A1 Grand Prix filling F1 void

[Editor's Note: With the new Superfund Series and this A1 GP series becoming true global series, how will Champ Car differentiate itself such that it can fill the void in the world demand for major motorsports events that F1 can't fill? With Champ Car contemplating a spec chassis and spec engines, they really are no different than the spec Superfund and A1 GP series. What the next Champ Car formula will be, slated for introduction in 2007, will define its place in the world order of things. ] A1 Grand Prix Championship is building up and we hear that the series will soon be ready announce an impressive calendar which will include 14 venues. The dates are expected to be between September 2005 and April 2006 and will be much more international than originally suggested. Our sources say that the first race will be taking place at Brands Hatch in England and then the series will head gradually to the warmer climates as the weather changes in Europe with stops in Estoril, Portugal, and Istanbul, Turkey. As the autumn continues the racing will move to Korea, Malaysia and Australia and there appear to be plans for a race on New Year's Day in Durban, South Africa. This will be followed by races in Brazil and Mexico and in February the series will have reached the United States, where there seem to be plans for a race on each coast, presumably one being in southern California and the other being in Florida before the series finishes off with a trio of events in Dubai, China and Japan.

The series recently increased its order of chassis and engines from 30 to 50. At the moment there are 13 countries which have signed up to be part of the series and negotiations of one sort or another are going on with another 19. This means that the field could consist of as many as 32 cars and it seems that some of the countries may run two cars in qualifying and then decide which drivers should race. Grandprix.com