[DUG-Offtopic] A1 GP (was F1 Picks Site, in main list)

[Brian Wrigley]

Hi James, Ross,  From: James Sugrue To: 'NZ Borland Developers Group - Delphi List' Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 9:53 PM Subject: RE: [DUG] OFFTOPIC: F1 Picks Site I followed the first few races, but we seem to be a bit missing of something. I have heard from reliable sources close to the team management that they are not happy that everything is as a level playing field as you might think. NZ's second engine was a lemon but apart from that they've been remarkably consistent - 7th or 8th seems to be about Matt Halliday's place in the scheme of things. He can qualify well but doesn't take enough risks to win. He made an early strong showing as other drivers and teams made more mistakes in the early rounds, and has slowly drifted backwards in the points since then.   I seem to remember Matt was a star in NZ open-wheelers as a teenager. He probably hasn't been extended enough since then and he's got conservative, winning in the middling classes instead of advancing to higher classes.   The other driver, Jonny Reid, seems to be about as fast as Matt but has only driven one or two races so it's hard to know how good he really is. If you think about it too, it doesn’t look too good if New Zealand beats all the highly fancied teams in the first year, especially considering we have no money (read sponsorship etc). I don't think there's a conspiracy here. I'm sure the Sheik would be as happy for NZ to win it as anyone. NZ's dud 2nd engine seemed to puzzle everyone, including the manufacturers. By now, though, everyone's presumably been through 5 or 6 engines and probably some are better than others but the differences between drivers are more significant. France and Switzerland seem to have been winning effortlessly and with everyone else you can see the effect of driver skill. Then, this last race, the Swiss changed their driver and came nowhere. So maybe the French guys, and Switzerland's first driver, really are that much better that they make it seem easy. It’s a pity that Scott Dixon couldn’t race as he was significantly faster than the current drivers when he tested by all accounts. Actually, he was a little slower in the timings I've seen - but he only had a handful of laps. He's a proven champion in a tougher class of racing though; if he'd been driving our car in the A1 this year I'd expect him to have won the championship. It augurs well for the A1 that drivers of his calibre want to drive in it, and I think that next year it'll attract a much stronger field of drivers, now that the concept has been proven. Anyway it’s a good concept with a few of the drivers from the early races involved in and around F1 now – either driving or testing and I think it will continue to grow, but can’t see it worrying F1 in the next few years anyway. A1 is for the countries to compete with each other, F1 is for the manufacturers to develop and test new technology that eventually trickles down and benefits all motorists. They're different championships with different aims and philosophies and neither of them ought to feel threatened by the other.     From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ross Levis Sent: Monday, 13 March 2006 9:40 p.m. To: NZ Borland Developers Group - Delphi List Subject: Re: [DUG] OFFTOPIC: F1 Picks Site   Has anyone been following the A1GP?  The world cup of motorsport.  I prefer this over F1 since it is nation against nation and of course we have a NZ car and driver who is doing a reasonable job.   Matt Haliday lead for some of yesterdays race in the US and would have won it if he hadn't spun twice in the wet.  He was on podium in the inaugural race in the UK last year.   It was the final race in the series and we finished 6th on the points table after being 3rd on the table for a few months.  There were car issues for several races which took us down the standings.  I look forward to the next series later in the year. There's one more race, in Shanghai in 3 weeks. The championship has been decided - no-one can now catch France for the lead or Switzerland for 2nd and Great Britain is all but safe in 3rd - but the next 4 or 5 placings are very close and will depend on who has a good day.   Brian

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