A1GP (ZANDFOORT) - '07/'08 SEASON SEASON PREVIEW

A1GP.com season preview Saturday, September 29, 2007 The waiting is almost over. The teams are ready. The drivers are ready. Zandvoort is ready.

The 2007/08 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season kicks of at Circuit Park Zandvoort this weekend, and every indication is that this season will be the closest yet.

Here is A1GP.com’s exclusive season preview of every nation’s prospects for Season Three. Remember to come back to A1GP.com throughout the season, the only official website for A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.

A1 Team Australia The team famous for using the most drivers in A1GP history – seven over the past two seasons – has changed strategy, by declaring early on in the close season that the car would have just one main driver. In 22-year-old Ian Dyk they have someone with the talent and raw pace you’d expect, if not the experience yet. However, he has shown well so far. He completed a few rookie sessions in 2006/07 before being given the chance to race in Mexico, where he instantly delivered, finishing third in the Sprint race. He knows only a few of the tracks so he has a steep learning curve ahead of him, but expect Australia to shine towards the middle of the season, if not before. A1 Team Brazil The driver line-up of Sergio Jininez, Raphael Matos and Bruno Junqueira could cause problems of a good kind – with it likely to be extremely difficult for seat holder Emerson Fittipaldi to see who gets the chance on race day. Matos has just dominated the Champ Car Atlantic Series in the United States, and Junqueira’s pedigree in American open wheel championships is the envy of many of his rivals. Bolstered by the addition of Argo Racing to run its technical operations this season, Brazil will be odds on to quickly end its current 42-race winless streak – the longest of any previous winners in A1GP.

A1 Team Canada A bold new livery is only matched by A1 Team Canada’s ambition with its new technical team. Instead of working with Great Britain, Canada will now sit by Ireland in the pit lane and share data, which while taking time to bed in, it should eventually produce the goods. Add to that new chief engineer John Booth, and what he doesn’t know about racing car set-up frankly isn’t worth knowing. On the driving side, James Hinchcliffe and Robert Wickens have been friends since their karting days, and should know how to extract the best from each other’s driving.

A1 Team China Along with India, China could be one of the major improvers in Season Three. It already came on leaps and bounds last season, vaulting from 22nd to 15th in the final standings, helped by that famous podium in the Feature race in Australia. But it is the pre-season test pace of Congfu Cheng which gives the new-liveried team reason to be optimistic. Cheng was running at the top of the timesheets for a large chunk of last week’s test, and was only beaten in the final seconds thanks to new-tyre runs from India and New Zealand. A maiden race victory must surely be a realistic target.

A1 Team Czech Republic It was a bold a decision to appoint Erik Janis as the Czech Republic’s lead driver before he even turned a wheel in an A1GP car – but such was seat holder Antonin Charouz’s belief in the 20-year-old. Janis, by his own admission, is on a steep learning curve in the first few rounds, but is thankful that the second meeting is being held in his home nation in Brno, a track he knows ‘like the back of his hand.’ Janis has already been doing the chat-show circuit back home and has become a celebrity since his appointment but will also have his brother – Jarek Janis – to help tutor him and keep his found on the ground. The team could surprise.

A1 Team France The inaugural champion suffered a surprising fall from grace last season. Going into the campaign as favourite again to capture the crown, the French team failed to record a single victory, despite coming off the back of 13 wins in 2005/06. However, it wasn’t through the lack of trying – or frankly pace. Nicolas Lapierre and new recruit Loic Duval both ran towards the front last season and with a bit more luck, the team should be challenging for race victories again. The addition of Nicolas Prost, son of four-time Formula One world champion Alain Prost, as a full time rookie will aid their cause.

A1 Team Germany The first official test of the off-season proved to everyone that no matter who is in the A1 Team Germany car, it will be running at the sharp end. Last season’s rookie Christian Vietoris takes over from Nico Hulkenberg as the squad’s main driver, but other than that, little has changed. Despite being just 18, Vietoris’ experience and track knowledge in A1GP is already strong, shown by his rookie sessions and the two Mexico races he competed in last season. Not many have heard of him but don’t be fooled by his natural talent – be honest, had you heard of Hulkenberg this time last season?

A1 Team Great Britain Why are so many tipping Great Britain to be crowned champion when we get to Brands Hatch next May? It’s a combination of factors boosted by the incredible head of stream the team seemed to be on at the final stretch of last season. In just six races, the three victories, three runner-up positions and three pole-positions it scored tell their own story. In Robbie Kerr and Oliver Jarvis, Great Britain is the only team that can boast two former race winners in its squad this season, the technical team is settled and works well. Frankly, a championship assault is not only likely, it is expected.

A1 Team India India has come on leaps and bounds since A1GP began, and its pace during the off-season suggests that not only will it improve on its 16th place finish in Season Two, but it will even be the dark horse for championship honours. Despite missing out on one of the three-and-a-half-days of Silverstone testing due to illness, Narain Karthikeyan was strong enough to record the fastest overall lap of Silverstone’s National circuit sending shockwaves throughout the paddock. It was India’s first time on top of any official A1GP practice, qualifying or race session – and judging by this, it won’t be the last.

A1 Team Indonesia Indonesia has opted for a fresh approach on the driving side, calling up Satrio Hermanto to the red and white car this season. Being new to A1GP, Hermanto has much to learn, however, his experience in the Asian V6 championship means he knows tracks like Sepang and will be one of the lucky few to have any kind of track knowledge when A1GP heads to Zhuhai, China in December. The team has been quietly impressed with the 23-year-old in testing, and improving upon the team’s current race best of a fifth-place finish is more than achievable this season.

A1 Team Italy While Great Britain were taking the plaudits towards the end of the season as the form team, Italy was also making strides only fractionally further behind. Finishing the year off with a brace of podiums at Brands Hatch, lead driver Enrico Toccacelo put this down to the team finally understanding how to use the tyres better to get a stronger qualifying set-up, which ultimately manifested into race results. The 28-year-old will again lead the team this year, and with a trio of promising young rookies set to play a part, Italy is more than likely to add to the maiden victory to the one it scored in Beijing last season.

Belmayne A1 Team Ireland Much mystery surrounds the driver line-up for the third season of A1GP in the Irish pit, with so far, only Ralph Firman’s recall for the opening round at Zandvoort this weekend actually having been confirmed by the team. GP2 racer Adam Carroll has tested in the emerald-green car in the off-season, but nothing has been announced yet as to whether or not he will take part in any races in Season Three. Whatever happens, the team knows it underachieved in 2006/07, and will have to work hard to get back towards the front when the season kicks off this weekend. Chances are though, it will get there.

A1 Team Lebanon Lebanon has the unenviable distinction of being the only team yet to score a points finish - but expect that to change in 2007/08. A new technical relationship with Argo Racing, headed up by former A1 Team New Zealand’s Trevor Bale should point to a stable engineering set-up and promising drivers are starting to come through the ranks. Khalil Beschir, a favourite on A1GP.com’s Fan Zone should get more racing miles and new recruit Chris Alajajian has also shown impressive pace in pre-season testing. Lebanon might not be a traditional motorsport nation, but expect it to mix it with the big boys on more than one occasion this season.

A1 Team Malaysia The reason why Malaysia wasn’t higher than sixth in last season’s overall standings was essentially down to consistency. Alex Yoong, who will after this weekend stand alone as the most capped A1GP driver racing in the series, was devastating when the team was on-song, especially with victories in the Czech Republic and Mexico. However, there were other occasions when the results didn’t quite come, and the main focus will be to have more days racing at the sharp end. With the team having recruited wisely on the engineering side during the off-season, the bright yellow car is set to be a threat far more often this year.

A1 Team Mexico Mexico has always been one the names synonymous with motorsport heritage, and provides arguably A1GP’s toughest circuit, with the awesome flat-out Peraltada corner. Its race team has enjoyed success in A1GP over the past two seasons but has yet to add to the splendid double victory it took at Laguna Seca, USA in 2006. The team has tested a number of drivers over the summer, with Esteban Gutierrez looking particularly skilful despite his 16 years. Former race winner Salvador Duran will start the season.

A1 Team Netherlands The awesome new livery of the A1 Team Netherlands car was designed by a fan who won an off-season A1GP.com competition. Beating off designs from more than 1,000 others, he will now get to watch this weekend’s season opener from the pit garage. Inside the car, Jeroen Bleekemolen now has the experience to add to his undoubted talent. Thrown into the car days before last season’s opener at Zandvoort he took the lead and eventually finished fourth – imagine what he can do now he’s actually had some racing and testing under his belt.

A1 Team New Zealand In Jonny Reid, New Zealand has one of the most talented racing drivers in A1GP – and he finally came good last season. With three wins, the third of which included a brilliant pass on Great Britain’s Robbie Kerr for victory, Reid has now earned the number one status in the team he so richly deserves. That combined with the runner-up finish the team scored last season will mean however that Reid will have to deal with considerable pressure and expectation as Black Beauty goes all out to secure its first A1GP crown. Reid should be more than up to that task however, and expect New Zealand to be up there when we hit Brands Hatch next May.

A1 Team Pakistan Pakistan has chosen to go back to basics for Season Three, with the recalling of 22-year-old Adam Khan as lead driver. While Nur Ali last season was one of the nicest characters to have around, Khan’s previous A1GP results means he has been selected to get behind the wheel again. Remember, he finished seventh in the inaugural race at Brands Hatch in 2005, and scored the squad’s best result to date in the Shanghai Feature race in April 2006. The green and white car has been up nearer the front in testing over the summer, so expect progress and perhaps even podium finishes this season.

A1 Team Portugal Portugal rejoined A1GP half way through last season, and immediately impressed with a fifth-place finish in Durban, and those additional races will no doubt help heading into 2007/08. Working with Great Britain on technical matters, 22-year-old lead driver Joao Urbano can call upon the expertise of two A1GP race winners in Robbie Kerr and Oliver Jarvis – something no other team is able to offer. Urbano will admit he has much to learn this season, but his one outing in Shanghai last season proved he has the raw ability. If the car goes as well as it looks – the new livery a stunning collection of red, white and green is arguably the best out there – it will be a winner.

A1 Team South Africa Last season, South Africa started well, taking its maiden victory in the Sprint race at Zandvoort. Sadly, it never quite reached that peak again, and its cause wasn’t helped by lead driver Adrian Zaugg needing to have surgery on his forearms and being unavailable for selection for a large chunk of last season. When he did race Zaugg’s racecraft was mesmerising and his form in pre-season testing shows that perhaps more race wins are on the cards this season. The results of last season’s technical alliance with A1 Team France should help finally yield more consistent results too.

A1 Team Switzerland The addition of James Robinson, who played his part in masterminding Great Britain’s run to the bronze medal position in last year’s series, will be crucial to Switzerland’s chances of success this season. Drafted in late in testing, he instantly clicked with driver Neel Jani to record the third fastest time in the final test. Sebestien Buemi also proved last season that the team can call upon a rich depth of talent to fill its car if needed. However, the bar has been set high – second in the inaugural championship means that only the A1GP title should be considered good enough for the Swiss this year.

A1 Team USA Seat holder Rick Weidinger has had a difficult choice selecting drivers, with both Jonathan Summerton and former Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice performing equally well in Silverstone testing. Both are likely to get a chance to race this year, and Rice’s inclusion in the squad is notable. Although he has been mostly been racing on ovals in the IRL IndyCar series, Rice is a former Champ Car Atlantic champion on road courses and he races sportscars regularly. Expect him to be strong, and with the flashes of pace Summerton showed towards the end of last season, surely 2007/08 is the season when A1 Team USA records its first victory.