Premier1 Grand Prix

[Bostik]

Anybody know if Premier1 is on schedule for debut in March next year?

[bella]

well, they were recruiting someone to do something (vague, sorry..) last week in autosport so i assume they're still reasonably on schedule. it seems they've been a bit too quiet considering most people are beginning to think seriously about what to do next though.

[Sato san]

it has always looked a bit iffy though hasnt it , so it will be interesting to see what happens next year .

[Mathias]

According to their site, they're still on track for 2004 - and it does look a tad more realistic than this time last year. And they've got this lot signed up:
Anderlecht
Leeds United
Benfica
Olympique Lyonnais
Chelsea
Valencia
Feyenoord
Brentford
...which is almost as many teams as are in F1. So who knows?

[Mathias]

Sorry. I may have lied about Brentford.

[ghinzani]

Originally posted by bella
well, they were recruiting someone to do something (vague, sorry..) last week in autosport so i assume they're still reasonably on schedule. it seems they've been a bit too quiet considering most people are beginning to think seriously about what to do next though.

Isaw that, have they dispensed with the services of Mr Webb then? or has he moved upwards in the organisation? I guess that millionaire businessman is still bankrolling it? He should have bought an F1 team IMHO.

[bella]

i'm sure they'll be running like lunatics to get that russian guy at chelsea on board. so much money to be spent, so little time...

[paulzinho]

According to Mathias Chelsea are on board!

Is it gonna be European only teams then or will the SOuth American clubs get in on the act?

[cos]

Brentford

Hey, you almost gave me a heart attack there...!

...which is almost as many teams as are in F1. So who knows?

P1GP has, what, 7 teams signed up, but the plan is to only have 1 car per club. So really it's about half the number of cars as are in F1...

[ghinzani]

Are'nt Barcelona involved in Nisaan World Series??

[climb]

Yes they are.
About the series, I think that, before saying they will run next year, some important aspects should be made clear:
who designs and makes the cars?
two years ago Dallara at first and then Reynard were named to be appointed for that task, but I've heard nothing in the aftermath.
Now, it has to be clear that a racing car (particularly a high-levl one) demands not less than 9 months to be born, just like human beings .
Therefore, if there isn't yet any work-in-process it's real hard to pretend that such a series may be held in 2004.
Any infos about it?

[Bostik]

My understanding was that the organisers decided to withdraw behind closed doors - to get on with the project out of the limelight - presumably because there was too much cynicism / negative publicity about what would have been typical setbacks and delays.
So what we dont yet know is if it is all happening quietly in the background with a masssive surprise launch about to unfold - or if they have given up trying (they say they started it in early 1999).

[BSchneiderFan]

The whole idea seemed ropey to me, raising primarily the question of why? With an already crowded single-seater market, I hope the thing just dies quietly, and that football clubs who are interested sponsor cars in F3000, Dallara Nissan or even F1. Why not, after all?

[Super Tourer]

I'm still in the see it when I believe club on this one.

Has anyone worked out yet who funds the cars, the football teams don't pay a penny from what I've read, so it seems TV revenue/merchandise sales/ the organisers fund it????

When we can't fill a F3000 grid and series like CART are scrapping around for entries, I can't see how it will get off the ground myself.

[andy_b]

I expect the teams that signed up, back in 2001 were only "letter of intent" with plenty of get out clasues. Since then Football finance has taken a big turn for the worse unless your someone like M** U**, Chelski or Madrid.

In light of current difficulties, I cant really see Leeds being able to do this?

[andy_b]

further to Super Tourers comment, isnt this too close to F3000, Renault V6 and Formula Dallara Nissan?

[PaulSands]

They should've set something up like the BMW County Championship used to be instead...single make GT's with half the races piloted by a regular team driver and half by guest celeb/local drivers (genuine drivers) or an endurance style race with a regular & guest

[DanFlag]

Originally posted by BSchneiderFan
The whole idea seemed ropey to me, raising primarily the question of why? With an already crowded single-seater market, I hope the thing just dies quietly, and that football clubs who are interested sponsor cars in F3000, Dallara Nissan or even F1. Why not, after all?

Good idea!

[Super Tourer]

Originally posted by BSchneiderFan
The whole idea seemed ropey to me, raising primarily the question of why? With an already crowded single-seater market, I hope the thing just dies quietly, and that football clubs who are interested sponsor cars in F3000, Dallara Nissan or even F1. Why not, after all?

I don't think the football clubs are putting any money into the series at all, merely putting their name on the car and potentially opening up their fan base to the series.

Hence it's a bit of a no-lose siutation for them to be involved, and suprising that it's taken this long to coax the teams onboard.

Whereas sponsoring teams would require parting with real cash and is therefore unlikely.