Rule changes for 2008/09 season

A1GP organisers have made several changes to the series' regulations for this season, including the addition of a mandatory pit stop to the Sprint Race

Steven English Aug 11, 2008, 10:04 AM

Teams will now have to pit between laps four and eight of the Sprint, with the race distance being increased from 19 to 24 minutes plus one lap.

"We never stop looking for ways to improve the action," said A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira. "The two pit stops in the Feature Race have proved to be the high-pressure points of the events and we felt an additional one would add another variable to the Sprint Race."

The points system has also been changed for the Sprint Race with rewards reduced to the top eight places, scored at 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. The Feature Races will remain the same length with the same 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system.

Each qualifying session has been reduced from 15 to 10 minutes to increase the pressure on the drivers to produce a lap.

The series organisers have also removed the age limit from the two 30-minute Friday practice sessions for rookies and developing nations.