Season five (2009-2010) Calender

[diabloA1]

Very skeptical that Sepang would pay. Suggest relabelling no 6 to Malaysia (paying) instead of Sepang (paying)

[Kiwi3]

I don't see where they could hold a second race in China. Shanghai never worked, Chengdu was a nightmare and A1GP have already they won't go back there (it was a one-off anyway), the only other option is to set up a street circuit somewhere, a risky proposition here.

[Mak]

Originally Posted by Kiwi3

Apparently 12 rounds next season, with 8 paying.

Sauce: http://www.britsonpole.com/a1gp-on-a...aster-post8908 (also alluded to in two other threads)

Just thinking out loud then (all speculation, I really have no idea):

1. Zandvoort or Assen (paying - whichever willing to pay more)
2. Mugello (no paying, keeps Ferrari happy)
3. Surfers Paradise (paying - Queensland Govt)
4. Hampton downs (I hope not paying, A1GP owe's it to Colin Giltrap!)
5. Indonesia (paying - Indonesian Govt or Lippo Village developer)
6. Sepang (paying - Malaysian Govt)
7. Zhuhai (paying - Chinese Govt)
8. Kyalami (paying?)
9. Mexico (paying but not enough to break even - Mexican Dept of Tourism)
10. Brazil (must be paying, otherwise I've only got 7. This one will get cancelled anyway)
11. Algarve (not paying, part of deal for tax break on new factory)
12. Brands Hatch (not paying)

Thoughts?

I don't think they need to keep Ferrari happy, other than by paying their astronomical bills to them.

[diabloA1]

It will be interesting to see where the row between Luca di M and Max Mosley leads to. Ferrari's dissatisfaction with FIA(F1) might influence them to show more support for A1GP

[RichardRenes]

Dutch round to be held at Assen for the next 5 seasons, starting May 16th 2010.

[Mak]

Originally Posted by diabloA1

It will be interesting to see where the row between Luca di M and Max Mosley leads to. Ferrari's dissatisfaction with FIA(F1) might influence them to show more support for A1GP

I think Ferrari are more interested in making money from A1 than becoming another contributor to the bottomless money pit.

[F3 Rocks]

Originally Posted by diabloA1

It will be interesting to see where the row between Luca di M and Max Mosley leads to. Ferrari's dissatisfaction with FIA(F1) might influence them to show more support for A1GP

Ferrari's involment in A1 GP does not come from their F1 enterprise but from their Sportscar department with Michelloto's from Padava providing the expertise, engine rebuilds, dyno etc, and race support staff,

[diabloA1]

Yes thats true. The current A1GP programme does not draw resources from Ferrari's F1 programme.

Was pointing out the political angle. A few years ago who would have guessed that Ferrari would've wanted to be involved in a big way with A1GP even if it was profit driven. The Ferrari brand is incredibly valuable and Ferrari's branding/marketing dept have been very careful with it's use.

Some speculate the F1 Spygate scandal was a catalyst but who knows..

[jondownunder]

Originally Posted by RichardRenes

Dutch round to be held at Assen for the next 5 seasons, starting May 16th 2010.

What a shame, isn't that a bit of a rubbish circuit nowadays?

[RichardRenes]

Originally Posted by jondownunder

What a shame, isn't that a bit of a rubbish circuit nowadays?

Depends on what you call 'rubbish'. It does host MotoGP races, so facilities wise, it's state of art. However the layout is not the best for single seater racing. It would have been an excellent WTCC circuit, but not for A1GP.

[jondownunder]

I meant about the layout. I thought at the time that the changes they made totally neutered the circuit for Moto GP, and as you say, it's not the best layout for single seaters. I remember being left uninspired by the Champ Car race, but that may have been partly the poor TV coverage. I'll miss Zandvoort, a great, distinctive circuit with F1 history.

[Kiwi3]

I will miss Zandvoort too, but if Assen is paying and that helps the goal of a balanced accounting sheet then so be it I suppose

[crozier74]

Originally Posted by kerrmanningjarv

That Olympic Park rumour was around ahead of season 4 as well, but nothing happened - perhaps this time there will be more luck.

On the other hand, next season we will see the debuts of Surfers and Lippo Village - would they debut 3 street tracks in one season?

Further to this, just randomly stumbled across this:

http://www.frdsports.com/en/Race%20c...lendar_AFR.htm

A1GP Beijing street race scheduled for 3-4 Oct??...

[Kiwi3]

Well spotted. That is a holiday week here and the weather is still nice then. If it is A1GP I just hope they come up with a half decent circuit and without nonsense like city government officials refusing to bolt down the manhole covers.

Not 100% sure that the 'A1' listed actually means A1GP as other rounds state 'C1', who knows what that is?

[Asa]

That should be A1GP. They are talking about a street race in Beijing again. They will never give up until either they succeed or kill somebody.

[woodster]

http://www.rte.ie/sport/motorsport/2009/0517/a1gp.html

A round in Dublin???? Now that would be good.

[Kiwi3]

Tilke has been to Dublin to look at potential street circuit locations, if the season is finishing rather than starting in Europe I guess the first half of 2010 would leave enough time to set something up, assuming a deal can be struck?

[Rob29]

Plan of proposed circuit in yesterdays 'Motorsport News' looks brilliant.Will be booking a flight when we get a confirmed date.

[kerrmanningjarv]

^ Any chance of scanning it please Rob?

[Down F0rce]

I scanned the article to show my friend who lives in Dublin (and ask for accommodation ) so if it's not against the rules, here it is...

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...inStreets2.jpg

[Kiwi3]

Thanks a lot for posting that. Does the article say how likely this is to go ahead?

A race in the centre of the city would be awesome and would surely result in large crowds. If Beijing is also done properly, plus Surfers, Kyalami and the large dutch support at Assen then there would be quite a few key events with large crowds and hopefully A1GP would suddently seem like a great idea even to the doubters. Sorry I am getting a bit carried away...

Does anyone who knows Dublin know what such a track would be like racing wise? Narrow?

Doing a search on flickr for River Liffey returned some pics of the area, like this - http://www.flickr.com/photos/redmum/11202259/

[Down F0rce]

The general vibe from the article is very positive, it does seem pretty likely to go ahead. There are quotes from Tilke who claims that a huge festival could be created around a city centre race in Dublin. Apparently Dublin has been awarded the European Capital of Sport title for 2010 and the city council are very much behind the idea of bringing a top level motor sport event to coincide with this.

Other articles I've read on the net are guesstimating the race will take place between January and April, preferably over a band holiday weekend. I think sometime over the Easter Holidays would be the best bet.

[ScotsBrutesFan]

Isn't that circuit a bit short, eeven allowing for a bridge not on Google Earth, it's only 1.5 miles (2.4km) wouldn't it need to be atleast half that length again?

Durban was 2.04 miles (3.28 km) which had a fastest lap with the old cars of 1:18

[jackschmidt]

Isn't that bridge over the water a hazard? What happens if the car leaps into the water?

[Rob29]

Originally Posted by jackschmidt

Isn't that bridge over the water a hazard? What happens if the car leaps into the water?

Guess there would be barriers as at Monaco? Brands Hatch short circuit-only 1.24 mls- has been used for Indycar so I guess 1.5ml should be no problem for A1GP?