada winning despite a drive-through penalty...

There's something still not quite right. As GBR is so close behind Brazil in the points standings, I suppose a change of driver is probably not a logical move, but in my book that's the only reason that remains for keeping the status quo.

Sure, Kerr put the car on pole and that was good, but the whole session was a pretty random affair. It was almost, if not quite, the luck of the draw.

[Kebab]

From memory Brazil also suffered from having great qualifying pace but in the race it just wasn't there ... perhaps there's one setup for getting the most out of new tyres in quali and one significantly different setup for getting the best out of the tyres over 18 laps? If that's true, at least we have 1 out of the two!

Perhaps there's an engineer floating around that could tell us?

[strider]

Well, South Africa drafted in James Robinson (ex-McLaren, Williams and Jordan to name a few on the CV) for the weekend and their car wasn't too shabby in the race!

If you're talking about last weekend, Brazil were poor in qualifying but somehow plucked a near-podium out of nowhere in the feature race. It was probably down to Fittipaldi getting to grips with the car.

[play mate]

Originally Posted by foxy mole

Sure, Kerr put the car on pole and that was good, but the whole session was a pretty random affair. It was almost, if not quite, the luck of the draw.

Was i watching a different qualifying? apart from the rain in the last 15mins, i dont think there was much random about it! Even when it did rain Robbie was the fastest! I just think lets give credit where credits due, he did do an awsome lap (or two) to get that pole. No one else got in the 1'16s all weekend!

However i do tend to agree that a win would be far more preferable!

[Kiwi3]

I think credit is due here. Robbie was superb in qualifying (still quick when the track was damp!), and would have been a win or second without the strategy stuff up. GBR have consistently been thereabouts, and they are a lot more consistent than Ireland, Netherlands etc etc. I have a very high opinion of Darren Manning, but don't see any reason to change.

[strider]

I agree Robbie was excellent in qualifying. His last run in the damp was probably the best of the lot. There were some random factors, like Lapierre going off on his first run, which meant that his second and third runs were just a tad conservative. Apart from the sprint race win, it was the worst meeting so far for him and left something of an open goal for the others. Switzerland also underperformed by their usual standards.

Verstappen was poor in qualifying (13th), for whatever reason, yet raced like a tiger. Salvador Duran qualified particularly well and chased Robbie home in the sprint race, but then let Mexican temperament get the better of him in the feature race. Australia and Brazil were nowhere in qualifying (19th and 21st), yet ended up 3rd and 4th in the feature race.

It's all great entertainment, though, which is the best part.

[Rockfan]

Robbie did drive well in third and fourth qualifying sessions.

What I also believe, he drove pretty good on Sunday in first race, and then to take the lead in the second race and not have to pit under either safety cars, was a complete waste of his good work.

Who's to blame, no idea, but of course it's got be the team overall. Robbie must be kicking himself and wondering if he will have any good luck at all. This was his best chance of a win, I believe, but that was waste in my opinion on the second safety car.

France must laughing all the way to the championship.

I have critcised Robbie in the past, but I feel he really did show his metal this weekend past, but the team must get ready for safety car periods in the future, to aid Robbie's drive to the flag.

Rockfan

A1GP is very entertaining though, that second race was the best yet for overall entertainment value, apart from Robbie's loss.

[Kebab]

Originally Posted by foxy mole

Well, South Africa drafted in James Robinson (ex-McLaren, Williams and Jordan to name a few on the CV) for the weekend and their car wasn't too shabby in the race!

If you're talking about last weekend, Brazil were poor in qualifying but somehow plucked a near-podium out of nowhere in the feature race. It was probably down to Fittipaldi getting to grips with the car.

Yes indeed, I forgot South Africa drafted in someone else - their race-pace was astounding! Perhaps they'd lend him to Team GB?!!

I was actually thinking about races last year where Brazil were v. good in qualifying but Robbie overtook them in the race.

Anyway, all the signs are good for the next race and I doubt Team GB will make the same mistakes twice!