Again I ask: anybody watching A1 Grand Prix?

[HarryPara]

I realize that many readers of this forum are not able to easily get the race broadcasts, but due to geographical good fortune (living in SE Asia), I've seen all 3 races so far and I must say it is some entertaining stuff.

The cars are powerful and twitchy enough that they get out of shape real easily so there's plenty of overtaking. They race on great roadcourses (Brands Hatch, Lausitz, and Estoril so far). The drivers run the skillz gamut from serious young talents (Piquet Jr., Neel Jani, the French guys) all the way down to Jos Graveltrappen. The predominant driving style leans toward the extremely aggressive. Starts and pitstops are dramatic hit-and-miss affairs (pun unintended), tire wear is an issue towards the end of a race, they have a "push to pass" button, and last but not least, all the drivers are racing for national pride.

If it's available in your area I suggest giving it a look... damn fine entertainment value for the motorsports fanatic IMHO.

Website is here:

http://www.a1gp.com/main.php?hf=Yes

[No.4]

I heard there was some exiting racing, but I never saw a race, not even recorded, not to mention live....

[McB]

I tried watching the race On Demand from the website, but it buffers and stalls a lot...

[PlayersRacing99]

i dl the races and i must say they are entertaining... only if speed could get it.. but they wont since they are still beating off to nascar :furious:

[Beto]

I watched the sprint race at Portugal. Scott Speed had a very busy day trying to pass the car from Germany. Pretty good racing. It's shame the stands were empty. It seems they had the same problem in Germany.

[TheAngryDwarf]

A1GP will have to be a support series to CC to really gain momentum.
I don't think it is about the racing per se, but the dollars from the viewing public.

Sounds like alot of fun, but I think the paying public has already chosen their racing series to watch, and therefore spend their dollars.

Im gonna try to get to Laguna, if they go, to see the race. It may need buzz from the general public to catch on.

[HarryPara]

Given the fact that this is a brand new series it's not too surprising that they aren't packing the venues full just yet, although I believe they had a fair turnout at Brands. There will be races in places as far flung as Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Dubai, and China, so A1GP can really be considered an international deal. It's obvious they're not that concerned about the American viewing audience, realizing that most folks Stateside neither understand nor care about international formula car racing. I'm not sure that positioning themselves as a support series for CC is where A1GP needs to be, given that the car specs and driver talent levels are roughly on an equal par, and the variety of racing venues is arguably superior in A1.

I do wish they'd carry the series on Speed, but as someone already said, they're so far up Nascar's azz they haven't seen daylight in years.

[Peter76]

I will be watching their next race in November @ Eastern Creek. Aussie F3s will also be there as a parent series as well. :)

[BZJoe]

How can you see the races on-demand? I can't find anything on the website..

[BZJoe]

Found Portugal at:

www.a1gp.com/media

For anyone interested...

[BucketBoy]

I haven't downloaded Portugal yet - but I've watched the first 4 races (2 events) - and the series is awesome!

I've had no problems with streaming -- it's very fast & stable for me (9Mbps cable).

[McB]

Am I missing the links to the "on demand" versions of the races prior to Portugal (which I finally was able to watch without buffering and stalls)?

Love how they went on and on about their push to pass like it was some big revelation or invention. I'm sure Champcar didn't invent it either, but its hardly unique to A1GP like they claimed.

[Peter76]

I love how they get the cars nice and tight right for the lineup right before the start of the race.... Just trying to see them make it all through the first turn is an adrenaline rush... :)

[BucketBoy]

Am I missing the links to the "on demand" versions of the races prior to Portugal (which I finally was able to watch without buffering and stalls)?No, AFAIK there is no 'archive' of races - the last race is up until the next race weekend.

[Craptain Quirk]

Just checked out Portugal. Interesting. Seems like they have trouble passing too. Just not quite enough horsepower either.

Cars look pretty strange. Is the wheel track really that narrow or was the video somewhat horizontally compressed? Front wing attachment is unattractive and the fins on the air boxes are downright :barf:
Lack of downforce makes 'em a real handfull to drive, good driver test.

All in all though, good field, lots of action and better than I expected.

[BucketBoy]

^ Yeah it's squished..
IIRC the first 2 races looked normal in Media Player, but when I dumped it to my HD so I could burn it and watch it on tv, I had to adjust the ratio to 16:9, then add a 'letterbox' effect to make it 4:3 for my TV. Works out nice.. not sure why they have it squished though..

Cars are weird looking - I'll agree with you there. But there is plenty of passing opportunities - this series really looks one where the driver skill is the difference.

[Cigar2]

Nope, Cause I'm still on dial-up. To bad we don't have Speedvision No More. They wold hve carried this along with GP Masters.

[turn5]

Nope, Cause I'm still on dial-up. To bad we don't have Speedvision No More. They wold hve carried this along with GP Masters.

You mean you don't watch the Hooters Pro Cup?

[TheMapman]

^^^North and South division baby!!! You mean you all aren't fans of Bobby Gill?
http://bobbygillracing.com/images/Gill_Lakeland-195.jpg

BTW, when is the green (EST or CST) for the A1GP down under?

[HarryPara]

^^If you check out the website they've got a countdown to the green flag. Oddly enough there doesn't seem to be a schedule anywhere, though.

And how about the noted Whinedretti-Greed hIRL jockey Brian Herta blazing to 22nd place on the grid behind those motor racing juggernauts China, Pakistan, and Lebanon?

[McB]

^^If you check out the website they've got a countdown to the green flag. Oddly enough there doesn't seem to be a schedule anywhere, though.

And how about the noted Whinedretti-Greed hIRL jockey Brian Herta blazing to 22nd place on the grid behind those motor racing juggernauts China, Pakistan, and Lebanon?

Geez, didn't take him long to forget how to brake and turn right.

Will the Laguna wonder be racing there should that actually materialize?

How about a hand brake and throttle equipped car for Alex so he can whoop Hertas ass again? :D

[TheMapman]

Says right on the front page, Saturday 9:30 PM in New York (i.e. EST).

Who are the mechanics and engineers on Team USA? Special Ed's old IPS crew? This is pathetic (of course, why did they put Herta in the car before Laguna Seca?).

[HarryPara]

Oopsy... I guess they updated the front page since I last visited.

The USA team owner used to be an owner in the hIRL -- that should explain the dismal showings. I don't remember his name or what team he owned, WGAF, but his A1GP effort sure is making the Americans look foolish. They even hired Scott Sharp, God only knows what for. The only bright spot for the USA is their regular driver Scott Speed, but the kid can't carry the whole team on his back.

[racerjeff]

I would to see a race and make my own call on it. From what i have read it looks decent.What i want to know will they show GP Masters? I am sick of NASCRAP on Speed.

[Dan Belcher]

Watched the race at Eastern Creek last night via a1gp.com and their live streaming video feed (even though the aspect ratio on the video was wrong making the cars look all skinny and even uglier than usual). Surprisingly good racing! However, the race was slowed by a long safety car period late when Team Japan's car spun off in turn 1 and had an almighty massive crash.

http://www.chrisormerod.com/gallery/photos/4/1.aspx

Despite breaking the car completely in half and breaking off the rollbar(!!!), the driver was left with just a concussion apparently. Amazingly lucky man. That crash reminded me too much of Greg Moore's the way he hit the concrete wall while flipping.

[TheMapman]

^^Yipes, they've had their share of spectacular crashes already, eh? Everyone has walked away thus far, right?

[Dan Belcher]

Yeah, a concussion and someone else today with a broken thumb is the worst injuries they've had.

[Steve99]

They should really look into that rollbar failure, even though no one got hurt. I remember a few years ago F1 improved the rollbar requirements after investigating a rollover accident occurred during a race.