A1_Team_New_Zealand
A1 Team New Zealand was the New Zealand team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.
| A1 Team New Zealand | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Seat holder(s) | Colin Giltrap |
| Team principal | Bob McMurray |
| Race driver(s) | Earl Bamber |
| Car nickname | Black Beauty |
| First race | 2005-06 Great Britain |
| Rounds entered | 33 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Sprint race victories | 4 |
| Feature race victories | 3 |
| Pole positions | 4 |
| Fastest laps | 4 |
| Total points | 315 |
| 2008-09 position | 3rd (18 pts) |
The team was formed by and is owned by prominent Auckland businessman Colin Giltrap, well known for this car dealerships. The team is managed by Kiwi Bob McMurray who retired last year after nearly 30 years involvement with the McLaren Formula One racing team. The car is run by David Sears' organisation, Super Nova Racing, as is the A1 Team Germany car, meaning that the two teams are often thought of as one. Prior to Super Nova's involvement, the car was run by West Surrey Racing, a British organisation run by New Zealander Dick Bennetts which fields the Team RAC cars in the British Touring Car Championship.
2008–09 season
Drivers: Earl Bamber, Chris van der Drift
Team New Zealand shocked the A1 paddock by revealing 18-year-old Earl Bamber as their main driver for the race in Zandvoort, even after the success of Jonny Reid in previous seasons. Bamber went on to record two podium finishes at a rain-soaked Zandvoort. However, his replacement Chris van der Drift had less success in Chengdu, China, only scoring two points in the Sprint Race and just missed out on points in the Feature Race.
2007–08 season
Driver: Jonny Reid
Again, Team New Zealand challenged for the championship, but lost out at Great Britain to Switzerland. The team recorded 4 victories and 2 podiums.
2006–07 season
Drivers: Matt Halliday, Jonny Reid
Team New Zealand were championship challengers this season, but even with 3 victories and 8 podiums, lost out by 35 points to Germany.
2005–06 season
Drivers: Matt Halliday, Jonny Reid
In the inaugural season, Team New Zealand scored consistently, as well as a podium, to finish 4th in the championship.
| Name | Seasons | Races (Starts) |
A1GP Title | Wins | Sprint wins |
Main wins |
2nd | 3rd | Poles | Fastest Laps |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Bamber | 2008-09 | 1 (2) | 1 | 1 | 18 | ||||||
| Matt Halliday | 2005-06, 2006-07 | 13 (26) | 3 | 103 | |||||||
| Jonny Reid | 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 | 19 (38) | 7 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 219 |
(key), "spr" indicate a Sprint Race, "fea" indicate a Main Race.
