We’ve been here before, of course. Multiple times in fact. Talks of reviving the A1GP ‘World Cup of Motorsport’ since its demise in 2009 have invariably led to nothing down the years, the closest thing to a resurrection coming in the form of the even more short-lived Formula Acceleration 1 series won by Dutchman Nigel Melker in 2014. It’s fair to say that championship, which used the original Lola-built A1GP cars and unashamedly copied its concept of racing under national flags, never mustered comparable enthusiasm to the original that began in 2005.
This counted on the support of world champions John Surtees, Emerson Fittipaldi and Alan Jones who were each involved in the operation and/or management of their respective national teams, and brought through numerous up-and-coming talents during its four-year run. A1GP’s adoption of a new Ferrari-powered chassis and the resulting increase in cost which coincided with the global financial crisis hitting in 2008-09 was a significant contributing factor in its demise, but the mooted reboot for high-powered single-seaters is thought to have to the best prospects yet for success.
Former Alpine and FIA man Marcin Budkowski has been hired by former Olympics figure Sir Keith Mills’ Origin Sports Group, which has bought the rights to A1GP and its affiliated trademarks. Budkowski, speaking to Autosport last month, said, “It's not a revival of the A1GP championship, it's a new championship, but using the same concept”.
Should its plans come to fruition, with funding still being sought, a new generation of fans will get their glimpse at a championship held in high regard by those who were part of it almost 15 years ago.
“I would love to see it be revived,” said Oliver Jarvis, twice a winner for Team Great Britain. “If you speak to anybody that actually drove in it, we had the best time ever. The racing was fantastic, a lot of very good drivers came through, and it helped to progress their careers. Overall, it was a great concept and a lot of fun.”
“It was amazing, it was a really nice championship,” agrees A1GP’s most capped driver, Switzerland’s 2007-08 champion Neel Jani. “A lot of people still have an A1GP nostalgia and I don’t know any other championship where people have that.
“Most people actually lost some money in the end there, and they still have that feeling it was a great time. I think it’s hard to create such a memory.”
Source: Autosport