A1 Team Singapore

Last updated

A1 Team Singapore
Flag of Singapore.svg
Founded2006
Seat holder(s)Krishna Ramachandra, Ben Neo, Alex Yeo, R. Sasikumar, Janet Tan-Collis, Tsung Yan Soo, Tan Su Shan
Team principalKrishna Ramachandra
Race driver(s) Christian Murchison
Denis Lian
First race 2006-07 Netherlands
Rounds entered7
Championships0
Sprint race victories0
Feature race victories0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
Total points3
2006-07 position20th (3 pts)

A1 Team Singapore represented Singapore in the A1 Grand Prix motor racing championship.

Contents

History

Singapore's participation in A1GP came as a result of founder Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum approaching the state government about hosting a round of the inaugural season in the city state. The Singaporean authorities turned down the offer on the basis that it was too risky to close the city for a street race run by an unproven championship, and instead opted to enter a team. [1]

The outfit struggled to find sponsorship to fund set-up, going so far as to advertise in The New Paper. A1 Team Singapore missed the deadline to enter the first season, but found support from lawyer Krishna Ramachandra, footballers R. Sasikumar, Luis Figo and Ronaldo, and 300 citizens who pledged SG$50 in exchange for their names to be stickered onto the rear wing ahead of their debut in the 2006–07 season. West Surrey Racing were contracted to operate the team. [2]

Former Formula Asia champion Denis Lian, kart racer Hafiz Koh and Australian-based Christian Murchison were announced as the teams' drivers, with Murchison's inclusion controversial as he had defaulted his National Service through his Australian residency. The team was scheduled to complete a pre-season test with all three drivers at Elvington Airfield on 21 September 2006, but was cancelled after Richard Hammond's near-fatal crash the day before. [3]

Lian was entered to race in the first round at Zandvoort, but was withdrawn having contracted tonsilitis between practice and qualifying. Murchison replaced his with no prior testing, qualified 20th of 23, was crashed into by Ananda Mikola of Indonesia in the sprint race and finished 16th in the feature race having stalled at the start. Lian returned to the car a week later in Brno, however qualified second-last and spun on the opening lap of the feature race. Murchison replaced Lian for the chaotic Beijing round, and finished eighth of nine classified finishers in the feature race to score three points.

Having failed to attract support from Singaporean corporations, financial difficulties beset the team ahead of the Malaysian round – resulting in the series' parent company A1 Holdings taking control of the team and the firing of Lian and Koh. Murchison finished 11th in the feature race following a race-long battle with Ireland's Michael Devaney, therefore missing out on the prize money that came with a top-10 finish. Murchison then injured his back in training ahead of the next round in Indonesia. Devoid of all sponsorship and national symbols, the team struggled through the Australasian leg of the series before making their last appearance in Durban – but Murchison spun in qualifying, crashed on his own in the sprint race and tangled with the stalled Italian car off the grid in the feature race.

The team withdrew from the final three rounds, citing Murchison's back injury. It did not return for the 2007–08 season, with any available domestic funding diverted to financing the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix. [4]

Drivers

NameSeasonsRaces
(Starts)		A1GP TitleWinsSprint
wins		Main
wins		2nd3rdPolesFastest
Laps		Points
Denis Lian 2006–07 1 (2)0
Christian Murchison 2006–07 6 (12)3

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

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

YearRacing
team		Chassis,
Engine,
Tyres		Drivers12345678910111213141516171819202122PointsRank
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 320th
Christian Murchison Ret161681511Ret1512RetRetRet
Denis Lian 1819

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References

  1. ↑ Yvonne Yong (23 August 2006). "Team Singapore to compete in 'World Cup'". Channel NewsAsia.
  2. ↑ Ian De Cotta (8 September 2006). "Murchison's Singapore pledge". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
  3. ↑ "Lian, Singapore's hopes for A1GP". Motorsport Asia Ltd. 8 August 2006. Archived from the original on 5 September 2006.
  4. ↑ "Singapore Took Part in the World Cup of Motorsports. And We Crashed and Burned". Kopi. 18 August 2019.


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