A1GP Season Opener Delayed
A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has moved A1GP Mugello, Italy from the opening round of the 2008/09 championship following a delay in the build schedule of the new chassis. The first time all the nations will be seen in action will now be on the 4 – 5 October at A1GP Zandvoort, Netherlands.
The series set itself a tight schedule with less than 11 months to design, build and test the new car and make sure all the teams received identical machinery. Any delays in the schedule were always going to impact on the ability to deliver to all the teams.
“It was always going to be an optimistic programme but we were confident we could achieve it. This in no way reflects on the work undertaken by the technical team and our partners, as it was due to circumstances beyond their control. I also want to thank all our technical partners for their support during our intensive testing programme, and especially Ferrari for the supply of engines,” said A1GP Chief Executive Officer, Pete da Silva.
“We now have to concentrate on what we have ahead of us rather than behind. We still have some great announcements to make. In the near future we shall be able to announce our full race calendar, as well as some deals that will enhance the overall package we are presenting to our fans for Season Four,” said da Silva.
Interesting… for what’s not said. This delay is a far cry from a short few days ago when series officials were touting the structural integrity of the new car and only cited “a small number of engine software issues to finalise” before the start of the season.
Maybe I’m looking to deep and it’s only “a delay in the build schedule,” unrelated to any technical issue, but you have to wonder why. The car is nothing more than an old and tried and true Ferrari design why the hell wasn’t in the hands of the teams at a date they could complete the build process?
Marc? I’ve looked hard on the net to find who the “third party” manufacturer of the chassis is. Wikipedia refers to a third party Italian builder who will construct the Ferrari design.
I don’t think it is Dallara, which makes me wonder who is responsible for the contract. I recall at the time, Lola, boasted that the initial order was the largest ever for a single seater. So if it was not an established force like Lola or Dalllara maybe that is why there is a problem with the build quality.
The only company that comes to mind is Coloni who built the original Nissan powered car for what is now the Renault World series. However I dont see them being anywhere near big enough to tender for this job.
I wonder if some favourite son of Ferrari has scored the consultancy work & screwed up the out sourcing? Strange things have happened in one make series.
I’ve looked also and haven’t found much.
The closest clue come from A1’s site where they are quoted as saying, “Italian sportscar name Ferrari to manufacture and supply all A1GP engines and consult on the design and manufacture of all A1GP chassis from this season.”
That leads me to believe you’re right, the outsourcing was bungled.
As I say it’s not the first time a one-make formula has screwed a launch. The opening round of the initial GP2 season, 2005, was a disaster.
Instead of going with a carbon industries or brembo brake the powers that be selected another manufacturer. Only problem was they had no motorsport background…..they made brake disc & calipers for jet aircraft.