Courtesy A1GP World Cup of MotorsportA1GP Rookie drivers will be the first to be seen in action when the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport take to the race tracks for each weekend of its 2006/2007 season. There will be two 25 minute sessions early on Friday afternoon for the series least experienced drivers.
For season two the organisers of the series have been looking at ways not only to improve the already popular weekend package, but also to give young up and coming drivers the chance to compete against older, more established names. Commenting on the new initiative A1GP Deputy Chairman, Tony Teixeira, said: “The idea of the level playing field is something we want to expand on. We appreciate most of the young drivers have never driven anything as powerful as the A1GP car before, so some extra time to get used to the car and the track can be invaluable. I have seen these youngsters are quick learners, so expect this extra track time will help them make a mark very quickly when they are joined by the other drivers for the final Friday session.”
The definition of a Rookie is a driver who is under 25-years-old and is a newcomer to the series or has competed in no more than three races in total. A driver who certainly qualifies for this is James Hinchcliffe who, at 19-years-old, will be driving for A1 Team Canada.
Hinchcliffe commented: “I know I’m going to be one of the younger guys debuting at Zandvoort but I’m viewing this as a phenomenal benchmark to test my abilities due to the sheer quality in A1GP’s driver line-up, it’s exciting to have the opportunity to measure myself against some of the older guys and their depth of experience. For me, being a rookie in A1GP isn’t so bad as it’s only the second season of competition that’s about to start, it’s not like I’ll be up against guys with years of experience in these cars”.
A1 Team New Zealand Seat Holder, Colin Giltrap, has been a supporter of young racing talent from his country and he was delighted with this initiative by A1GP. ‘New Zealand has produced some world-class drivers over the years and the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport is a hugely competitive environment to challenge, and further hone, the skills of the next generation of stars. The development of talent helps increase our driver depth and also helps boost the experience, skills and profiles of young drivers on a global stage.’
The race weekend on track programme will now start on the Friday with a Rookie Session from 13.00 to 13.25. There will then be a ten minute gap before the final Rookie Session from 13.35 to 14.00. The final session of the day with all the drivers will be from 16.00 to 17.00. On Saturday all the drivers will then take part in the third free practice from 11.00 to 12.00 and the four qualifying sessions which will be from 14.15 to 14.30, 14.35 to 14.50, 14.55 to 15.10 and 15.15 to 15.30. On Sunday the Sprint race, which will have a rolling start, will start at 11.00 and the standing start Feature Race, with a mandatory pit stop, will start at 15.00.
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