A1 Team New Zealand

A1 Team New Zealand is the New Zealand team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.

A1 Team New Zealand
Founded2005
Seat holder(s)Colin Giltrap
Team principalBob McMurray
Race driver(s)Earl Bamber
Car nicknameBlack Beauty
First race2005-06 Great Britain
Rounds entered33
Championships0
Sprint race victories4
Feature race victories3
Pole positions4
Fastest laps4
Total points315
2008-09 position3rd (18 pts)

Management

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.

History

2008–09 season

Driver: 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 however, went on to record two podium finishes at a rain-soaked Zandvoort. However, 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.

Drivers
Halliday chases Team Mexico at Brands Hatch.
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

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

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

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 West Surrey 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 77 4th
Matt Halliday 3 4 14 16 6 6 15 13 6 4 8 7 Ret 8 8 12 8 4
Jonny Reid 4 4 14 8
2006-07 Super Nova 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 93 2nd
Matt Halliday 6 11 10 9 3 3 16 8
Jonny Reid Ret 7 3 8 1 1 3 3 2 2 16 6 2 1
2007-08 Super Nova Racing 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 127 2nd
Jonny Reid 9 7 1 1 5 8 10 2 1 4 2 9 20 10 1 12 Ret 4 8 8
2008-09 Super Nova Racing Ferrari,
Ferrari,
Michelin		 NED CHN MYS NZL RSA POR GBR 36 7th
spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea spr fea
Earl Bamber 2 3 3 6 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret
Chris van der Drift 7 11 5 13
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