Sensible move from GP2

[Kicking-back]

The GP2 finale will now be on Thursday 29th/Friday 30th September in Bahrain.

It's been pushed back from the 25th to avoid a clash with the Brazilian Grand Prix and A1GP at Brands Hatch.

[Russfeld]

So now its being run on a Friday when almost no one will be able to watch it. Running the same weekend as Brazil was okay, they're in a completely different time zone, and GP2 would have given us something to watch while waiting for the F1 race.

[Kicking-back]

The authorities in Bahrain prefer events there to be on Thursday/Friday as that is the weekend.

And some of the drivers from GP2 want to do the A1GP race at Brands - so this will allow them to.

I know you are anti-A1GP, but surely you can watch it out of idle curiosity at least?

[flexible-flyer]

excellent news. means i can watch all 3! good to know that if your gearbox brakes is qualifying you will get a second chance aswell!

[Russfeld]

Im not anti-A1GP, im just not interested in it, and I see no relation between it and GP2. A1GP will struggle to reach even World Series levels of credibility. Id rather watch the GP2 title showdown.

[runshaw]

I don't understand why GP2 is having a stand-alone race for their finale. Why don't they just have their last race on a Grand Prix weekend?

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by Russfeld

Im not anti-A1GP, im just not interested in it, and I see no relation between it and GP2. A1GP will struggle to reach even World Series levels of credibility. Id rather watch the GP2 title showdown.

In your opinion you mean. IMO A1 GP will be somewhere near GP2 in terms of credibilty, if not a bit higher. The cars (so I am told) will be just as fast as GP2 cars and the teams running them IMO are every bit as good, as are the drivers if not a little bit better. A1 GP has a good mix of established stars and young up and coming drivers IMO, and that is something GP2 lacks, sure GP2 has lots of young promising talent but IMO it doesent have any really big names that the man in the street will have heard of, unlike A1 GP. Verstappen and Firman immeditly spring to mind for example.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

The GP2 finale will now be on Thursday 29th/Friday 30th September in Bahrain.

Stupid decision.

[Russfeld]

Man, and I thought someone referring to Parente as a possible F1 driver was the weirdest thing I was going to hear all day. Now Firman is known to the man on the street?

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by Russfeld

Now Firman is known to the man on the street?

Im just going by what people I have spoken to about the series about have said, my mum for example was watching the A1 GP test coverage with me on Sky Sports "World Motorsport" the other night and she said "oh, Firman wasnt he in F1 a few years ago?" She also said something along the same lines of Verstappen, she is a casual F1 fan like a lot of people in my family not a expert, neither is my brother in law who has also heard of Firman and Verstappen.

Firman and Verstappen may not get swamped walking down the street by hordes of fans, but when you say their name's to anyone whos even a casual fan of F1 a lot of the fans IMO have at least heard of them.

[runshaw]

Originally Posted by Russfeld

Man, and I thought someone referring to Parente as a possible F1 driver was the weirdest thing I was going to hear all day.

Most British F3 chamipons will always be mentioned as a possible F1 driver.

[flexible-flyer]

Originally Posted by Russfeld

Im not anti-A1GP, im just not interested in it, and I see no relation between it and GP2. A1GP will struggle to reach even World Series levels of credibility. Id rather watch the GP2 title showdown.

how can you say you are not anti A1GP then go and say they will struggle to reach world series level of cred? the series may have stupid looking cars that are slower than gp2 but the driving talent is there, the tv coverage is there and the backing is there. with that on board, the viewers will also be there.

i too would rather watch the gp2 title showdown and the gp2 cars look better, sound better, ARE better and have better drivers at the front but A1GP will be great to watch also.

and ben edwards and john watson sound MUCH better than good ole carlton 'nightmare' kirby!

[bella]

it's a good idea because it's the local weekend and therefore you're going to get more local exposure. which is after all the point in having a race in a country isn't it?

[Kicking-back]

Absolutely.

Otherwise you may as well run every race on a different layout at Paul Ricard

[flor]

but dont bring your dog to paul ricard, the gardeners will kill you.

[DanFlag]

Don't bring your dog point!

[Russfeld]

No it basically shows why stand alone junior racing has never been a good idea.

[Rob29]

Originally Posted by Russfeld

No it basically shows why stand alone junior racing has never been a good idea.

So racing can only take place at a major event? The term 'junior' is also a turn off,as it means for children.
Not sure of the reasoning behind the stand alone GP2 finale.Guess it is cheaper to fly the cars to Bahrain than Brazil? More likely the local Sheik offered a better deal.Also changing the date was a good move. Here we already have F1,A1GP,IRL & Champcar all live on TV on the 25th! My VCR will be working hard as I will be at Brands!

[Russfeld]

The only potential clash they would have had would be A1GP, and Bahrain is at least 2(?) hours ahead of the UK, so they could have gotten the races in well before A1GP.

I think what happened is the series wasnt quite ready by Bahrain GP weekend, and with some of the cooling problems they were expecting having the debut race that far away and that hot, could have killed the series right there. Bahrain on its own I suppose is an acceptable compromise, but next year it should be on the GP weekend. GP2 draws its strength from its tie-in and comparisons to F1. On its own its another random open wheel series people generally arent interested in.

[runshaw]

Originally Posted by Russfeld

Bahrain on its own I suppose is an acceptable compromise, but next year it should be on the GP weekend. GP2 draws its strength from its tie-in and comparisons to F1. On its own its another random open wheel series people generally arent interested in.

Yes that makes perfect sense. GP2 must know that far less people will be watching it than if it had ended on a GP weekend. Seems illogical to me to end the series with a stand-alone event.

[Zookie]

saleen your opinions in my opinion are totally unfounded how could you possibly compare the quality of drivers many of whom are testing f1 from gp2 to the likes of un knowns in a1gp the known names you express are f1 has beens and will never make it back to top flight , they are fillers to give the whole thing credibility , it is not a young and up and coming championship its is for vets and obscure countries curiousity to our glorious sport

[Rob29]

According to report on TV coverage of this weekends races, date change was at request of 'local authorities' Weekend date would mean people skipping work to go?
Doubt if Eurosport could fit it in to their weekend live schedules anyway,those of us at work wil no doubt get a later re-run?

[SALEEN S7R]

Originally Posted by Zookie

saleen your opinions in my opinion are totally unfounded how could you possibly compare the quality of drivers many of whom are testing f1 from gp2 to the likes of un knowns in a1gp the known names you express are f1 has beens and will never make it back to top flight , they are fillers to give the whole thing credibility , it is not a young and up and coming championship its is for vets and obscure countries curiousity to our glorious sport

Ralph Firman is a "has been"? I dont think so, hes still a very quick driver in his own right and is IMO very professional, as are drivers like Verstappen and Lamy, just look at how well Lamy is doing in FIA GT this year against very strong oppostion from top level International drivers. Timo Schedier is also a star IMO, hes a very fast driver, hes doing well in the DTM this year and he won the Spa 24hrs outright, the drivers mentioned above are IMO still top level International drivers. Okay they might not be as quick as they were, but they are faster than a lot of the younger guys out there. IMO.

Then of course you have the young up and coming talent in the shape of Speed, Piquet, Premat, Jani, Kerr, Power. All of whom IMO are potential F1 drivers, to suggest that the A1 GP driver grid is anything less than great IMO is ludicrous. Sure there are a few "grid fillers" such as Yoong and Fomenko but let us not pretend that GP2 doesent have its share of "grid fillers" too, or are the likes of Lauda, Artam, Negrao, Alvarez etc on the GP2 grid because they just have exceptional talent?

The F1 "has been's" that you mentioned in A1 GP had, and IMO still have more talent than any of the back markers in GP2 will ever have. IMO.

[JJ Jet Plane]

Saleen, Timo Scheider isn't doing well in DTM this year because he lost his drive. Think you'll find he's in FIA GTs.

Don't knock Alvarez either - he's mega in the wet (see Spa results from this weekend).

Not knocking A1 GP though - I think it looks mega. Just not quite as mega as GP2!

[runshaw]

Originally Posted by SALEEN S7R

Sure there are a few "grid fillers" such as Yoong and Fomenko but let us not pretend that GP2 doesent have its share of "grid fillers" too, or are the likes of Lauda, Artam, Negrao, Alvarez etc on the GP2 grid because they just have exceptional talent?

Alvarez is certainly not on the level with those drivers you just mentioned. He has been fairly quick all year even though he has only just got his first points.