A1 Team USA

A1 Team USA was the American team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.

A1 Team USA
Founded2005
Seat holder(s)Rick Weidinger
Race driver(s)Marco Andretti
Charlie Kimball
First race2005-06 Great Britain
Rounds entered33
Championships0
Sprint race victories0
Feature race victories1
Pole positions0
Fastest laps1
Total points124
2008-09 position10th (3 pts)

Management

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. Along with minority partners and friends Rusty Lewis and Bill Dean, Weidinger finalized the franchise acquisition in July 2005. The engineering side of the team was originally run by British squads David Price Racing, and then West Surrey Racing. For 2008-2009 the team was run by IndyCar Series team Andretti Green Racing[1] and Andretti Green's IndyCar drivers, primarily Marco Andretti drove the majority of races.

History

2008–09 season

Driver: Marco Andretti, Charlie Kimball, J.R. Hildebrand

2008-09 marked the first season in which Andretti Green Racing ran Team USA.[1] Following the Zandvoort race, it was announced that Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick would race for Team USA at some point during the season.[2]

2007–08 season

Drivers: Buddy Rice, Jonathan Summerton

After a slow start to the season, Team USA gradually improved, peaking with the team's first victory. Along with 2 podiums, the team finished 12th in the championship.

2006–07 season

Drivers: Phil Giebler, Ryan Hunter-Reay

Team USA scored two podiums, and other consistent scoring to finish in 9th place in the championship.

2005–06 season

Drivers: Bryan Herta, Phil Giebler, Scott Speed

In the inaugural season, Team USA finished in 16th place in the championship.

2006 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.[3]

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.

Drivers
Name Seasons Races
(Starts)		 A1GP Title Wins Sprint
wins		 Main
wins		 2nd 3rd Poles Fastest
Laps		 Points
Marco Andretti 2008-09 2 (4) 1 13
Phil Giebler 2005-06, 2006-07 10 (20) 1 27
Bryan Herta 2005-06 3 (6) 13
Ryan Hunter-Reay 2006-07 1 (2) 1
Charlie Kimball 2008-09 1 (2) 1 3
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

Complete A1 Grand Prix results
Year Racing
team		 Chassis,
Engine,
Tyres		 Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Points Rank
2005-06 David Price Racing Lola,
Zytek,
Cooper Avon		 GBR spr GBR fea GER spr GER fea PRT spr PRT fea AUS spr AUS fea MYS spr MYS fea ARE spr ARE fea ZAF spr ZAF fea IDN spr IDN fea MEX spr MEX fea USA spr USA fea CHN spr CHN fea 23 16th
Scott Speed 11 Ret Ret Ret 13 4
Bryan Herta 15 10 10 7 6 13 9 Ret
Philip Giebler 13 Ret 13 Ret 15 9 14 10
2006-07 West Surrey Racing Lola
Zytek
Cooper Avon		 NED spr NED fea CZE spr CZE fea BEI spr BEI fea MYS spr MYS fea IDN spr IDN fea NZ spr NZ fea AUS spr AUS fea ZAF spr ZAF fea MEX spr MEX fea SHA spr SHA fea GBR spr GBR fea 42 9th
Philip Giebler 7 2 6 17 11 Ret 9 6 4 9 8 8
Ryan Hunter-Reay 11 10
Jonathan Summerton Ret Ret 5 2 5 Ret 9 6
2007-08 A1 Team USA Lola
Zytek
Cooper Avon		 NED spr NED fea CZE spr CZE fea MYS spr MYS fea ZHU spr ZHU fea NZ spr NZ fea AUS spr AUS fea ZAF spr ZAF fea MEX spr MEX fea SHA spr SHA fea GBR spr GBR fea 56 12th
Buddy Rice 22 13 16 15
Jonathan Summerton 12 10 12 10 7 14 5 Ret 10 Ret 5 3 21 1 2 12
2008-09 Andretti Green Racing Ferrari,
Ferrari,
Michelin		 NED CHN MYS NZL RSA POR GBR 24 11th
spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea
Charlie Kimball 8 10
Marco Andretti 15 8 Ret 3 11 11 17 8 12 Ret
J.R. Hildebrand 4 14

(key), "spr" indicate a Sprint Race, "fea" indicate a Main Race.

References
  1. "Andretti Green Racing to run USA". a1gp.com. 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
  2. "Kimball hails new US team". a1gp.com. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  3. "IRL: Unser Jr named to A1 Team USA Indy 500 entry". Motorsport. 2006-05-03. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
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