http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20040930/i/r3394022851.jpg

Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum of Dubai unveils the A1 Grand Prix car in London's Trafalgar Square, September 30. 2004. The UK, South Africa, China, Portugal, Pakistan and the Lebanon were announced on Thursday as the first six countries to have secured their national seats for the inaugural event in the one-make championship which is due to be held in Dubai in autumn 2005. REUTERS/Hugo

Interesting to know! Oddly enuf, They have put a very similar looking car on the Ground level at City Centre. Its black though with the U.A.E flag on the side. I saw it this morning.

Not sure if its for the A1 thing, it could possibly be some sort of a promotion for the LG super racing weekend later this month as well. :dunno:

-Face81
:jippo:

will the a1 grand prix be a series or just a single event with one race?
cars seem to be the middle-east formula 1 version

wonder when f1 will have their first race there. i guess 2006

will the a1 grand prix be a series or just a single event with one race?
cars seem to be the middle-east formula 1 version

wonder when f1 will have their first race there. i guess 2006

The A1 Grand Prix will be an annual event. So far Dubai hasnt managed to secure a spot on the international F1 circuit thanks to the antics of that Ecklestein bloke! :bash:

He feels that "One circuit in the Middle East (ie, Bahrain) is more than enough". His loss, our gain! Dubai decided to go one up on him and Bahrain and launch our own race! hahaha. So we now have 2 annual events at the Autodrome: the LG Super Racing Weekend and The A1 Grand Prix (in 2006). Its only a matter of time b4 F1 comes back to Dubai.

The last time F1 was in Dubai was back in 1981 (I was less than a year old at the time!!). They made a temporary circuit around Dubais hottest Landmark at the time: The Hyatt Regency Hotel!!!. Thousands of people came to watch the race and it was great fun! But it only happened once in Dubai, never again :cry:

Again........I have been here for WAY TOO LONG! hahaha:runaway:

-Face81
:jippo:

bernie is stupid! ;)
one race in middle east is enough! pah, nonsense!

some circuits have been in the race calendar for dozens of years and they are so boring.

i just love to see f1 racing on some new tracks and i was very excited about shanghai, but unfortunately the race was boring. but the development was great.

autodrome still has to dramatically increase the number of seats. 7000 by now. they need at least 150.000!

the lg weekend and this a1 next year is some good stuff and helps autodrome to get some recognition.

and as dubai has bought the jordan team it's their ticket for f1 in dubai

bernie is stupid! ;)
one race in middle east is enough! pah, nonsense!

some circuits have been in the race calendar for dozens of years and they are so boring.

i just love to see f1 racing on some new tracks and i was very excited about shanghai, but unfortunately the race was boring. but the development was great.

autodrome still has to dramatically increase the number of seats. 7000 by now. they need at least 150.000!

the lg weekend and this a1 next year is some good stuff and helps autodrome to get some recognition.

and as dubai has bought the jordan team it's their ticket for f1 in dubai

Yes I agree. There is a very big future for F1 in Dubai, especially with the Auto Drome, Dubai Sports City and the Ferrari Mall at the Auto Drome. Go Jordan!!!.....or errrr...........Go Dubai's Jordan! haha

-Face81
:jippo:

ferrari mall?? what the hack is this now!? :lol:

Dont you guys think that the location of the racing circuit in Dubai is very bad, as alot of Emaar residential projects are sorrounding it. It will be very noisy for the residents.

there won't be a race every week, maybe once a month, even if
it's next to arabian ranches and al barsha south, but i think even people living there won't barely hear anything

A1 Grand Prix series to be backed by Dubai royal family
By STEPHEN WADE
.c The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) - A new racing series backed by Dubai's royal family is being launched as a complement to Formula One.

Called A1 Grand Prix, the new series is set to begin a year from now with a 12-14 race calendar. The circuit is likely to kick off in Dubai, or with a street race in New York.

The series will take place in the fall and winter when F1 is idle, probably with 25-30 teams running the same engines, chassis and tires. Each team will represent a country, with the driver required to be of the same nationality.

``The royal family has the majority stake, and the money to get the thing going is unlimited,'' executive director Tony Teixeira said Thursday, announcing the first six teams from Britain, Pakistan, South Africa, Lebanon, China and Portugal.

``The royal family has an open checkbook to make this succeed.''

The majority owner is Sheik Maktoum bin Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, a nephew of Dubai's crown prince. Dubai is one of seven federations making up the United Arab Emirates, located on the southeastern tip of the oil-rich Arabian peninsula.

Sheik Maktoum said A1 Grand Prix will complement F1 and is designed to limit costs, spread auto racing away from its traditional European and North American roots and unearth new talent.

``What we've done is found a piece of the pie that no one has touched before, which is the winter months,'' Sheik Maktoum said. ``We're actually benefiting Formula One more than hindering it by opening up new markets, and developing emerging markets interested in motor sports.''

Teixeira said the first race would be Sept. 18-Oct. 5, either in Dubai or a street race in New York. He said the race schedule would be announced in November.

The United States is likely to get two races - one on each coast, he said.

09/30/04 14:05 EDT

nice i guess it's the beginning of the F1 era in Dubai :)
btw A1 is the smaller version of the F1 right ? :sly:

ferrari mall?? what the hack is this now!? :lol:

Yeah.....I read about it sometime ago.....In addition to the Autodrome, there will be a Mall themed around F1 racing and there will be a Ferrari museum too. I remember reading that sometime ago, but I cant seem to find anything official.
Them and their wacky ideas :crazy2:

-Face81
:jippo: