A1 Grand Prix is set to be a showcase of British engineering talent. The new championship will begin on 25 September and will feature identical cars running for different countries. The cars, engines, and gearboxes are all made in Britain.
Sheikh Maktoum, founder, president and chairman of the championship, has put his faith in British technology, having bought 50 Lola A1 cars and an equivalent number of engines, plus spares from British company Zytek Engineering. The new investment adds to an industry already worth £4 billion in the UK.
Chairman of the A1 Team Great Britain is John Surtees, a former world championship driver. Surtees (pictured right) is the only man to have won several driving championships on both four and two wheels and has his own prestigious past with Lola, having raced their cars in Formula 1 in the 1960s. Commenting on the new series, Surtees said, ‘Apart from the championship promoting British products, it also presents opportunities for British business to get behind the British team in what will become the World Cup of Motorsport’.
