Full Throttle

This one’s wild hold onto your hats (and helmets).

There has been a rumor floated about A1Team USA being bought out by Andretti (of Andretti Green Racing) AND fielding the team with Marco Andretti, and Danica Patrick during the winter months.

I don’t really buy the story although it would be a good way for AGR to stay active during IndyCar’s off season. And it damn sure couldn’t hurt A1 Team USA, anything is an improvement over the teams mostly mid-pack finishes over the last three years.

I might even buy, if only a little, keeping Marco active and on track during the winter, but The Danica? I fail to see that possibility, she’s been pretty adamant and downright giddy about the relatively short IndyCar season, one of the primary reasons I believe she didn’t complete the jump to NASCAR.

UPDATE: Maybe there’s more fire under this rumor than the smoke I saw. YAUMB, who’s sources I trust infinitely more than other outlets I’ve read this, writes Mike Andretti is going to buy out the “Green” in AGR and renaming the team Andretti-Savoree Racing. Part of the buyout will be the rumored takeover of A1GP Team USA.

Anyway, and leaving rumorville for reality, there have been a few changes as A1GP enters its fourth season of competition.

The biggest change of course is the car itself as it features a new Ferrari designed powerplant and body that is essentially a Ferrari clone of a few seasons ago.

The sporting regs have been slightly modified as well. The Sprint Race distance has been lengthened from 9 to 24 minutes plus one lap and a second mandatory pitstop has been added that must be completed between laps four and eight.

A note on the new car: During the recent test session at Magny-Cours Patrick Friesacher had a crash caused by a suspension failure.

The ex-Formula One driver crashed heavily at the high-speed Estoril curve when the right-rear top wishbone failed. He suffered three crushed vertebrae which was believed to have been caused by a heavy landing.

The component breakage is why the scheduled pre-season test at Silverstone for all the A1Teams had been canceled, only the test cars will now use this session, with testing now moved on to Donington Park September 9-11 2008.

John Wickham, A1GP’s technical director told Autosport: “The component that failed had been on the car since the beginning of the test program and had already covered 5000km. That is part of the reason we go testing.”

In team news A1 Team Korea join the series this year for the first time. The team will operate under the Carlin Motorsport banner who previously collaborated with A1Teams Japan, Portugal and Lebanon.

The primary driver will be Hwang Jin-Woo, 25, a former single-seat racer who currently competes in the Japanese Super GT Series. He will be backed up by promising 18-year-old driver Sung-Hak Mun, who currently races in the UK in Formula Renault.

There have also been unconfirmed reports of both A1 Team Japan and Russia returning to the series. Also unconfirmed is A1 Teams Lebanon and Pakistan leaving the series.

The 2008-09 schedule fololows and you will note the U.S. is again missing for the second consecutive season. (Stupid! - ed) Just as idiotic, Australia has also been dropped from the schedule for the first time since series inception.

Mugello, Italy 19 - 21 September 2008.
Zandvoort, Netherlands 03 - 05 October 2008.
Jakarta, Indonesia 07 - 09 November 2008.
Sepang, Malaysia November 2008.
China 12 - 14 December 2008.
New Zealand, Taupo 23 - 25 January 2009.
South Africa 20 - 22 February 2009.
Mexico City, Mexico 13 - 15 March 2009.
TBA 27 - 29 March 2009.
Algarve, Portugal 10 - 12 April 2009.
A1GP Great Britain (Silverstone or Brands Hatch?) 01 - 03 May 2009.

Cross posted @ Asian Motor Sports

Technorati Tags: Carlin Motorsports, A1 Team Japan, A1GP, World Cup of Motorsport