Sir Keith Mills, London’s 2012 Olympic campaign architect, is part of a group planning A1GP’s 15-year comeback.
Executives, including a former director of world motorsport’s governing body and the founder of the Nectar loyalty scheme Sir Keith Mills, are in discussions to raise $100 million (£80 million) to finance the revival of A1GP, the international motor racing series contested by national teams.
Prominent figures from the sporting and business worlds are presenting investors to secure the funding necessary to relaunch the series, which was last staged in 2008-2009, by the end of next year.
If the fundraising campaign is successful, twenty teams representing countries from around the globe would compete for the World Cup of Motorsport, with each driver using a car of identical specifications.
The open-cockpit vehicles’ top speed is 350 km/h, making A1GP the second-fastest motor racing series behind F1.
The cars would run on alternative fuel to reduce top motorsport’s environmental effect.
According to sources, several wealthy individuals and investment funds have already expressed interest in financing the initiative.
Marcin Budkowski, former Alpine F1 team principal and FIA director, leads the project’s workforce.
According to an insider, its commercial operations will be headed by an unnamed executive.
The narrative is being crafted in collaboration with Origin Sports Group, a sports investment firm that has played a significant role in internationally renowned events such as America’s Cup World Series and the Invictus Games.
Sir Keith, the founder of Origin and the man who led London’s successful campaign to host the 2012 Olympic Games and is now a director of Allwyn, the next operator of the National Lottery, serves as the venture’s senior advisor.
F1 technical veteran Mike Gascoyne is a consultant, and former Lagardere global president David White is participating.
Prospective investors say A1GP might include teams from the UK, China, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and the US.
According to sources, discussions are ongoing with automobile and engine manufacturers, and a working prototype has already been constructed.
They added that A1GP would not compete directly with F1, but would instead hold several races during the F1 off-season.
“There is a strong desire for nation-versus-nation competition in sports, and motorsport is no exception,” stated one executive.
The revised series had twelve races in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
The A1GP season would run from December to July, with a focus on fan accessibility through modest general admission prices.
One potential investor stated that its schedule would be designed to minimize air freight costs for financial and environmental reasons.
A televised annual talent tournament would select one senior race car driver and one junior racer for each national team.
According to one source, the potential revival of A1GP represents a wager on the sustainability of expanding international television audiences.
Drive To Survive, a Netflix fly-on-the-wall documentary, introduced Formula One to new audiences.
The worldwide financial crisis ended the inaugural A1GP competition in May 2009.
Executives behind the new iteration are rumored to have devised a financial model in which the World Cup of Motorsport’s teams would be centrally owned and managed, with the possibility of raising funds through the sale of individual franchises in the future.
This weekend, no A1GP participants could be reached for comment.
