Marco Andretti in A1GP, Malaysia 2008

World Cup Fever: A1GP to make a comeback?

(by Noah Joseph autosport.com 7-7-10)

Until its demise, A1GP had an intriguing, original formula. (At least once it took its place as a feeder series and not a competitor to Formula One). The idea, for those unfamiliar, was to pit teams representing their home countries against each other in identical F1-style single-seaters on famous race tracks around the world. Unfortunately, like so many things, the execution failed to live up to the idea.

With the series financially supporting each team, the whole proverbial house of cards came tumbling down last year, its creditors (including Ferrari, which had designed and built their new spec racer) seizing the series' assets.

Now it seems that the self-styled "World Cup of Motorsport" may have another chance to see the light of day. A group of investors is reportedly working out a plan to get the cars and other assets out of hock and field them once more. But instead of the original doomed formula, the re-inaugurated series would demand each team secure its own financial backing, while the series organizers would coordinate the races and provide spare parts trackside. An off-season calendar could see the series run 10 races in 2011-12, if the plan comes to fruition.

A1GP completes crucial funding deal

(by Matt Beer autosport.com 9-25-09)

A1GP has announced that it has completed a financial restructuring that it is confident will secure the series' long-term future.

There had been growing doubts about the championship's health in recent weeks, with the cars being held by freight company Delivered On Time (DOT) since the end of the 2008/09 season, suggestions that Ferrari was set to recall its engine supply, and with operating company A1GP Operations having been liquidated.

But series boss Tony Teixeira said that the new funding deal would resolve all A1GP's financial concerns and allow the series to begin as planned in Surfers Paradise next month. No specific details of the financial package were released by A1GP, although AUTOSPORT understands that the championship had been in talks with Credit Suisse.

"I wanted to announce this re-financing a long time ago, but the reason it has taken longer than I planned was the size of the package," said Teixeira.

"I could see no reason to look for a one year deal, it had to be for at least three to four years until such a time as the series is independent. This way we can make sure everyone involved in the series has the necessary security and the series is totally creditable."

He added that he was now keen to reassure A1GP's suppliers and partners that the series had a solid future.

"I shall be meeting all of them personally in the next couple of days," said Teixeira. "I want them to understand this is a series that is here to stay on the motorsport scene, and they need to know their involvement is with a series that is going from strength to strength.

"I have seen all the stories written over the past few weeks doubting the future of the series, and these are not new to me as I have seen them at the start of every one of our four seasons. These are not things I like to read and I feel frustrated that I cannot always come out and explain exactly what we are doing, but, as you know, we have always delivered every season and race we have committed to.

"Our intention is to settle all our outstanding creditors prior to the administration hearing, and would like to thank them for their patience and support.

"We at A1GP have been so lucky to have such loyal support from all our stake holders - management and staff, race promoters, team owners, partners, suppliers, TV rights holders, sponsors and last but not least our fans."

2009/10 A1GP calendar announced

(a1gp.com 9-21-09)

A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has announced its Season Five calendar and a long term deal with IMG Sports Media to market its worldwide media rights for the next three seasons.

The deal with IMG Sports Media will represent all exclusive TV broadcast, VOD, In-flight and Ship-at-Sea rights and non exclusive mobile rights for the live races and event highlights packages.

This news for the series was greeted enthusiastically by A1GP Chairman, Tony Teixeira, who said: “I have always had a long wish list of deals we wanted to make our series one of the most well known on the sporting calendar.

"A deal such as this was at the top of it, and to be associated with IMG Sports Media is just what we needed to ensure we have the best possible representation in this highly competitive market. The plans they have for us are exciting and innovative.”

Adam Kelly, Marketing Director, IMG Sports Media said: “We are delighted to be representing A1GP within the IMG Sports Media portfolio. IMG hope to bring the A1GP Powered by Ferrari cars, fans and viewers closer to the action of this truly global sport – a very attractive property for broadcasters worldwide.

"In such a challenging world of motorsport, IMG will utilise its experience in this field and unrivalled network of global contacts to bring A1GP to a wider audience than ever before.”

The nine event Season Five calendar, subject to FIA approval, includes four new race meetings in Australia, Brazil, Germany and The Netherlands.

It also has three that have been on an A1GP calendar once before, in China, South Africa and Portugal, and one twice before, in Mexico.

Meanwhile the series has raced in Malaysia in all four seasons to date. Teixeira’s comments on this were: “It is easy to put out a calendar too soon and then have to make changes. I wanted to make sure we avoided that and so give our broadcasters, teams and fans something realistic. I also wanted to make sure the racing was good and varied. I am confident this calendar, that may still include at least one more event, will achieve our criteria for the series.”

The season kicks off in six weeks with the Nikon Super GP in Surfers Paradise on the Australian Gold Coast.

1- 25 October 2009 Australia
2- 15 November 2009 China
3- 06 December 2009 Malaysia
4- 28 February 2010 South Africa
5- 14 March 2010 Brazil
6- 21 March 2010 Mexico
7- 11 April 2010 Portugal
8- 02 May 2010 Germany
9- 16 May 2010 The Netherlands

Are things looking up for A1GP?

(from a1.gpgrid.com 1-25-2009)

A1GP's future looks a lot rossier with an announcement expected of a wealthy investor piling some of his millions into the troubled series.

Debate about the sport's longevity has been circulating since one of it's founding investors, Sheik Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum of the Dubai royal family walked away from A1GP in 2006.

That intensified when RAB Capital, which paid the sheik US$200 million for an 80 percent stake in A1GP, was virtually brought to it's knees by the current economic crisis. Matters were not helped by the cost of the new Ferrari engines in all the cars. Ferrari's parent Fiat sued late last year to impound the new cars as A1GP owed it $2 million.

This weekend's round in Taupo is the first since Malaysia in November and some speculated it might be the last. Forumla 1, the World Rally Championships and Moto GP are feeling the crunch. Some say A1GP has survived this long only through the energy and creativity of chairman Tony Teixeira, who owns almost half the teams, and cheif executive Pete da Silva.

But Team New Zealand owner Colin Giltrap said a white knight was about to be revealed to save the World Cup of Motorsport.

"If you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have been downbeat [about a1GP's future]," Giltrap said. "They were vert tight for money three to four weeks ago.

"It had a little bit of a hiccup because RAB Capital got caught like a lot of international merchant banks and they had to withdraw the funding to A1 but there is definitely a new funder coming in.

"I think there will be a big announcement next month of a large capital injection from another shareholder. It's being finalised at the moment. The new shareholder is a multi, multi-millionaire from the Far East who probably has access to more money [than the sheik]."

Da Silva was a little more circumspect about a new deal but said they were in talks with a number of potential shareholders.

"A1GP is not in jeopardy," Da Silva told the Herald on Sunday. "We have a few people who are very, very interested in the series.

"We have been very cautious. I don't want to take just anyone's money, even in this climate. I want to make sure whoever comes on board is not just adding financial value but falls in line with our strategic intent.

"There are at least three groups looking at A1GP in a serious way. I believe we could see [an announcement] in the next eight weeks. But in these markets nothing is sure until it is signed off."

Assuming investors are found, it will be a relief to the 22 teams involved from countries from India to Ireland and Canada and China.

The concept of country racing country appeals to many, especially given it comes down largely to driver skill and a team's slickness in the pits rather than the team with the biggest bank balance.

It costs about $7 million a season to run a team, which pales in comparison to the almost $1 billion spent by F1 teams annually.

Interestingly, Formula 1 has adopted a number of changes, like control tyres and control engines and one manufacturer supplying the engines and have even talked about introducing medals for drivers who reach the podium, bringing it closer to A1GP.

Although costs are drastically smaller than F1, da Silva has said they lost US$240 million in the first season. Now into it's fourth season, A1 is still not making money.

"I have a business plan that sees us go into profitability in year five," da Silva said. "A lot of people tend to compare us to more established series like Formula 1 or Moto GP. Both are in their old age and celebrating 60 years of existence. We are only four years old.

"Our strategy from day one was affordability. I run 22 cars for less than the cheapest team runs two cars in Formula 1. Our costs are much lower but our revenues are much lower. We are a young series."

Although Taupo loses money for A1GP, most tracks are now profitable, including the likes of Mexico, Portugal and England.

Andretti Green Racing takes place on international stage

(By John Oreovicz on ESPN.com 12-19-08)

In the brutal economic environment afflicting international motorsports, most organizations are cutting back their operations. Not Andretti Green Racing.

The Indianapolis-based team owned by Michael Andretti, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree is best known for its four-car effort in the IRL IndyCar Series. Two years ago, AGR expanded into the American Le Mans Series, fielding an Acura LMP-2 prototype, and the team took on a two-car Firestone Indy Lights program in 2008, winning the championship with Rafael Matos.

Although AGR's future ALMS participation is in doubt, the team has added a potentially more beneficial project: It has taken over preparation of Team USA's entry in A1GP, the self-proclaimed "World Cup of Motorsport." After fielding up-and-comer Charlie Kimball in the opening round of the 2008-09 A1GP championship, AGR has tentatively slated Marco Andretti to drive Team USA's entry for the remainder of the campaign, though Danica Patrick also might be tapped to compete.

A1GP was formed in 2005 as a quasi-competitor for F1, but with a twist: The drivers' names play second fiddle to their nationality. So technically, it's Switzerland vs. South Africa vs. New Zealand and on down the line, with a total of 23 countries currently participating.

The first A1GP spec car was a rather unattractive Lola chassis powered by a 550-horsepower Zytek V-8 that featured an "overtake" function similar to Champ Car's Push To Pass. For the 2008-09 season, an all-new chassis based on the 2004 Ferrari F1car was introduced, instantly bringing interest and credibility to A1GP. A new engine, also sourced from Ferrari, boosts output to 600 horsepower.

Until this year, A1GP's critics harped on the ugly car and the insanity of going up against F1. Yet, in its fourth season of competition, the series is showing signs of staying power. Unlike the defunct Champ Car World Series, A1GP successfully cracked the Far East market, staging successful events in China and Korea.

A few A1GP events, from a street race in Durban, South Africa, to a weekend at the classic Brands Hatch circuit in Great Britain, have attracted huge crowds. And the series recently scored a coup by landing the co-headliner role at the popular Surfers Paradise Australian V-8 Supercar round abandoned by the IRL IndyCar Series.

Conversely, America's attempt at staging an A1GP contest at Laguna Seca Raceway in March 2006 was marred by snow flurries and a conspicuous lack of fan support. The USA could return to the A1GP slate; the series has a vacant spot on its schedule on March 29, and the race just before that will be March 15 in Mexico City.

American road racers have struggled to gain respect on a worldwide basis since Mario Andretti won the Formula One World Championship 30 years ago. In fact, since Mario's son Michael lasted less than a full season of F1 with McLaren in 1993, Yankee pilots basically have been laughed right back to the States.

Scott Speed's recent 28-race F1 tenure was more of a marketing exercise than a genuine effort to put a competitive American into Grand Prix racing, and the quirky Californian certainly didn't enhance the country's reputation in the F1 paddock.

So maybe it is appropriate that Marco Andretti is being given the opportunity to show that Mario's championship wasn't necessarily the exception to the rule, and at the same time gain some redemption for Michael, whose perceived failure in F1 was dictated mostly by circumstances out of his control.

Not surprisingly, given that he had no prior testing, Marco struggled in his initial A1GP weekend at Chengdu, China, finishing 15th in the sprint race and eighth in the feature race. At Sepang, Malaysia, he was involved in a spectacular starting-line accident in the sprint race, but he rebounded to score an excellent third-place finish in the feature.

"That was great!" he exclaimed. "I think it was quite an accomplishment. We're not that familiar with the cars yet, and those cars react the opposite way that we would normally fix the problems because the way they are designed mechanically is so different.

"We just have to hit the ground running every race and try not to go down a wrong alley making changes because you don't have much track time," Marco continued. "We have to take stuff that has worked for us the last two races, tick those boxes and put that in the bank for when we have that problem again. It will take a little bit to overcome the adversity, but I see us in the winner's circle within the next couple races."

Marco acknowledged that there is pressure on him and the team to succeed. Americans are generally not taken seriously by European road racers, and of course he has that famous surname working both for and against him.

"It's us against the world over there, man," he said with a chuckle. "First of all, the whole F1 or European mentality is that they do not rate American drivers. They just don't. So we do have to get our act together as far as setups go because we've gotta win.

"The only negative is that if we're not winning races over there, it's not just a closed test session … people are watching."

For his part, Michael Andretti thinks his team's involvement in A1GP will be beneficial in at least two ways: It will gain publicity for Andretti Green Racing on a worldwide basis, and, more importantly, it will create plenty of high-horsepower seat time for Marco, who, at age 21, is still learning.

"That was the big carrot for us really when we initially were in contact about this series because in IndyCar, it's very difficult to get miles for our drivers because of the testing limitations," Michael said. "This is a great opportunity to put our guys in a really difficult series racing on road courses, as well as from the team side in getting our Andretti Green brand out there on a solid, international platform. This is a great, great way to do it."

Michael realizes that the Andretti name brings added pressure to his team and his son, but he strongly believes both are up to the job.

"Running up front is going to be our goal, and we're not kidding ourselves -- we know it's going to be really difficult," he said. "If we can put a good race car under him, [Marco] can go and show his stuff to the international crowd.

"We've been used to dealing with pressure, so I don't see it as being a problem," Michael added. "The real pressure is going to be coming from within the walls of our garage. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to win, and that's what we are going to do here. We're not coming over here to just dillydally around -- we want to win races."

Marco also believes that competing in A1GP will make him a better Indy car driver, especially after a year when he and his AGR teammates struggled on road courses.

"The competition is unbelievable over there and the field is so tight, it's going to help when we come back to IndyCar on the road courses," he said. "There are no negatives, and it's the best possible scenario for the offseason. I mean, I'll drive a car every day if they let me!

"It will help me be fresh for St. Petersburg [the 2009 IndyCar Series opener in Florida]," Marco added. "You can run triathalons or whatever, but the best training for driving a race car is to drive a race car. And if you're physically there, you can think more clearly and slower and you're just in a better mindset."

Before AGR got involved, the Team USA A1GP franchise was run by Virginia businessman Rick Weidinger, who was a partner in the defunct Kelley Racing IndyCar Series team. Under Weidinger's guidance, Team USA scored a race win earlier this year with the old Lola in Shanghai, China, as 20-year-old Atlantic Championship front-runner Jonathan Summerton beat several highly regarded foreign F1 aspirants, including Neel Jani, Franck Montagny, Adam Carroll and Jonny Reid.

Jani, a former F1 tester who claimed three podium finishes in the Champ Car World Series in 2007, went on to win the 2007-08 A1GP championship for Switzerland. Jani has returned to defend Switzerland's A1GP title, and he relishes the opportunity to go up against established American stars such as Andretti and AGR.

"Even though they are big where they come from, that doesn't change anything and they are still competitors," Jani said. "If anything, as last year's champion, they should be thinking, 'I'm on the track with Neel Jani.'

"It's great for A1GP because they are very big names in the USA," he added. "But it's also great for them because in A1GP, you get real, hard European-style racing all on road courses. There is no fuel saving to think of, and it's flat out all the way. It will be hard for them, but nothing is impossible and at some stage we will have to count them as real competitors."

A taste of paradise

(from A1GP.com 12-15-08)

Next season’s A1GP debut at Surfers Paradise in Australia has sure got the drivers excited.
Could it be the sun-kissed beaches of the Gold Coast, the fantastic party atmosphere of the place, the enthusiastic and passionate crowd or the fact that it is one of the most famous auto racing street courses in the world?

Probably all of the above.

Last month, A1GP announced a five-year deal to take over from the IRL IndyCar series as the headline single-seater category at the event. The first race on the Queensland track, which has hosted 18 ‘Indy’ Car races since 1991, will be on the weekend of 22-25 October.

A1 Team USA’s Marco Andretti raced with his IndyCar team, Andretti Green Racing, at last October’s event, and has been going there since he was a child – his father Michael won the meeting back in 1994.

“I think A1GP will be a big draw there for sure,” Andretti told A1GP.com. “It’s an unbelievable event. You get a lot of support from the fans and there are plenty of good vantage points to watch. It’s a party city, I know that. You go out there and the fans are out of control!

“As a circuit, it really helps to know the track well, so if I am doing that race next year then it will benefit me. Knowing where the bumps are is key, because you will hit a bump half way through the weekend that you had no idea was there and you almost crash.

“It’s a street circuit so it’s obviously very bumpy, and whatever you can imagine is out there you’re going to hit it. You have to attack the kerbs to make the car work or else you are going to be slow.”

Australia’s John Martin was another racer who was at this year’s event, wining two of the weekend’s three races in the Formula 3 category.

“It’s got a bit of everything,” Martin said. “There’s a quad chicane out the back that’s really, really quick and you can use a lot of kerb which is a bit of a challenge for the car set-up wise. But then there is another section after that that’s quite slow.

“A1GP at Surfers Paradise will be awesome because so many people get revved up for that weekend, it is a massive weekend. There will be over 100,000 people just on Sunday, you won’t be able to move and everyone is there for a big party. It’s a really fun weekend for everyone involved.

“IndyCars were able to pass around there so I think A1GP will definitely be able to as well. Some people said we wouldn’t be able to pass at Chengdu either but we still made that alright. A1GP seems to make it possible to pass anywhere in the world.”

Martin added that he hopes to be Australia’s driver when A1GP makes its Gold Coast debut next October, but thinks that whoever is chosen will be the focus of attention.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself every round to do well, but in Surfers Paradise there will definitely be a lot more pressure on the Australian driver.

"Plus, being from Queensland there would be so many more people that I know there. I have people there booking rooms already, but at the end of the day I would just have to put that aside and go and do the job.”

A1GP to the rescue

A1GP - the World Cup of Motorsport is quickly filling the void left by the departed ChampCar. With a new chassi and engine package (a Ferrari engine at that) entroduced this year the series that has struggled a bit in it's first three years may now have the momentum it needs to survive these difficult times for motorsports. With IndyCar gifting them one of the most established and successful race events in the world ,Australia's Surfers Paradise (thank you FTG), their future looks brighter than it did last year. They still have an uphill battle due to only 10 races on this year's schedule, but car count is good and you can argue that they are taking things step by step and growing slowly. Another thing in their favor is very high-quality free race coverage via the internet, a very smart step if you ask me.

This race fan hopes they can build on what looks to be a solid foundation because we certainly need some bright spots in today's motorsports world.

A1GP Strikes Gold

IndyCar Loses Australia, A1GP Strikes Gold
(on Motorsport.com 11-11-08)

The handwriting was on the wall as soon as the Indy Racing League and the former Champ Car World Series signed the agreement to merge into one. February 22, 2008 marked the date of the agreement between the two open-wheel series based in Indianapolis, Ind., with Tony George being at the helm. The first step beyond seeing which teams would merge this year into the IndyCar ranks was the already set schedules. Which venues would stay, which would fade in the sunset.

The 12-year split was finally over, but it left out tracks that were popular to the fans worldwide. Surfers Paradise in Queensland, Australia, was one of Champ Cars top hits for both the racing and the scenery. IndyCar made the trip but it was a non-point race in 2008 as IndyCar's champion Scott Dixon was crowned in the USA at the season ender in Chicago, Ill.

While George and his staff hustled to change the 2008 schedule, only two Champ Car circuits remained. Long Beach was the farewell scene for the Champ Car teams while IndyCar teams were racing on the oval in Motegi, Japan. The Edmonton organizers were able to move their date in Alberta, Canada, to fit the 2008 calendar. Gone were Road America, Toronto, Laguna Seca, Houston, Cleveland, Mont-Tremblant, Portland, Mexico City and possible events in Europe including Zolder, Assen and Jerez.

To top it off, open-wheel stars like past series champion Paul Tracy and 2007 Rookie of the Year Robert Doornbos were out of a ride and while Tracy keeps looking, Doornbos returned to Europe. Currently, Tracy is across the pond testing in the new Speedcar series while Doornbos made his debut in A1GP for Team Netherlands, taking second in China's Sprint race this past weekend.

The 2009 IndyCar calendar has three former Champ Car events: Long Beach, Toronto and Edmonton. One does need to note that prior to the unification, the IRL already had former CART/Champ Car strong holds including Detroit, Motegi, Mid-Ohio, Homestead and Milwaukee.

The popular Australian venue was listed as a non-points race with the Indy Racing League taking the IndyCar series to Surfers Paradise; however, the 2009 schedule had been release and Australia was not listed. The first race in 1991 was under the CART banner and it did not take long for many to refer to the event as the "crown jewel" of the series.

IndyCar's first and now only adventure to Australia was met with open arms, both by the Gold Coast Indy organizers, the sponsor, the Australian V8 Supercar and Formula 3teams, and by the fans. It was a show that gave the Australians much to cheer about with their two homeland racers. Will Power landed the pole and Ryan Briscoe took the first-ever victory on home soil for an Aussie driver from the open-wheel racing American series. To add to the IndyCar inaugural event, Dixon, the 2008 champion from New Zealand, was born in Australia and he finished second.

As the IndyCar teams headed back home to American soil, Jonathan Ingram, Motorsport.com's reporter at Surfers Paradise commented "As street races go, this one is among the best. So it seems unlikely the organizers or the IndyCar officials will let it slip through their fingers." Yet, he, like many, expected that the event would not be added to the calendar in 2009 or in the near future.

Ingram was correct as today's announcement from the Indy Racing League and the Gold Coast Indy organizers stated that the IndyCar Series would not return to Surfers Paradise in the near future.

"We are disappointed that we could not find suitable solutions for both the IndyCar Series and Gold Coast Indy organizers but it was not due to lack of effort," said Terry Angtsadt, IRL president of the commercial division. "Chairman Terry Mackenroth and general manager Greg Hooton rolled out the red carpet for the IndyCar Series last month and they are to be commended for their efforts in conjunction with the Queensland government."

On the same day, the A1GP Series took control of being the feature event at Surfers Paradise in October, 2009, signing a five-year agreement. "Both the Government and IMG have offered us every courtesy in putting this together, and I reckon we must have set a record in doing such an important deal in such a short space of time," said A1GP Chairman, Tony Teixeira.

A1GP, first known only as a Winter series to fill a gap for racing fans, has sprung wings showcasing a top open-wheel very competitive series based on nations around the world. Drivers can change from race-to-race but the country they represent is the actual team who garners the points. The 2008-09 season just began with two events (four races) in the books.

Oddly enough one IndyCar team will be in Australia come October 22 next year to compete on the streets of Surfers Paradise. Andretti Green Racing holds the rights and management of Team USA in the International A1GP series. Other countries have drivers who race in America including IndyCar and Indy Lights -- both sanctioned by the IRL -- while others compete in the Atlantic Championship series.

"We wanted to go back to Australia and this is the ideal venue for our series. A lot of people have worked hard on putting this deal together, and now it has come to fruition it is very exciting," Teixeira said. "I am aware we are being given a perfect opportunity to showcase our series to the Australian fans, who have been great supporters of both the series and their own team. Australia has a rich motorsport heritage and I know our tv fans worldwide will be delighted to have this spectacular race on our calendar."

The first A1GP race in the land down under was in November of 2005 for the inaugural season of the world's Nation Cup series at Eastern Creek International Raceway; however, the new season saw a drop of the venue. The last race in Sydney was February of this year for round six in the 2007-08 season. It was a very wet weekend which is one reason October fits better for the future event in Australia.

Team Australia's principal and former Formula One driver, Alan Jones commented, "It has been a big hole in the A1GP calendar this year not being in Australia. To say I am thrilled about this deal is an understatement. Having the chance to race in my own back yard is something special for me and the team. We are looking forward to it and I can warn all the other teams now I aim to make sure we have a home win in Surfers."

The next event on the current A1GP season will be in two weeks as the teams will take on the Malaysian circuit in Sepang -- the home race for the current point leading team.

IndyCar's 2009 season opener will take place on the streets of St. Petersburg in early April.