A1 Team USA
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| A1 Team USA | |
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| Founded | 2005 |
| Seat holder | Rick Weidinger |
| Team principal | - |
| Race driver(s) | Buddy Rice Jonathan Summerton |
| First race | 2005-06 Great Britain |
| Events entered | 32 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Sprint race victories | 0 |
| Main race victories | 1 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 2 |
| Total points | 121 |
| 2007-08 position | 12th (56 pts) |
| edit | |
The A1 Team USA is the American team which competes in the A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series. The A1 Team USA car was presented to the public on 22 August 2005.
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[edit] Background
Owner Rick Weidinger became interested in A1 Team USA and the A1 Grand Prix series when national franchises were being bid for the new series. Weidinger already owned Kelley Racing, a Indy Racing League team. 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 Brands Hatch circuit on September 26, 2005.
After racing at EuroSpeedway in Lausitz, Germany, the A1 GP moved on to the Estoril in Portugal. A1 Team USA achieved their first top-five finish at this former Formula 1 venue when driver Scott Speed placed 4th.
A1 Team USA next raced in Sydney, Australia, on Eastern Creek Raceway, the only international race circuit in Sydney. U.S. Veteran racer Bryan Herta finished in the top ten in this race, scoring his first points with A1 Team USA.
From Portugal the series headed to the ultra-modern Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, where Herta delivered the team's third top-ten finish. In Dubai, UAE, Phil Giebler was on target to bring home another top-five finish when an electrical failure, with 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 new circuit in Durban, South Africa, played host to more than 180,000 spectators.
A1 Team USA was back on pace in the eighth round of the season in Sentul, Indonesia. Despite challenging weather conditions, Giebler went on to collect the team's fourth top-ten finish. After a round in 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 location 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 team on. A1 Team USA finished on a strong note, garnering 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 90th running of the Indianapolis 500. American racing icon Al Unser, Jr. returned from retirement to join the effort. 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. The 2006 Indy 500 was 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. 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. piloted 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, ex-driver of the 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 2006-2007 season, with Jonathan Summerton being fielded for the Friday "rookie" sessions. Ryan Hunter-Reay is drove for the team at New Zealand.[1]
For the 2007-08 season, 2004 Indy 500 champion Buddy Rice joins Summerton at A1 Team USA.[2]
| Name | Seasons | Races (Starts) |
A1GP Title | Wins | Sprint wins |
Main wins |
2nd | 3rd | Poles | Fastest Laps |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philip Giebler | 2005-06, 2006-07 | 10(20) | 1 | 27 | |||||||
| Bryan Herta | 2005-06 | 3(6) | 13 | ||||||||
| Ryan Hunter-Reay | 2006-07 | 1(2) | 1 | ||||||||
| Buddy Rice | 2007-08 | 2(4) | 0 | ||||||||
| Scott Speed | 2005-06 | 3(6) | 7 | ||||||||
| Jonathan Summerton | 2006-07, 2007-08 | 12(24) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 74 |
[edit] Complete A1 Grand Prix Results
(key), "spr" indicate a Sprint Race, "fea" indicate a Main Race.
[edit] External links
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National sports teams of the United States
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