A1_Team_USA
A1 Team USA was the American team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.
| A1 Team USA | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Seat holder(s) | Rick Weidinger |
| Race driver(s) | Marco Andretti Charlie Kimball |
| First race | 2005-06 Great Britain |
| Rounds entered | 33 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Sprint race victories | 0 |
| Feature race victories | 1 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| Total points | 124 |
| 2008-09 position | 10th (3 pts) |
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.
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.
| 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 |
(key), "spr" indicate a Sprint Race, "fea" indicate a Main Race.
- "Andretti Green Racing to run USA". a1gp.com. 2008-10-01. Archived from the original on 2008-10-02. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- "Kimball hails new US team". a1gp.com. 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- "IRL: Unser Jr named to A1 Team USA Indy 500 entry". Motorsport. 2006-05-03. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
