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A1 Grand Prix Dubai Preview

This may be A1 Grand Prix’s biggest weekend since it’s September inaugural event at Silverstone in Great Britain. It was a short 18 months ago A1GP founder Sheikh Maktoum announced the formation of the A1 Grand Prix of Nations at the opening of this weeks venue the Dubai Autodrome.

Dubai United Arab Emirites is Maktoum’s home country and can be considered A1GP’s home as well and he has taken the opportunity to announce his plans for the future of A1GP.

For the Series’ second year there will be five new Franchises available expanding the current total of 24 to 30 participating countries in 2006/07. The UAE is expected to field one of the teams and training of six drivers for this team is already under way with plans for both a junior and a senior team.

The much speculated upon status of the Brazilian round of the A1GP series has been officially announced. Originally planned to be held at Curitiba on February 12 the event has been canceled as efforts to obtain the required F2 license from the FIA failed. There are still talks of Interlagos, a Formula One venue, assuming that date on the schedule. I expect a lot of politicin’ to go on behind the scenes. Team Brazil is managed by former F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi. Its driver Nelson Piquet Jr. a son of another World Champion sits third in the championship standings so it would be viewed as a significant loss for A1GP not to compete in Brazil.

Under the future is now category Thursday saw testing of an innovative method of removing disabled cars from the racing surface and gravel traps. Called A1 Recovery it will consist of a single-engined Swiss helicopter operated by Air Zermatt. The system passed it’s first trial and will be in operation this weekend for incidents that occur between turns 2 and 10.

Friday’s first official practice sessions took place with Team France once again showing the way. In France’s alternating scheme of drivers Nicolas Lapierre has the seat this round and led the first session by over a second with Teams Czech Republic, Italy, Ireland, and Switzerland in second through fifth. Team USA, with new driver Philip Giebler, finished the session in 22nd with a time over 2 seconds off Lapierre’s pace.

France also topped the time sheets in the second session with Teams Ireland, Switzerland, Great Britain, and Italy in trail. Team USA was again 22nd although Giebler gained 6 tenths in time but still 2 seconds behind France. Great Britian’s Robbie Kerr posted the largest improvement between sessions gaining 2 1/2 seconds and 15 spots.

In other team notes, Team Russia is again “taking a Stoli break” this week and won’t be competing. It’s their third absence in six events. Team Malaysia and former F1 Minardi driver, Alex Yoong will compete in both Sprint and Feature events this weekend. To this point Yoong and co-driver Fairuz Fauzy have alternated between the Sprint and Feature events. Yoong will fly the Malaysian Flag solo while Fauzy prepares for his wedding later this month.

2003 IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon tested his native New Zealand’s A1GP entry with an eye on competing in two North American events in Monterrey, Mexico, on Feb. 26, and Laguna Seca on March 19 (a week before the IndyCar Series opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway).

It should be an interesting “home” weekend for both the Series and Sheikh Maktoum. The expectation is many dignitaries will be filtered through the paddock including His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister.

Current Championship Standings: France 92 points, Switzerland 65, Brazil 60, New Zealand 42, Great Britain 38, Malaysia 32, Netherlands 32, Ireland 29, Portugal 29, Australia 26, Canada 20, Czech Republic 16, Mexico 16, USA 13, Italy 12, Germany 11, Japan 6, South Africa 6, Indonesia 5, Pakistan 4, Austria 1, China 0, India 0, Lebabon 0, Russia 0.

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