Suspension problem on Ferrari A1GP car delays season opener

Click above to view a high-resolution gallery of the new Ferrari A1GP car

It was an ambitious target to design, develop, shake down and launch an all-new spec car across the series in less than a full year, but that's what the organizers of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport set out to do. Unfortunately, the first major setback inevitably meant that the series would have to be postponed, and that's just what happened.

The new car has been under development with Ferrari for the past ten months or so – based on Ferrari's Formula One racing car design – and things had been going well. However, when test driver Patrick Friesacher was injured after a vital suspension component failed, it was back to the drawing board. The delay means that the start of the fourth season, which was originally scheduled for September 21 at the Mugello track in Italy, will now be pushed back to Zandvoort, Holland, for October 4, which was initially planned as the second race of the season.

Check out the press release after the jump, and the new high-resolution gallery of the Ferrari-developed and -powered A1GP spec racer by clicking the thumbnails below.

[Source: A1GP]

PRESS RELEASE

A1GP Delays Start of Season Four

London, Great Britain – A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has moved A1GP Mugello, Italy from the opening round of the 2008/09 championship following a delay in the build schedule of the new chassis. The first time all the nations will be seen in action will now be on the 4 – 5 October at A1GP Zandvoort, Netherlands.

The series set itself a tight schedule with less than 11 months to design, build and test the new car and make sure all the teams received identical machinery. Any delays in the schedule were always going to impact on the ability to deliver to all the teams. "It was always going to be an optimistic programme but we were confident we could achieve it. This in no way reflects on the work undertaken by the technical team and our partners, as it was due to circumstances beyond their control. I also want to thank all our technical partners for their support during our intensive testing programme, and especially Ferrari for the supply of engines," said A1GP Chief Executive Officer, Pete da Silva.

"We now have to concentrate on what we have ahead of us rather than behind. We still have some great announcements to make. In the near future we shall be able to announce our full race calendar, as well as some deals that will enhance the overall package we are presenting to our fans for Season Four," said da Silva.