Despite already providing a fan-pleasing spectacle, the A1 Grand Prix series has decided to tweak its rulebook in search of added excitement ahead of its fourth season.
Changes have been made to various elements of the weekend schedule, as the World Cup of Motorsport raises the bar for its regular competitors. The pressure will be even greater for the teams and drivers alike when the season starts at Mugello in September, as the alterations increase the intensity of both racing and qualifying.
An extra mandatory pit-stop has been added to the weekend - this time to the shorter sprint race - to, in the words of the organisers, 'make the racing even more exciting'. The stop, which mirrors those already in place for the feature race, has to be taken between laps four and eight.
“We never stop looking for ways of improving the action on the track," A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira claimed, "The two pit-stops in the feature race have proved to be the really high pressure points of the events [and] we felt an additional one would not only add another variable into the sprint race mix, but also give the crews another opportunity to display their team work.
"When we sat down to discuss ways of improving the series, from every viewpoint this was a popular addition. However, we have also made other changes that will give the teams greater flexibility in certain areas.”
The duration of the sprint race, which will continue to get underway with a rolling start, has been increased from 19 to 24 minutes plus one lap, while the feature race, from a standing start, remains at 69 minutes plus one lap. The points allocation for the shorter race has been reduced, however, with only the top eight teams home scoring, in line with current
F1 policy, and taking 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 points respectively. The feature race remains the same, with the top ten receiving points on the scale of 15-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.
![Andrea Bertolini during testing of the new A1GP car at Imola [Pic credit: A1GP Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/454429.jpg)
