A1GP: The Curse of a New Car
Filed under: Thoughts on October 1, 2008
I’ve always been a fan of A1GP. Despite operating at a loss of $212 million USD during the initial season, they somehow maintain the appearance of a series that is actually in good health.
And so, as A1GP begins its fourth season, it is a shame that things are coming apart at the seams. The new, F1-derived Ferrari car was financially delayed to the point that many teams (including A1 Team GBR) are not prepared for the season opener at Zandvort this weekend. Rather than a catastrophic cancellation, the opening round is set to become a non-points scoring round with a less than capacity field.
Suggesting the demise of A1GP, however, is almost certainly premature. CEO Tony Texiera and 52% share-holders RAB Capital plc appear to have deep pockets, after all, A1GP can’t possibly be forecasting a profit anytime soon.
So I wonder: was it sensible for A1GP to introduce its new car? And was there ever a need, anyway? With manufacturer-backed series, continuity between the showroom and the race track is important. But A1GP, surely, is about spectacle? And what difference, really, does the car make to the spectacle, to the show?
What parallels can we draw from history? What other series have risked financial stability for the sake of a new car and ultimately later, paid the price?
Champ Car World Series, immeadiately springs to mind. In 2008, following just one season with their new Panoz chassis, Champ Car filed bankruptcy and prompted the reunification of open-wheel racing in the US.
Closer to home, in 2006, the SEAT Cupra Cup (UK) introduced its “new” shape Leon. Arguably necessary in order to maintain brand continuity, it struggled to attract grids comparable with previous seasons. Inevitably, the series will no longer be run in the UK.
What other examples can you think of?
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Comments
Asp
October 2nd, 2008
I often have concerns about A1GP. See the (many) cancelled rounds in past years – and let’s not mention to continual cock-up that was the Beijing street race.
They always seem to pull themselves through it though. Let’s hope they can continue this – even if it looks set to be a short season, with other rounds in question…
BTW, latest news on Zandvort is that it will be points scoring round, but there’ll be dropped scores from 1 round at the end of the season. For GBR, they’ve already not got much choice which round to drop…
Justin D
October 3rd, 2008
The change of car was an interesting one, and one I assume that was financially incentivised by Ferrari. Of course they well be paying top wacky for the cars in the hope the Ferrari name can add some credibility to the championship, which sounds ike a waste of money.
A1 will have a harder time than ever now with the advent of Superleague as well as the new F2 series (which, illogically, the FIA has licensed to compete directly against its other feeder series, GP2). Motorsport seems to be ever more populated by overpriced series, and with the prospect of a difficult financial climate there promises to be a few casualties in this market.
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