From this season, a revolutionary time qualification will be introduced in conjunction with the traditional Friday training up to each World Cup Grand Prix. The driver who sets the fastest time will be the first pick of the starting number previously drawn. In collaboration with the Slovenian watch company, Aztorin, the new system has been tested at the Vojens Speedway Center.
By Ib Søby.
Most often, the most exciting thing about Friday training up to a World Cup grand prix has been the local mayor or main sponsor drawing the drivers' starting numbers. It has always been of great importance which heats you meet in and with which starting gates and helmet color.
Now the right to choose starting gates must be run. This gives Friday's training a whole new and spectacular meaning, which - also in the media - can recall the time runs in Formula One.
For example, starting number five has always been attractive because it provides twice the red helmet and innermost starting gate, out of the five times the driver is on the track before any semi-finals and finals.
- Now we have the opportunity to give themselves a good starting point up to the individual grand prix. It certainly doesn't matter if you have two red starting gates on one-off lanes in eg Cardiff or Warsaw, just as you know that two yellow starting gates on the track in Krsko can be a problem, says the Danish grand prize star Niels Kr. Iversen.
The Friday training will of course attract more audiences, because it will end with the new and exciting time qualification in the future.
You start with the free training, where each rider has four rides on the track with two colleagues - against the six rides of the past. Each motorcycle is equipped with a small transponder, which sends a signal to the timers.
At 7pm, the actual time run begins, with the slowest running from the free workout running first and the fastest eventually. Each run gets 60 seconds on the track, which will typically allow three to four laps to set a good time. The fastest driver becomes the first pick of the important starting numbers, the second fastest becomes the second pick and then still.
- The new approach will also entail a whole new strategy in training and time qualification. It will be something that the drivers should get used to. How to best set a fast time of 60 seconds when on
training day is the track best and how are the settings on the motorcycle. Put another way, it may be advantageous to set a slow workout time, to get his 60 seconds alone, first in qualifying, than vice versa, considers Niels Kr. Iversen.
Drivers who may not be scheduled for a time due to technical problems or other circumstances will, after the qualification, be placed in the heatsheet via a draw drawn by the race jury on the spot.
The new time qualification can also be a win for TV viewers. For the qualification will be offered to the TV stations covering the Grand Prix series. The first time you can experience the new action will be Friday, May 17, up to the season's grand premiere at the Stadium Narodowy in Warsaw. At home, you can follow the time qualification for the first time on Friday, September 6, the day before the Danish Grand Prix in Vojens.
Information:
Jacob Olsen, Director - Speed1way - +45 23 42 05 07
Ib Søby, Press Manager - Speed1way - +45 20 69 57 71