AlphaF1.com Forums -> A1gp

Site Home

Help

Members

Calendar

Welcome Guest ( Log In | Register )

Resend Validation Email

AlphaF1.com Forums -> Motorsport -> General Motorsport

Pages: (4) [1] 2 3 ... Last » ( Go to first unread post )

A1gp, 1st pratice: The dutch are on fire!

Track this topic | Email this topic | Print this topic

lgaquino

Posted: September 23, 2005 11:36 pm

IamNotJamieMason

Group: Members
Posts: 1203
Member No.: 304
Joined: May 11, 2004

QUOTE

A real mixed bag on the A1 GP debut
A steep learning curve for some...

Asian drivers struggled to make an impact as the new A1 Grand Prix series got off to a chaotic start at Brands Hatch on Friday. The new championship, which is billed as a World Cup of motorsport, pits nation against nation on the track, with a key feature being the arrival of countries so far unused to the sport.

But that grand design backfired as rookie drivers found the going tough. In the first practice session, India's Karun Chandhok caused the most spectacular accident when he turned in on ex-Formula One driver Jos Verstappen. The two cars made contact, pitching Chandhok into the air and badly damaging his car.

Chandhok had already allowed another Formula One refugee, Alex Yoong of Malaysia, to pass him but failed to notice the bright orange Netherlands car of Verstappen, causing the pile-up.

China's drivers have struggled to match their more experienced rivals in testing and again were caught out in practice. Their nominated driver Qinghua Ma spun at the fast Paddock Hill bend and brought out the red flags once again.

Collisions are rare in practice, with drivers concentrating on finding the perfect set-up for their cars, but the A1 GP debut bucked that trend. The problems continued in the second session, with Japan's Ryo Fukuda and Czech driver Jan Charouz both spinning off in quick succession. Russia's Nikolay Fomenko followed countryman Vasilev's lead by spinning first and then crashing into the barriers. Germany's Adrian Sutil almost collected the stricken Russian car, bringing out more red flags.

Even more red flags followed when Tengyi Jiang crashed the Chinese entry before Christian Jones finally stopped the session for good 18 minutes before the scheduled end when he slammed his car into the barriers.

Despite promises of an equal playing field with even drivers from countries with little motorsport pedigree being able to compete, the timing sheets at the end of first practice told a different story.

Scott Speed set the pace for the United States, setting a fastest lap of one minute 16.875seconds in the first session. Speed's GP rival Nelson Piquet Jr was a quarter of a second behind for Brazil while Frenchman Nicolas Lapierre took third. Britain's Robbie Kerr was fourth while Yoong was fifth.

Chandhok had little chance to set a decent time having only completed two laps but Chinese driver Ma clocked 13 and was still over nine seconds off the pace. His countryman Jiang was over 10 seconds down in the second session.

Source AFP

Alex Yoong crashing into a already crashed (duhh) verstappen !! how funnier could it be?!

--------------------

This is not my signature

mingmarwoc	Posted: September 24, 2005 12:16 am
Unaustralian patrol Group: Members Posts: 1013 Member No.: 127 Joined: February 29, 2004	I was really looking forward to a1gp...i'm beggining to think it's a bad idea -------------------- The only good thing to come out of England was Australians

lgaquino	Posted: September 24, 2005 02:03 am
IamNotJamieMason Group: Members Posts: 1203 Member No.: 304 Joined: May 11, 2004	it still must be fun ...but for other reasons -------------------- This is not my signature

Ebi

Posted: September 24, 2005 05:36 am

Tifoso Doc

Group: Members
Posts: 2879
Member No.: 5
Joined: January 19, 2004

QUOTE (lgaquino @ Sep 24 2005, 01:28 AM)

Alex Yoong crashing into a already crashed (duhh) verstappen !! how funnier could it be?!

read properly

Battleraycer

Posted: September 24, 2005 10:13 am

Alpha's Great Granddad

Group: Members
Posts: 1540
Member No.: 34
Joined: February 15, 2004

QUOTE (lgaquino @ Sep 24 2005, 12:28 AM)

Alex Yoong crashing into a already crashed (duhh) verstappen !! how funnier could it be?!

As Ebi said: ready properly.
I'm really looking forward to this thing.
This is not about money. It's about racing. Give it time.

--------------------

Mini_Maestro	Posted: September 24, 2005 10:26 am
Formula 3 Driver Group: Members Posts: 790 Member No.: 593 Joined: February 14, 2005	when you have cars 6 - 12 seconds off the lead pace i am scared to think how quickly they will be lapped......some people just shouldnt be driving. -------------------- [

J i m	Posted: September 24, 2005 11:07 am
Sir Jim! (alf1 PM) Group: Members Posts: 2984 Member No.: 27 Joined: February 15, 2004	Yeah, especially in a single chassis/engine make, control tyre formula as well. Really spread of laptimes should be no more than a couple of seconds. -------------------- go on... click on my sig, you know you want to. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Max West	Posted: September 24, 2005 11:26 am
Go-Kart Driver Group: Members Posts: 200 Member No.: 15 Joined: February 15, 2004	Go SA go...hehe. -------------------- ::: GPLRank: -40.508[/URL] \| Vader Trophy :::

jre_f1	Posted: September 24, 2005 12:56 pm
Formula 3 Driver Group: Members Posts: 922 Member No.: 500 Joined: September 16, 2004	God, how slow are they??? The F3 cars do lap times about 2 seconds off those times. A top speed of 156mph, someone is having a laugh! You could get more top speed out of a hand drill.

lgaquino	Posted: September 24, 2005 05:34 pm
IamNotJamieMason Group: Members Posts: 1203 Member No.: 304 Joined: May 11, 2004	oh alex didn't crash, nevertheless verstappen did and it's still funny. didn't he said earlier "now i'll have a capable of winning the championship" or something like that? -------------------- This is not my signature

Ebi	Posted: September 24, 2005 05:47 pm
Tifoso Doc Group: Members Posts: 2879 Member No.: 5 Joined: January 19, 2004	...

Kris	Posted: September 24, 2005 06:35 pm
m00f! Group: Members Posts: 4690 Member No.: 48 Joined: February 15, 2004	FFS read the damn article! -------------------- m00f!

Gav	Posted: September 24, 2005 06:57 pm
F1 Driver Group: Members Posts: 6642 Member No.: 4 Joined: January 19, 2004	Guys... remember English isn't the native tongue for all of us... I it's not for you 2 either, but some know it better than others... -------------------- VaderTrophy.com

Kris	Posted: September 24, 2005 07:32 pm
m00f! Group: Members Posts: 4690 Member No.: 48 Joined: February 15, 2004	Well, didnt mean it as an insult if it looked that way... -------------------- m00f!

Absolute

Posted: September 24, 2005 10:53 pm

Formula 3 Driver

Group: Members
Posts: 538
Member No.: 250
Joined: April 14, 2004

Well New Zealand is doing well so I'll tune in for the race.

Piquet though looks like the class of the field - he didn't even have to go out for his final qualifying run.

Final qualifying results:

QUOTE

1.� Brazil� � � � � 2:30.789� � ��
2.� New Zealand� �� 2:31.117 +� 0.328
3.� France� � � � � 2:31.206 +� 0.417
4.� Australia� � �� 2:31.388 +� 0.599
5.� Great Britain�� 2:31.714 +� 0.925
6.� Switzerland� �� 2:31.729 +� 0.940
7.� Mexico� � � � � 2:32.307 +� 1.518
8.� Pakistan� � � � 2:32.596 +� 1.807
9.� Malaysia� � � � 2:32.632 +� 1.843
10.� Japan� � � � �� 2:32.689 +� 1.900
11.� Portugal� � � � 2:32.705 +� 1.916
12.� Ireland� � � �� 2:32.811 +� 2.022
13.� Germany� � � �� 2:32.981 +� 2.192
14.� Netherlands� �� 2:33.075 +� 2.286
15.� South Africa� � 2:33.086 +� 2.297
16.� Italy� � � � �� 2:33.234 +� 2.445
17.� Usa� � � � � �� 2:33.317 +� 2.528
18.� Indonesia� � �� 2:33.424 +� 2.635
19.� India� � � � �� 2:34.126 +� 3.337
20.� Czech Republic� 2:34.786 +� 3.997
21.� Canada� � � � � 2:36.656 +� 5.867
22.� Austria� � � �� 2:36.878 +� 6.089
23.� Lebanon� � � �� 2:37.104 +� 6.315
24.� China� � � � �� 2:38.750 +� 7.961
25.� Russia� � � � � 2:41.303 + 10.514

Because this is a composite the slowest is only 5 seconds a lap off, with most within 2 seconds. They SHOULD think about bringing in a minimum qualifying time though.

0 User(s) are reading this topic (0 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)

0 Members:

« Next Oldest | General Motorsport | Next Newest »

Pages: (4) [1] 2 3 ... Last »