The future of A1GP has come under cloud after one of its most important arms, the A1 Grand Prix Operations Limited, shut shop after a UK court ordered the winding up of its operations. The firm, which was established in 2000, was responsible for looking after the A1GP cars.
An official spokesperson of A1GP told DNA that last week the UK court had issued the order following a petition filed and supported by a number of suppliers to the
company.
“A1 Grand Prix Operations Limited provided operational services to the series and was one of the companies in the A1GP Group. None of the other companies in the group are currently affected,” the spokesperson said.
The operational arm of the series was under huge debts and was facing cash flow problems. The spokesperson further added that A1GP is currently undergoing a re-structuring as the chairman Tony Teixeira had total belief in its long term future.
When asked about the future of the series, the spokesperson said that the FIA had approved the series 2009/10 calendar and that A1GP had already announced dates for the series.“Additional dates and venues will be released and announced in due course,” she added.
A1GP, which was started by Dubai’s Sheikh Hasher Al Maktoum in 2004, consists of national teams rather than the manufacturers or independent teams as seen in Formula One. Branded as world cup of motorsports, the series features 23 teams in different country colours.
Last year, A1GP cars had undergone a major upgrade after getting fitted with the 2004 F1 Ferrari engines. A1GP had signed a six-year deal with the Italian manufacturer for supplying engines and consulting on the design and manufacture of the chassis.
Former Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan is representing the Indian team which also featured current GP2 driver Karun Chandhok and F2 driver Armaan Ebrahim in the past.
Unlike Formula One, all A1GP cars use the same specifications be it the engine performance or chassis design. In fact, each car is built identically, so as to provide a level playing field in which driver skills become extremely important.
A1GP has not been immune from the economic meltdown. Last year, one of the stake holders was feeling the heat due to recession. A1GP was also in the news last year because of the delay in rolling out cars of some teams including that of India.
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