How Good is Chris Alajajian

[roger ward]

How good is this guy Formula 3 always the danger and always at the front . Now in the Performance Cars and still kicking butt. Could he be an outside chance for super car drive in 2006 .

[mitchie]

Chris is doing very nicely this year. The results in F3 and Performance have been a testament to that.

As he bloody well should be, he is looking to have a shot overseas for next year.

[pete55]

There is also talk he might be in a V8 Supercar at Bathurst this year.

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by pete55

There is also talk he might be in a V8 Supercar at Bathurst this year.

I hope Mr Alajajian gets plenty of testing... to suggest his racing lines are unconventional on occassion, and often inconsistent between laps is not being too unkind.....

[Chucky]

Yeah, it all seems to work as long as he has youthful reflexes on his side.

[SRabbit]

the way he threw his STi around the Creek was impressive. He duffed one of the starts and ended up behind an Evo but was more than willing to poke the nose up the inside at virtually every corner - you can tell he is full of confidence, talent, and no fear!!

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by mitchie

As he bloody well should be, he is looking to have a shot overseas for next year.

Yes I hope he does follow the international career. I do believe it would be sad if he was dragged into the v8 vacuum.

[nafe!]

I hate how people act like its a bad thing, if a driver wants to drive tin tops then this is the series anyone in the world should be looking at, however if he has overseas aspirations then definately try not to get involved and pursue other oppurtunities.

Would ambrose had got into NASCAR if he hadnt driven v8's? most probably not. Its a different career choice, but definately not a worse one.

[Jimmy14]

Im sure he's a good driver, but i'd like to see him in a more competitive class. Formula 3 is alright but i bet that if Tim Macrow had an 04 car and a half decent budget he'd be almost unbeatable. As for Performance Cars, well its full of weekend racers so someone like Chris should dominate.

[Oaksnaf]

Well let me just say a few things, i dont really care if you believe me or not.

Last year when Chris was killing the fields in Performance cars in his Subaru Liberty at Sandown Raceway i was very impressed with his skill. At that time i was working for Piccola Scuderia trying to find them a pay driver.

Had a talk to Mr.Alajajian himself and after a few months of negotiation we struck a deal and headed off to Eastern Creek for his first test in a F3 car. I can say by looking at detailed telementary on that day that Chris has some talent to burn. The times he was pulling out and on his F3 debut, single seater debut at a track like Eastern Creek the guys were saying "This kid can win the title"

Then his first two races for the team didn't go to plan as Chris was driving the car too hard and ruining the gears in the gearbox. His starts also didn't go to plan, but he showed that he can match the pace of the front runners given the opportunity.

He then went away and other deals came up.

But im very happy to say that i had a huge part in bringing Chris to F3 and to show off his talent. He would have made it there anyway as he was interested in the category.

There was a potential deal to go to British F3 next year so lets see what happens.

[silvervsix]

He has the skill and talent hope he gets a good drive overseas.

[Jimmy14]

Unfortunately in motor racing budget is more important than skill and talent especially in Europe. Good luck to him though i hope he gets a drive and can find the budget to keep it.

[00 XR8]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

I hope Mr Alajajian gets plenty of testing... to suggest his racing lines are unconventional on occassion, and often inconsistent between laps is not being too unkind.....

Yeah, what he said. I often cringe when I see him darting all around the circuit.

A couple of points of note too.........

- last year he was the only one racing a Liberty in a very thin APCC field.

- this year he is the only Impreza driver (at least at the first two rounds anyway).

I don't think we can really say he is the next big thing when he isn't even competing on a level playing field with anyone else.

And his performances in the Astuti Dallara 304 have been debatable too. Those Astuti cars are very very nice bits of gear, if you get my drift.

Sorry to be negative, but I really don't think the kid has got it.

[Jimmy14]

Originally Posted by 00 XR8

- last year he was the only one racing a Liberty in a very thin APCC field.

Not only was he in the only Liberty but im pretty sure the only 4WD car. Personally, i think there are a few other young guys around that are in line before him.

Look at David Reynolds, 19 years old, Formula Ford Champion, and now he's won a Carrera Cup race in only his third drive with very limited track time, against guys like Richards, Coulthard, Youlden, and Mclean who are all vastly more experienced than him.

[mixxer]

Chris should go overseas before settling in at the V8 circus, if it doesn't work out for him over there yet he still manages to return some good results (in the decent open wheeler fields Europe has to offer) I'm sure the V8's will welcome him back.

After some midfield performances at Barbagallo David managed to run near the front of the field at the creek culminating with a win in race 3, a star of the future Id say

[the man]

He is a good driver but does have some brain fade now and then, but we have to remember that he is only young and all drivers will go through the period of putting the car in a positions thern thinking " i shouldn't have done that". but the talent he showed in his BMW in APCC in 2003 was excellent. He talent is gold and a team should have a close look at him in the future here or overseas.

[jackaroo]

For a driver to develop to a competetive standard for Europe they needs to get a LOT more seat time ( Race & Testing ) than the AF3 regulations currently cater for! Racing in Europe, drivers are in the cars every week racing twice a month. If AF3 wants to be taken seriously as a training ground for drivers it needs to look at other means of attracting competitors. Reduce costs not track time!!! young drivers need experience.

[Chucky]

Reducing track time is the best way to reduce costs! How the hell else do you reduce costs?

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by jackaroo

For a driver to develop to a competetive standard for Europe they needs to get a LOT more seat time ( Race & Testing ) than the AF3 regulations currently cater for! Racing in Europe, drivers are in the cars every week racing twice a month. If AF3 wants to be taken seriously as a training ground for drivers it needs to look at other means of attracting competitors. Reduce costs not track time!!! young drivers need experience.

Barton Mawer is doing alright results wise, in the B class and he is a product of Aus F3. More track time would be great, but I dont think its a huge problem at the moment

[GTRMagic]

Having 5 car teams with 2 car budgets might be the bigger problem

[David Towe]

Many other drivers from all sorts of different categories could do just as well as Alajajian given the same budget. It's a whole lot easier to go fast when your not paying the repair bills, or it's someone elses car. Every time I stick my nose up the inside of someone I'm hoping they see me, and keep thinking this could be expensive if they don't. I'm not saying he's not good, but I don't think he's the next Craig Lowndes or Mark Webber.

[Oaksnaf]

Originally Posted by David Towe

Many other drivers from all sorts of different categories could do just as well as Alajajian given the same budget. It's a whole lot easier to go fast when your not paying the repair bills, or it's someone elses car. Every time I stick my nose up the inside of someone I'm hoping they see me, and keep thinking this could be expensive if they don't. I'm not saying he's not good, but I don't think he's the next Craig Lowndes or Mark Webber.

Yeh his dad is loaded and that helps a lot. Its the reason he got into F3 because it was a pay-drive (what isn't these days). And cash is the backbone of all career's now. You simply cannot go to Europe without a budget. Not even Power can get the cash.

[GTRMagic]

I dont think the family is as rich as you may expect... do you remember a segment on the ABC a little while back, inside the family home... Mr A Sr suggested he sold off some excess property to fund Mr A Jr's racing exploits.....

[David Towe]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

I dont think the family is as rich as you may expect... do you remember a segment on the ABC a little while back, inside the family home... Mr A Sr suggested he sold off some excess property to fund Mr A Jr's racing exploits.....

I didn't see that, but please bear in mind many equally talented race drivers don't have property to sell off, or parents who do.
I do think that experience has seen an improvement in his TV skills, his early interviews were a disaster, he's much better now.

[GTRMagic]

There is no doubting the Protecnica gig and the F3 gig would be very expensive to maintain... perhaps in the interviews they played down the $$ aspect... as this year wouldnt see change out of $200k for both series I shouldnt think....

I am aware of another young driver with similar talent levels (with the right tutelage perhaps even more) whose parents sold off a block of land they were to build their dream home on to keep the son racing.

Or another one, who carved up a property development somewhere around Patterson's Lakes, and gave a few away to select members of their new team....