A1 Bankrupt! - Page 10

Roninho · 8 Feb 2010, 11:31 (Ref:2629211)

Quote:

Originally Posted by duke_toaster

To be honest, A1GP wasn't the best execution of the World Cup of Motorsport format. I have a little idea myself that I could detail in another thread, but it would require more FIA involvement (I.E. running it) and the founding of a new set of technical regulations. Two things the FIA would never be bothered to do.

I'm interested to hear what advantages it would generate if the FIA ran a serie. What can they do what a well funded & well managed commercial company could not do?

As for A1, i've said it long time ago that the way the serie was managed was champcar all over: High costs to run, mega-money spending, way to little media-attention to attract sponsorship and a lot of big talk from the CEO how everyone wants to join the serie.
I still believe there is a market for a formula-autosportserie. That serie just has to focus on keeping costs to compete & organize the serie low and find partners to have media-attention. Big talk, high spending and no exposure does not work.

Morris Dancer · 8 Feb 2010, 16:18 (Ref:2629349)

Governments of all persuasions should stick to providing public services like defence, law and order, education, health, etc. instead of wasting taxpayers' money on sporting events - whether it's the Olympics, football (soccer) World Cup or a shonky motor racing series like A1GP - under the guise of promoting tourism.

If a sporting event is commercially viable then a commercial operator will do it.

JagtechOhio · 8 Feb 2010, 16:32 (Ref:2629356)

Right on, Morris. "Shonky", I love it. Please define? I assume that's like "bogus"?

Roninho, good on you for reading the tea leaves, Your statement is funny though...you could easily take out the title "AIGP" and insert another one that fits the same picture.

The Izod IndyCar Series.

Andy

steve nielsen · 8 Feb 2010, 20:41 (Ref:2629514)

The "world cup" idea could only succeed if the best drivers are in it.

Kiwi3 · 9 Feb 2010, 04:05 (Ref:2629664)

Morris - disagree. Sometimes there is a case for promoting a country, promoting economic development or for a government to provide the investment required to gain indirect benefits e.g. tourism. I know there is skepticism about this but in many cases it works. I strongly disagreed with the A1GP on the Gold Coast case however!

Steve Nielsen - didn't put off the strong crowds at Kyalami, Zandvoort, Durban etc did it? In my view each teams should have different drivers for the sprint and feature to make it more of a team thing but enough people were not put off by not having the best driver from each country.

JagtechOhio · 9 Feb 2010, 05:32 (Ref:2629684)

I live in Columbus, Ohio U.S.A.

The City government projected growth in local business and civic pride would result from the addition of a professional ice hockey team.

Voters rejected the $150M request to fund construction of the arena. No problem, the private investors stepped up to build it...they had the money, they just wanted to keep it.

Ten tears later, the team is in financial difficulty and may be leaving the city. The arena has little other use. Too bad for the rich guys, the taxpayers didn't get stuck with the bill.

Private ventures to promote local economy in any form are great...hell, if it works, give them a tax break after the fact. Otherwise, you are spending taxpayer dollars that will not necessarily benefit the taxpayers.
Not in my city, while I have a vote.

Oldtony · 9 Feb 2010, 06:13 (Ref:2629688)

Macquarie Australian dictionary:
shonky 1: of dubious integrity oor honesty 2:mechanically unreliable

Sometimes Australian can be another language

JagtechOhio · 9 Feb 2010, 06:56 (Ref:2629698)

Thanks man, I love it. Some old racer in England laid "bingle" on me, describing a shunt.

steve nielsen · 9 Feb 2010, 07:16 (Ref:2629701)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwi3

Steve Nielsen - didn't put off the strong crowds at Kyalami, Zandvoort, Durban etc did it? In my view each teams should have different drivers for the sprint and feature to make it more of a team thing but enough people were not put off by not having the best driver from each country.

The first year our best Dutch driver did race in A1gp, the second year many people thought he would be driving when they bought their ticket, the third year there where far less spectators, also one of the reasons Zandvoort did'nt renew the contract.

duke_toaster · 9 Feb 2010, 14:20 (Ref:2629895)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roninho

I'm interested to hear what advantages it would generate if the FIA ran a serie. What can they do what a well funded & well managed commercial company could not do?

Have a good relationship with the ASNs (who, in all other World Cup type things are responsible for running their country's team, the most comparable thing to motor racing for this would probably be the Davis Cup in tennis or the Sudirman and Thomas and Uber cups in badminton bearing in mind less participants in the routine events and the cups being held over a short period of time).

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve nielsen

The "world cup" idea could only succeed if the best drivers are in it.

The only way to do that would be to make it a one event per year thing, and even so getting F1 drivers in would be a challenge. By holding it over the course of a week (or possibly two weekends) in December, especially with the current trend for testing rules, you would be able to hold it during a period of the season where most drivers are twiddling their thumbs. Of course, running it as that sort of thing.

A well managed World Cup would be a big event, but obviously it would only run once a year (or several more, if you have several tiers and Davis Cup style promotion and relegation). That would make it entirely logical to use a set of technical regulations that are used throughout the year in another series, so that you don't get cars gathering dust for 45 weeks of the year.

With the team aspect, it would be an eminently sensible thing to make it more of a team by having more than one driver per nation - I suggest three myself. It would be affordable if it used cheaper, less fiddly cars.

Francis Albert · 10 Feb 2010, 16:27 (Ref:2630709)

Who wants to make the first bid?

duke_toaster · 10 Feb 2010, 16:36 (Ref:2630713)

I think we'll see them in EuroBOSS or hillclimbing, it's not as if any new series are going to want to start out with those cars. If we didn't already know the series was dead, it is clearly dead now.

Thundersports · 10 Feb 2010, 23:55 (Ref:2631051)

Without engine/gearboxes/software they are show cars. The cost of starting without all of the above is mind blowing and totally prohibitive to running one.

Kiwi3 · 11 Feb 2010, 05:06 (Ref:2631162)

Expected but still very sad

cavvy · 11 Feb 2010, 05:22 (Ref:2631166)

who was funding it?

Kiwi3 · 12 Feb 2010, 05:25 (Ref:2631956)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cavvy

who was funding it?

The tooth fairy, but now all the teeth are gone.

duke_toaster · 12 Feb 2010, 18:27 (Ref:2632293)

Quote:

Originally Posted by cavvy

who was funding it?

Initially the Dubai royal family, later Tony Tiexera.

rychard · 18 Feb 2010, 04:52 (Ref:2635348)

It's officially doomed ............ as I said on snother thread that got locked

"A1 Team USA Holdings LLC (“Team USA”) has been awarded a $4.5 million dollar judgment against A1 Holdings Ltd., Antonio Teixeira and Lyndhurst Holdings N.V., jointly and severally, for materially breaching a settlement agreement resulting from a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia."

steve nielsen · 18 Feb 2010, 08:54 (Ref:2635395)

And the court in The Hague officialy declared A1 team Netherlands bankrupt yesterday

http://www.autosport.nl/news/19743/a..._failliet.html

duke_toaster · 18 Feb 2010, 20:26 (Ref:2635835)

You can't run a championship without teams, and A1GP and its franchise agreements make it a little more difficult for them to replace them. It's dead, Jim.

Morris Dancer · 21 Feb 2010, 12:54 (Ref:2637643)

Considering that A1GP's body is now stone-cold, why does the otherwise authoritative US motorsport website www.pitpass.com continue to devote a portion of its homepage, complete with out-of-date 'news', to this defunct series?

Mekola · 21 Feb 2010, 23:43 (Ref:2637957)

In Pitpass there are people who are strong defenders of A1GP cause, hence their site is still dedicating a section to them even if the series is in extremis as it is.

Armco Bender · 22 Feb 2010, 06:29 (Ref:2638065)

[QUOTEwhy does the otherwise authoritative US motorsport website www.pitpass.com continue to devote a portion of its homepage, complete with out-of-date 'news', to this defunct series? ][/QUOTE]

A lot of people there still waiting for Elvis to come back to.....

JagtechOhio · 23 Feb 2010, 01:48 (Ref:2638752)

You mean he's gone, too????

Kiwi3 · 27 Feb 2010, 14:12 (Ref:2641515)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morris Dancer

Considering that A1GP's body is now stone-cold, why does the otherwise authoritative US motorsport website www.pitpass.com continue to devote a portion of its homepage, complete with out-of-date 'news', to this defunct series?

Pitpass...authoritative?

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