A1 Team USA
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A1 Team USA | |
Founded | 2005 |
Seat holder | Rick Weidinger |
Chairman | - |
Race driver(s) | Philip Giebler Ryan Hunter-Reay |
First race | 2005-06 Great Britain |
Events entered | 7 |
Championships | 0 |
Sprint race victories | 0 |
Main race victories | 0 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
Total points | 23 |
2006-07 position | 12th (10 pts) |
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The A1 Team USA is the American team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series. Its car was presented to the public on 22 August 2005.
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[edit] Background Story
A1 Team USA and the A1 Grand Prix series came to owner Rick Weidinger's attention as national franchises were being bid for the new series. Weidinger already owned Indy Racing League team Kelly Racing. Along with minority partners and friends Rusty Lewis and Bill Dean, Weidinger finalized the franchise acquisition in July 2005. The team chose the motto "We The People" as its main theme. Pop-artist Steve Kaufman designed the livery of the chassis, including the words "We The People" in several languages. The engineering side of the team was originally run by British squad David Price Racing, but is now run by fellow-Brits West Surrey Racing.
[edit] 2005/2006 Season Highlights
The A1 Grand Prix of Nations began its inaugural 11-stop global tour at the historic Brands Hatch circuit on September 26, 2005 to a sold-out crowd. A1 Team USA, along with 24 other nations descended on the Kent, UK track to deliver the fastest race at the venue since 1986, when Brands Hatch hosted its last F1 race.
After racing at the state-of-the-art EuroSpeedway in Lausitz, Germany, the A1 GP next moved on to the Estoril in Portugal. It was this former Formula 1 venue that set the stage for A1 Team USA's first top-five finish. Capitalizing on the errors of other competitors, American Scott Speed aggressively maneuvered the We The People car through the field to bring home a strong 4th-place finish.
Riding high on the well-earned result, A1 Team USA carried that momentum "Down Under" to the next race in Sydney, Australia. Eastern Creek Raceway, the only international race circuit in Sydney, was the stage for another top-ten finish for the U.S. Veteran American racer Bryan Herta was at the helm this time, parlaying a bleak qualifying position into his first points with A1 Team USA.
From Portugal the series headed to the ultra-modern Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Herta delivered the team's third top-ten finish. Driver Phil Giebler was the next American at the helm of the We The People machine as A1 Team USA headed to Dubai, UAE. Giebler was on target to bring home another top-five finish when an electrical failure, with just four laps to go, dampened the charge.
The next stop on the 2005 A1 calendar would be the first street-race event of the season. Although Team USA didn't have the weekend they had hoped for, the all-new Durban, South Africa circuit played host to more than 180,000 spectators who were shown world-class racing action.
A1 Team USA was back on pace at the eighth round of the season in Sentul, Indonesia. Despite challenging weather conditions, the team managed their weekend well and Giebler went on to collect the United States' fourth top-ten finish. The series then packed up and headed to North America and the zealous motorsports fans of Monterrey, Mexico.
The North American leg of the season continued with a home stop for A1 Team USA. Always a driver favorite, the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca track beckoned the return of Bryan Herta. Herta made consistent moves up the field, but persistent mechanical issues forced an early end to the team's home showing.
Shanghai, China was the locale for the close of the inaugural A1 Grand Prix of Nations season in early April. More than 90,000 fans came out on race day to cheer their country on. A1 Team USA finished on a strong note, garnering yet another top-ten. A1 Team USA earned the distinction of being the only team in the A1 GP series to have all three of its drivers score points.
[edit] 90th Indianapolis 500 Entry
Wanting to continue the momentum of A1 Team USA and pursue the idea of celebrating American open-wheel racing, team owner Rick Weidinger decided to take the We The People livery to the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" with the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500. American racing icon Al Unser, Jr. returned from retirement to join the effort. The Unser family is a dynasty synonymous with U.S. open-wheel racing and the Indianapolis 500, so the pairing seemed natural. Al, along with his father and uncle, hold 9 Indianapolis 500 victories to their credit; 2 of those belonging to Al Jr. in 1992 and 1994. This year's 500 will mark Al's 18th Indy start.
With operational structure provided by Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, A1 Team USA brought U.S. insurance giant GEICO to complete the American effort as the primary sponsorship partner. With everything in place, Al Unser, Jr. took the We The People car out for its maiden laps around the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 7, 2006. A1 Team USA's objective is to rally the American fans and generate national pride and awareness. Then, ideally, harness that pride and enthusiasm and demonstrate to these fans that there is a unique, exciting format in the A1 Grand Prix of Nations where you can continue to root for your "home" team.
At the 2006 Indianapolis 500, "Little Al" qualified 27th of 33 cars, and was able to move up the field and race in the top half of the pack for most of the race. However, a crash ended his day, finishing 24th with 145 laps completed.
[edit] Drivers
Al Unser, Jr. will pilot the "We the People" car during the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500. Other notable drivers for Team USA include Red Bull Driver Search Finalist Scott Speed, currenty driving for Toro Rosso F1 team, effectively Red Bull's B Team. For the fourth round at Eastern Creek, Australia, of the Championship, Indycar driver Bryan Herta drove. He scored one point in the feature race with a tenth place finish. There has been one other driver, Philip Giebler.In addition, well-know open-wheel driver Scott Sharp contributes as a member of the racing operations team for A1 Team USA.
Phil Giebler was the main driver for the 2006-7 season, with Jonathan Summerton being fielded for the Friday "rookie" sessions. Ryan Hunter-Reay is believed to be driving for the team at some point in the season [1].
[edit] External links
A1 Grand Prix national teams | |
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Australia • Brazil • Canada • China • Czech Republic • France • Great Britain • Greece • Germany • India • Indonesia • Ireland • Italy • Lebanon • Malaysia • Mexico • The Netherlands • New Zealand • Pakistan • Singapore • South Africa • Switzerland • USA |
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Defunct: Austria • Japan • Portugal • Russia | Planned: Turkey |