08/10/2005
NEWS STORY
Although the team behind the A1 Grand Prix series has done a remarkable job in putting together a truly global motorsport series in just eighteen months, there is still obviously more to be done.
Pitpass has championed the series since day one, and knows that in time it will capture the general public's imagination, especially if Brands Hatch was a true appetiser.
However, there are still many out there that are not sold on the idea of a World Cup of Motorsport, and regard the series as big on hype, short on substance.
Today, despite the assurances from the organizers, we have once again witnessed a serious technical failure, which left the commentators, fans, teams and drivers thoroughly confused. The failure of the timing system even had the highly professional Ben Edward admitting that he was "struggling for information".
Much as we appreciate that this is a brand new series and that there are bound to be 'glitches', others will not be as forgiving.
The (complicated) qualifying format is based on aggregate times, and therefore it is vital that the correct information is available instantly, in order that fans - especially those new to motorsport - can follow the action. If the failures continue the fans will begin to lose faith.
We repeat, we understand that this is a new series, but we are talking about a sport in which there is no room for sentiment.
It's clear that there are a number of technical issues with the cars also, mainly electrical, however we have every faith that these are being rectified even as we write this.
However, for a series that proclaimed itself to be "motortainment", the timing systems failures must become a thing of the past.