‘Nationalistic feeling in India is very strong’

A1 GP’s Chief Executive Officer Pete da Silva wants Indians to cheer their racing team like they do for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni & Co

MUMBAI: It is fast becoming apparent that A1GP is not content to be just another series in the burgeoning racing calendar. On Thursday, the series announced a six-year deal with Ferrari to supply engines as well as provide expertise to help build a new car for the 2008-09 season.

The A2GP feeder series is also envisioned by the fifth season beginning mid- 2009. The concept of nation against nation on similar cars was always novel but ever since new management took over last year a number of measures have been taken to ramp up the basics.

For India, these have come in the form of roping in Narain Karthikeyan and propping up the team when it was in financial difficulties last year. Making no bones about the fact that India is one of its focus markets, A1GP CEO Pete da Silva spoke to DNA about his series’ future plans. Excerpts:

What plans do you have for India?
We absolutely want to race in India, that’s one of our strategic targets. We have seen that the nationalistic feeling in India is very strong and how proud India is about supporting its flag.

We have seen it in the way Indians cheer for their cricket team and we want the same to be happening for the Indian A1 team. By the fifth season (2009-10) we will definitely have a race in India. A2 — which will be a national series — will also be held in India subsequently.

Apart from that we want to develop indigenous engineering capabilities. As of now there is an array of nationalities in the backup for Team India. That will also change in the future.

There is some apprehension on norms to select drivers. After all a franchise holder does this and not a nationally approved body.

We have worked out a constructive process and put together stringent tests to choose the best-three South African drivers. We would like this to be duplicated by our other franchisees. We are just two seasons old and all this will be worked out. We want to work in sync with all national sporting bodies.

Will the car for the 2008-09 season be a new design from the ground up?
It will be an absolutely brand-new car. We are very proud of our close racing and that’s the directive we have given to Ferrari. The car will be comparable to F1 but it will be far more affordable. We have no desire to be the pinnacle of engineering, we want competitive racing with more overtaking.

What are the specifics of the new engine?
The precise bits will only emerge after our technical engineers sits down with Ferrari’s but it will be a V8 engine with 650bhp. It will have a long life-cycle and each one will last out three years with a rebuild once after the end of each season. It definitely has to be a fast powerful engine in line with the image of the brand (Ferrari) and it has to be reliable.

What does Ferrari get out of this association?
With the short time that we have been around — this weekend will see just our 24th race — we have proved that there is a market for this product. Then we have teams from emerging economies and that’s precisely where Ferrari’s future markets lie. We are a single engine series so it’s a good development platform for a manufacturer like Ferrari.

We are in talks with Ferrari’s other business associates like lubricant, tyre etc companies and will try to leverage our association with Ferrari to get them on board.

There have been some allegations about A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira’s involvement with Angola’s Unita rebels in defiance of UN sanctions.

Do you feel this may prevent brands from coming on board?
I have not heard these allegations and as our chairman he has the interest of the series close to his heart. That’s a question you need to propose to him directly. I can’t comment on that. We have put together a whole structure here that works more on a commercial basis and not on the basis of an individual.