20/09/2005
NEWS STORY
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OK, you've booked your tickets for this weekend's A1 Grand Prix at Brands Hatch - or maybe you're one of those that can't yet decide whether to give it a try - so what can you expect?
Well, other than the main event - A1 Grand Prix - Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision team have assemble a nice collection of support races, with Formula Palmer Audi, Ferrari Formula Classic, Tag Heuer GT250, Powertrain Caterham Challenge, MSV Formula Ford 1600 Championship and AVO Ginettas, all scheduled to keep race fans happy.
On a circuit which hosted fourteen World Championship British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986, not to mention the Race of Champions, the Rothmans 50,000 and the Victory events, it is only fitting that some real Formula One Grand Prix cars will be featured, courtesy of the Thoroughbred Grand Prix series.
As for A1 GP, on Friday there are two, sixty-minute, free practice sessions, one at 13:00 and the other at 16:00.
There is another sixty-minute free practice session at 11:00 on Saturday, followed at 14:00 by qualifying.
For full details of the unique qualifying format, click here.
At 10:00 on Sunday there is a fifteen-minute warm-up, as drivers make their final preparations for the afternoon.
At 12:15 the launch ceremony begins, with the 20-30 minute sprint race scheduled to get underway at 13:30.
The sprint race features a rolling start, the grid order decided by the previous day's qualifying session.
The main event, the A1 Grand Prix, begins at 15:00 and features a standing start, the grid order decided by the finishing order for the sprint race. The main race lasts between 45-60 minutes and includes a mandatory pitstop for tyres.
Points are awarded for both races on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for cars finishing 1st to 10th. An additional point will be awarded to the team that posts the fastest lap of the day.
Around eighteen months ago, A1 Grand Prix was a germ of an idea in the mind of a well-educated, down to earth member of Dubai's ruling family. This weekend his dream becomes reality… be there, share the dream.
All grandstand seats sold out some time ago, but a whole range of other tickets are still available, to find out more, click here.