What is A1 (relative to cart/irl?)

A1 is a rather tangy steak sauce. I prefer Heinz 57 personally.

Honestly..... I think A1 is comparable to what we see in IROC in that all the cars are identically prepared so it's more or less a driver showcase. The chassis is provided by Lola and the engines by Zytec.

I've watched a couple races and it's not bad.

 

i mean... they cancelled an important round @ Leguna Seca that was supposed to be last sunday... so the french won because of withdraw LMAO

anyway... if anybody is familiar with the new Grand Prix Masters racing... that is easily 1000% more fun to watch... i guess its because we all know the drivers... i could hardly believe that these guys were putting in lap times like they did. i can hardly wait to see Hans Stuck, Emerson Fidapaldi, and Nigel Mansel (among many other amazing gp winners) battle it out in open wheel racing now that it seems to have gotten the 'go ahead' at thier age! god, to be a F1 driver :0

 

FYI - The race @ Laguna took place - I just watched the race today on OLN. I must say Laguna when wet is a best suited for those with big attachments (as David Hobbs would undoubtedly say)

Omar,
I think A1 is the least powerful of the lot - CART, IRL and A1 and the average age of drivers is much younger - if one excludes the odd Verstappen and Fittipaldi. I think A1 is on par with GP2 in that it is highest of the training formulae above which comes CART and IRL in the US and F1 in Europe.

The French team have been really dominant with both drivers Lapierre and Premat being the class of the field.

 

Sam - I totally agree with your comments.

Here's a few additional highlights:

A1GP -
Driver needs a "B" International FIA license; team has FIA Entrant license.
Helmet requirement is same as F1.
It's a winning Nation (25 nations) - no driver points.
Nation's tech team (pit crew) cannot exceed 10. Timing for pit stop is from entry to departure in pits.
Lola chassis - Zytek 3.4 litre V8 producing 520 bhp.
6-speed gear box with paddle shifting.
Fronts - 18" x 11"; rears 18" x 13.5".
Wheelbase = 3000 mm
Sprint race is rolling start 20-30 minutes, no pit stops.
Feature race is standing start 45-60 minute race, mandatory pit stop. Grid placement is based on results of Sprint race.
Unique to A1GP is PowerBoost Button - provides extra 30 bhp. Button is on steering wheel - to use throttle has to be +80% and speed + 60 kph. Can use button 4 x's in Sprint Race; 8 x's in Feature. Zytek engineers do reset after race.
Road courses

IRL -
Two chassis makers - Dallara and Panoz.
Honda engines.
192" minimun length.
Fronts 15" x10"; rears 15" x14".
Max cost = $309,000
Road and oval courses

CART-
2.65 litre V8 producing 750 bhp.
190" minimum length.
Road and oval courses.

There's been some really great racing throughout the season of A1GP. Looking forward to it next year (China is last race for this year). I guess my response is a dead giveaway as to the series I favor most!

Carol
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I am familiar with it, but some of those guys are way out of shape. Don't know how many races they have so far, but on the first one Mansell and Fitipaldi had a good fight but the rest of the filed was pretty spread apart.
Still it would be nice to be able to see it on TV.
If you notice those cars look VERY similar to champ CART cars, but with NA engine. I have the feeling that Lola made those cars for CART just before CART decided to go with Panoz.