The 2008/09 A1GP Season Preview

The fourth season of A1GP gets underway at Zandvoort this weekend. The self-titled World Cup of Motorsport has always had a penchant for the unexpected, but it's something truly unique for most of the contestants themselves to have no idea what's going to happen two days before the first event gets under way.

It's easy to bang on about the delays with the new car, the cancellation of the previously-scheduled season opener at Mugello, and the fact that some nations will be missing at Zandvoort, and conclude that the series looks pretty down in the dumps. But this is A1GP, the most charismatic series around, with by far the most laid-back atmosphere. Did you really expect anything else?

Everyone will struggle through the first weekend as best they can, then, at some point, the rest of the cars will turn up and everyone will join in to have a jolly good time in some pretty spectacular locations.

As for the racing, the new car is going to have a profound affect on the spread of competitiveness down the grid. The old car was no slouch, but the new one is serious business. There will be absolutely nowhere to hide for any driver not quite up to scratch, so some of the developing nations might look a little more out of their depth than they have in previous seasons. But on the whole, it should mean the talent across the board goes up as every nation is put under pressure to strap the very best driver they can find into the seat.

How the new car will affect A1GP's tendency for the victories to be shared between plenty of nations remains to be seen. Ten different countries stood on the top step of the rostrum last season and the likes of India, Ireland, and USA will all be eager to build on their maiden successes, while countries including Portugal and Australia are still looking to record their first.

John Martin, Team Australia © XPB

There's no reason to suggest that Neel Jani and Team Switzerland won't be the ones to beat again. They're a class act and it will take another class act to beat them, under any circumstances. Loic Duval is back in the French car and will expect to take the challenge to their neighbours if he gets to contest a full season this time.

Filipe Albuquerque looked bright for Portugal towards the end of the last campaign, while Ireland, South Africa, and the Netherlands will be out to put more consistent runs together this time.

Of the previous front runners, little is known so far of the British and German teams, neither of which will be at Zandvoort, while New Zealand will be keen to challenge again but will likely take a while to get up to speed with the inexperienced Earl Bamber replacing Jonny Reid behind the wheel.

New nations this year include Monaco, with Clivio Piccione, and the Carlin Motorsport-run South Korean entry, while Fairuz Fauzy is back in the Malaysian car, Daniel Morad has transferred from Canada to Lebanon, and Edoardo Piscopo is set to do the full year for Italy.

And just to spice things up even more, rumours are circulating that Team USA have managed to coax Danica Patrick into their car. Whether or not the IndyCar race winner will be in the car this weekend - or even whether there'll be a car to get in - is unknown.

The first blow

As for what to expect at Zandvoort, roll a dice, toss a coin, shake your eight-ball. Your guess is as good as anyone's.

Four previous race winners, in the shape of Great Britain, Germany, Mexico, and India, will definitely miss out, with several more last-minute calls to be made.

The most logical bet would be for the experienced, front-running Swiss and French squads to lead the way. Or, perhaps Adrian Zaugg. He always wins at Zandvoort - the sprint race at least.

But A1GP doesn't seem to follow any accepted logic, that's half the fun. And speaking of fun, don't underestimate the Dutch team in front of a partisan home crowd.

Jeroen Bleekemolen, Team Netherlands © XPB

There could be some spectacular moments as the new push-to-pass system is yet to be tried in a race and anything could happen at the end of the main straight. The boost is rumoured to be getting on for 80bhp.

So, everything is up in the air and that might not look very good for the series. But that's only one way of looking at it.

Nobody has the faintest idea what's going to happen, but we're all going to watch to find out, aren't we? And isn't that the whole point anyway? This isn't Formula One, with manufacturers to satisfy and hundreds of millions being pumped into tiny advances in engineering. This is supposed to be about the show, entertainment. We'd complain if it was predictable.