The surprising championships that disappeared
In motorsport, there have been many championships, sometimes duplicated. But there have also been surprising championships.
A1 Grand Prix (2005 – 2009)
What if nations fought for a championship title, like a football World Cup? This is the project of Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, a member of the Dubai family. Helped by Tony Texeira in particular, the new championship is one-design, with a chassis created by Lola and powered by a Zytek V8. Cooper supplies the tires.
The first race took place on the weekend of September 25, 2005, at the Brands Hatch circuit in Great Britain. This is the first round of a season of 11 meetings. To represent France, Alexandre Prémat and Nicolas Lapierre are called up. The duo, helped by the structure of Jean-Paul Driot, brings France to victory, ahead of Switzerland and Great Britain.
While the man who imagined the championship leaves the organization, the second season starts on October 1, 2006, on the circuit of Zandvoort, in the Netherlands. Germany won, strongly helped by Nico Hülkenberg, who was replaced by Christian Vietoris in Mexico. New Zealand and Great Britain complete the podium. For the final season of the Lola chassis and Zytek engine, Neel Jani gives Switzerland the Season 3 title. New Zealand and Great Britain complete the final podium again.
The last season of the championship took place between 2008 and 2009, with a single-seater powered by Ferrari, equipped with Michelin. Adam Carroll leads Ireland to overall victory, despite two canceled races. But the problems of the series will make it disappear during the year 2010.
In 2014, the ISRA (International Sport Racing Association), which bought the first generation of A1GP single-seaters, launched Formula Acceleration 1, a nations championship won by the Netherlands. This new championship merged with AutoGP the following season. As for the Ferrari generation, all the single-seaters have been bought by AFRIX Motorsport.
SuperLeague Formula (2008 – 2011)
How about a FIFA Club World Cup? This is the basis of the idea of the SuperLeague Formula, far from the lawns of football stadiums. The principle is simple: the single-seaters bear the image of football teams and race on circuits to win the championship. The series is founded by Alex Andreu and Robin Webb. Panoz builds the chassis, Menard manufactures the V12 and Michelin equips the single-seaters.
The first champion club is Beijing Guoan, with a single-seater driven by Davide Rigon. PSV Eindhoven and AC Milan completed the top three. Liverpool FC won the next championship, with Adrián Válles ahead of Tottenham Hotspur and FC Basel 1893. Olympique Lyonnais finished in 17th place. RSC Anderlecht wins the third season with Davide Rigon. Tottenham Hotspur and FC Basel 1893 complete the podium. The Girondins de Bordeaux are 11th, Olympique Lyonnais are 18th.
After the color of football clubs, the SuperLeague Formula takes an old idea, that of nations! But the championship is reduced to two races, giving victory to Australia. The championship disappears after four seasons.
