AFRIX - Reconnecting Africa with Motorsports

[The Chosen One]

Afrix Company website

AFRIX Motorsport (AFRIX) purchased the Ferrari powered A1GP assets and relocated the show to South Africa. The purpose is to reconnect Africa to the world of motorsport at the highest level.
The cars are based on Michael Schumacher's most successful Formula One Ferrari, the F2004, which are (now) designed by a South African, Rory Bourns.




Message from the CEO of Afrix:

Dear Reader,

Welcome to 2016 and the launch of the AFRIX Motorsport (AFRIX) website.

We intend AFRIX to be a brand blueprint for a renaissance of single-seater racing in Africa. As we progress, we will use this website to introduce our new teams and their owners, Pool A
Drivers, Pool B Drivers, Team Principles, the venues, delegates, official partners and many more exciting concepts and happenings of AFRIX.

Single-seater racing has always been the pinnacle of motorsport and there are two distinct concepts:

• Firstly, and in its most pure form, is Formula Libre. Anything goes with different chassis, different motors, different gearboxes and different tyres etc.
• Secondly, there is the "One-make" series with a single chassis supplier and the same engine, same gearbox and same tyres etc.

Then there are variations/permutations of the two.

The current F1 series has strict detailed rules governing chassis design, a single supplier of tyres and a complicated power supply dividing the grid into manufactures with their own power supplies (4) and customer teams who buy their power supplies from the manufactures (7) it's a de facto two-tier series. IndyCar is a one make chassis with a choice of two engine suppliers. GP2 is a one-make series as is the 3.5 V8 World Series.

Irrespective of the above, teams with bigger budgets tend to produce the results. This has a knock on effect as results attract the best paying drivers and/or sponsors.

Prior to sponsorship in racing, the professional drivers would partake in as many series as possible to earn their keep (e.g. F1, F2, CanAm Sportscars etc.). Tobacco marketing changed motorsport dramatically with generous sponsorship. It is safe to say the banning of this advertising had once more a profound effect on the sport. It did not help that this coincided with a time that can only be described as a technological revolution in electronics and aerodynamics. What was a black art became an exact science. It also came at a considerable price.

A one-make series is by far the most cost effective model. However, given the cost to participate and the scarcity of sponsorship, many series have collapsed or not even started. There is an over supply of drivers resulting in them having to bring a budget or not driving at all. This is exacerbated by currency differences making it a heavier burden for those outside of Europe and the US. AFRIX has a fleet of state-of-the-art loud, fast and sophisticated cars and an almost exclusive time frame
between November and March to race them. We control the development of the cars to be within a sensible financial bracket, which leaves us exposed to the running costs of a series.

Our model, which is unique to motorsport, does not rely on drivers bringing a budget to supplement the traditional revenue sources. We have offered a franchise system where the franchisee bids for two drivers to drive in his/her two-car team. AFRIX has a sharing arrangement with the franchisees, which ensures an equitable distribution of revenue. We believe this makes for a sustainable and entertaining show. We hope you like it.

Please enjoy the site and we welcome any and all feedback. Register to our newsletter to stay updated with all
the happenings of AFRIX.

Kind Regards

Neville Jordan
CEO of AFRIX Motorsport

About the car:

THE ENGINE:

• Configuration: 90 Degree V8
• Displacement: 4500cc
• Width: 666.5mm (Max L&R cam covers width)
• Height: 446mm (From bottom plane to max cam covers height)
• Length: 569mm (From front pulley bolt to rear plane engine block flange)
• Weight: 165kg
• Cylinder Block: Die Cast Aluminium Alloy
• Cylinder Head: Sand Cast Aluminium Alloy
• Valve Train: Four Overhead Camshafts, Four Valves Per Cylinder
• Engine Management: Life Racing
• Injection: Direct Injection
• Spark Plugs: NGK
• Fuel: E10 102 RON BIO Fuel
• Max Torque: 406 lbs ft 550 Nm @ 6250 rpm
• Max Power: 600 bhp 448 Kw @ 9000 rpm
• Max RPM: 8200
• Max RPM Push To Pass: 8700

THE CHASSIS:

• Wheelbase: 3100mm
• Front Track: 1632.0mm @ 1.5 deg camber
• Rear Track: 1632.0mm @ 1.5 deg camber
• Weight: Approx 715kg including driver, race ready (excluding fuel)
• Weight: Approx 640kg painted, oil and water, no driver
• Front and Rear Suspension: Double wishbone with pushrod operated coil over damper units.
  Adjustable ride height, cambers and toe, non adjustable
• Anti-roll Bar: Multi adjustable, quick change front and rear roll bars
• Chassis: Carbon fibre skins, aluminium honeycomb core.
  Tested to meet all applicable FIA crash safety standards.
• Bodywork: Light weight composite bodywork.
• Gearbox: Xtrac A1GP six-speed longitudinal sequential.
  Gear selection via a paddle shift system.
• Drive Line: Pankl Tripod jointed driveshaft system.
• Brakes: Brembo carbon discs, six-pot aluminium calipers.
• Dampers: Penske VDP-45, two way adjustable.
• Wheels: OZ Front 13” dia. X 12” Rear 13” dia. X 14”
• Steering: Titan angle drive bevel and two-pinion ratios.
• Steering Wheel: 280mm diameter carbon, with mounted LCD dash.
• Instrumentation and Display: LCD Mounted display unit, multi-channel logging facility for engineering
  analyse.
• Seat Belt: FIA approved SABELT six-point safety harness
• Fuel Cell: ATL fuel cell approximately 140-litres capacity and designed to take
  up to 50 per cent ethanol.
• Clutch: AP three-plate carbon/carbon with steel hub.
• Tyres: Control slicks and treaded wet tyres.

What are your thoughts about this, especially to the GTPlanet members that reside in South Africa?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

What are your thoughts about this

I think that this is about the fourth attempt to start a series using the old A1GP hardware.