A group of ambitious executives are reportedly looking to raise £80m ($100m) for the relaunch of A1 Grand Prix – known as the World Cup of Motorsport – by the end of next year.
Sports and business bigwigs, including Sir Keith Mills who played an instrumental role in London’s bid to win the 2012 Olympics, are eyeing investment to bring back A1GP after it folded in 2009 due to the impact of the global financial crash.
Should the rebirth get the go-ahead, 20 teams representing countries would compete with every driver competing in a single car specification.
Cars would run on sustainable fuel, but a report from Sky News states insiders don’t see the series as a direct rival to Formula 1, with a number of races instead taking place during the F1 off-season.
Drivers such as Nico Hulkenberg, Karun Chandok and Jos Verstappen took part in the original incarnation of the event, which ran for four seasons from 2005-2009.
In the new series, 12 races would take place across the world from December to July, with low ticket prices seen as a necessity to attract fans initially.
A working prototype of car, seen to be the second-fastest racecar in the world behind only F1, has already been built with manufacturers already in talks about the series.
Much like F1, there would be two drivers per team/country, with one experienced racer alongside a younger driver who could be selected from an annual talent competition, which could also be televised.
Other executives involved, according to Sky’s report, includes ex-FIA director and former Alpine team principal Marcin Budkowski, former president of French media company Lagardere David White and F1 technical specialist Mike Gascoyne.
Insiders state that the revamp is looking to capitalise on the growth in interest brought about by Netflix’s Drive to Survive, as well as worldwide interest in “nation vs nation competition in sport.”
Teams would be centrally managed, with the potential of selling individual franchises later. Feature countries potentially involved as teams include Great Britain, China, Italy, USA and Saudi Arabia.
Ireland won the last A1GP in 2008-09, with ex-Formula E driver Adam Carroll the lead racer.
