Financial troubles for A1?

[bella]

that sounds like unproven speculation to me, the kind of which we can't go around accusing people of.

[Marcel ten Caat]

Perhaps someone looked at the wrong A1GP calendar and saw 'Brazil - cancelled'.

The mix-up with pages 24 and 26 is indeed weird.

[Dr Venom]

Originally Posted by bella

that sounds like unproven speculation to me, the kind of which we can't go around accusing people of.

Wasn't accusing people, just a observation while looking for the sky TV times so i could sort out my sunday activities.
Does anyone know what time sky are showing the races?.

[strider]

6:00am on Sky Sports Xtra if you feel like watching it live. Otherwise there are repeats at 2:00pm on Sky Sports 3 and 7:00pm on Sky Sports Xtra.

[Dr Venom]

thanks foxy, looks like a nice afternoon down the poachers.

[sceptic]

Originally Posted by Stranger

The mix-up with pages 24 and 26 is indeed weird.

As was the fact that they didn't print three of the clues for the crossword.

[Kiwi3]

FYI the Shanghai round is now being heavily promoted here, on TV and with outdoor billboards (Tengyi Jiang's 5th in Dubai also got good newspaper coverage). So hopefully Shanghai will produce a large crowd, the circuit has large enough grandstands to fill!

Shame Mexico threw away a win yesterday, might have got more crowds for the next round if he had won.

[Stephen Green]

For the past two meetings the winner has driven from the back of the grid. How many times do you see that in F1? To me A1GP is producing some very exciting races and hopefully will continue to grow in popularity.

[Paddockman]

Originally Posted by Stephen Green

For the past two meetings the winner has driven from the back of the grid. How many times do you see that in F1? To me A1GP is producing some very exciting races and hopefully will continue to grow in popularity.

Agree entirely, but as usual some people will knock a new series even before its given time to grow!

[mbathshah]

Interesting comments from Max Mosely about the lack of "Star" drivers. I have always felt this to be the biggest problem for A1 GP and looks like Max also agrees!

[Stephen Green]

You seem to be forgetting that this is a Nations Cup and not necessarily a showcase for the best drivers in the world. Some countries will use A1GP to try and further the careers of up and coming drivers, others will choose to elongate the careers of ex F1 drivers. Either way as long as there are plenty of thrills and spills and good racing, it will attract more and more viewers. Unfortunately F1 doesn't have the same level of action as I am sure we all agree.

[SALEEN S7R]

I agree Stephen, F1 is sadly lacking when it comes to actual racing. IMO. The drivers in A1 GP are IMO as good as in any series you will find outside F1 at the moment, apart from perhaps GP2. Theres lots of very quick proven drivers in A1 at the moment, not least Enge, Premat, Kerr, Verstappen etc. The series has some very good quality drivers, not all of the drivers however are of that standard of course but much of this is due to motorsport not being a very big sport in their respective country and therefore there is a lack of drivers to choose from unlike what we have in Europe and NA.

[foreversideways]

The only thing you can say about Max Mosleys comments is "he would say that wouldn't he". The FIA have allways tried to talk down other racing series in the promotion of their premier category F1. In many cases they have thretened court action to try to stop competing series, although i think they have given up on that option. Somehow i thing the public can see a little further than the end of their noses these days. Expect Max to turn up in New Labour when he retires from the FIA, he has all the qualities

[Kiwi3]

Rather than not featuring star drivers, I would say that A1GP is making them. Think Sean McIntosh, Salvador Duran, Stephen Simpson and Matt Halliday for example.

And I think the nation vs nation concept will end up being more popular than drivers anyway, the football world cup for example is not Ronaldinho vs Micheal Owen...

Besides, F1 has national undertones as well, Germans tend to support Schumacher as their own, Ferrari has long been considered Italy's national team, Brits tend to back Coulthard or Button etc etc.

Funny that Mosley should decide to speak up when A1GP has just had two capacity crowds as well...If it wasn't becoming a significant series on the world stage he would not have felt the need to.

[SALEEN S7R]

Can anyone give a link to the relevent article? Ive had a bit of a look around and cant seem to find any story with Max Mosley commenting about A1 GP.

[Formula John]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Can anyone give a link to the relevent article? Ive had a bit of a look around and cant seem to find any story with Max Mosley commenting about A1 GP.

http://www.autosport.com/subs/login....=news&id=49561

[SALEEN S7R]

Ah ok, thanks Formula John. I dont subscribe to Autosport, get the magazine so that is which is why I didnt read the article yet.

[Russfeld]

Originally Posted by foreversideways

The only thing you can say about Max Mosleys comments is "he would say that wouldn't he"

and "well, he's not wrong..."

[Kiwi3]

and "well, he's not wrong..."

More like "he could not be more wrong". The most popular sporting events in the world are the Olympics, which people watch to see athletes representing their country, and the Football World Cup, which is country vs country...

I see Ecclestone has had a dig as well, suggesting that they should have run GP2 cars in Asia. That would be a nice little earner wouldn't it Bernie, since you have a stake in GP2...

I would love to see three regional GP2 series leading to F1 as well, but what has that got to do with A1GP??? It seems to be knock A1 week, at least for people with their own conflicting agendas.

The fact that journalists are asking these questions suggests that A1GP is gaining attention, I would be more worried if nobody had turned up in Durban and Sentul than I am about Mosley and Ecclestone's little digs.

[Formula John]

Mosley is wrong! F1 is flawed! A1 is the right way forward! Thankfully the Autosport write up was not bad!

However Sean deserved to be on the front cover!

7/10 for Autosport!

[Kiwi3]

Well, I love F1 as well, and have done since 1986. I am starting to get very excited about the new season...who is going to get the wooden spoon (Super Aguri/Toro rosso or Midland), and the manufacturer teams are looking very even, and Williams-Cosworth are looking like giant killers...

But I also like A1GP, the country vs country concept, the exciting racing, the new stars who are being created, new territories being explored for motorsport...

They are complimentary and both great to watch for different reasons. I just wish that people would accept both as they are. If people don't like one or the other fine, don't watch what you don't like. But self-centered digs at one or the other serve no purpose other than ripping the sport apart. Nothing new for motorsport in that, but it's sad.

[Kebab]

I think they're scared - look at what Dubai created for horse-racing. The prize money will start to attract bigger names and new national stars will be created in countries who have little interest in motorsport.

Long live A1 GP!

[Russfeld]

Originally Posted by Kiwi3

More like "he could not be more wrong".

Mansell's now echoed it. And its not like Mosley pulled someone over and said "boy, that A1GP sure is crap isnt it"


Q: Do you think A1 GP has taught anything to Formula One with the model it has used?

Q: Has it surprised you that A1 GP has not been embraced by the public?


Those were the questions he was asked (among other things including F1 and WRC)

Far be it for someone to go against the A1GP cheerleaders.

[Ian Sowman]

Well, if I was asked those two questions I would answer 'no' to both.

Hands up anyone who would say 'yes' to either - and tell us why.

[Russfeld]

I could stretch a yes on the first one. They market the series. F1 doesnt do anything to promote itself, its 'brand image' is dependent on whatever the teams, sponsors, and circuit promoters have done to advertise themselves. But F1 could have learned that from NASCAR.