A1 Team Australia

A1 Team Australia
A1 Team Australia
Founded	2005
Seat holder(s)	Alan Docking
Team principal	Alan Jones
Race driver(s)	John Martin
Car nickname	Jackeroo
First race	2005–06 Great Britain
Rounds entered	39 (78 races)
Championships	0
Sprint race victories	0
Feature race victories	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
Total points	132
2008–09 position	8th (36 pts)

A1 Team Australia was the Australian team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series.

Management

The team chairman is former Formula One world champion Alan Jones, backed by general manager and former NASCAR driver Peter Nolan. The seat is owned by Formula One talent-spotter come principal engineer Alan Docking through his eponymous racing team organisation.

History

Will Power was the team's driver for the opening round at Brands Hatch, scoring a fourth place in the Sprint Race and a second in the Main Race, beaten only by Nelson Piquet Jr. who dominated the weekend. Power amassed 16 points for these two results; however, he had already signed for Champ Car's Team Australia and made no further appearance in A1GP. His replacement was seat owner Jones' son Christian Jones, who did not fare so well; round two in Germany provided no points and a best finish of fourteenth place.

The uncompetitive Jones was replaced with Will Davison for round three in Portugal, and despite a qualifying performance of 18th place and a first-lap retirement in the Sprint Race, secured sixth place and five points in the Main Race. Davison was maintained for the home round at Eastern Creek Raceway, and again provided a sixth-place Main Race result. Davison consistently scored better in the Main Race in his drives, securing a one-point tenth place in the UAE round, although retiring from the main race in Durban.

Contract obligations again caused a driver change when Davison switched to V8 Supercars; Australia's fourth driver of the season was Marcus Marshall, who scored the team's first podium since the opening round with a third-place finish in Indonesia. He also moved into V8 Supercars however, and the driver's seat reverted to Christian Jones, who was again uncompetitive.

The seat for the last two rounds was awarded to Ryan Briscoe, who matched Power and Marshall's podium feat in the final round in China, with a main race third-place finish. In total, Australia's best results were a second place and two third places, for a total of 51 points and 13th place in the first-ever A1GP championship.

Although Team Australia managed to secure three podium finishes during the 2006-07 season, they still finished the championship in 13th position with 25 points.

Team Australia finished the 2007–08 season in 17th position, but did manage to score points in both the Sprint and Feature races of their home race.

In the 2008–09 season, Team Australia scored their first ever fastest lap in the final race of the season, however just narrowly missed out on beating New Zealand in the final standings, finishing 8th.

Drivers

Name	Seasons	Rounds (Starts)	2nd	3rd	Fastest Laps	Points
Ryan Briscoe	2005–06, 2006–07	5 (10 starts)		2		24
Will Davison	2005–06	5 (10 starts)				13
Ian Dyk	2006–07, 2007–08	7 (14 starts)		1		9
Christian Jones	2005–06	2 (4 starts)				0
Marcus Marshall	2005–06	1 (2 starts)		1		8
John Martin	2007–08, 2008–09	13 (26 starts)			1	54
Will Power	2005–06	1 (2 starts)	1			7
Karl Reindler	2006–07	5 (10 starts)		1		8

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

(key), "spr" indicates the Sprint Race, "fea" indicates the Feature 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	Alan Docking Racing	Lola, Zytek, Cooper Avon		GBR		GER		POR		AUS		MYS		UAE		RSA		INA		MEX		USA		CHN		51	13th
				spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea
			Will Power	4	2
			Christian Jones			15	14													16	Ret
			Will Davison					Ret	6	11	6	Ret	11	21	10	9	Ret
			Marcus Marshall															16	3
			Ryan Briscoe																			10	8	9	3

2006–07	Alan Docking Racing	Lola Zytek Cooper Avon		NED		CZE		BEI		MYS		INA		NZL		AUS		RSA		MEX		SHA		GBR		25	13th
				spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea
			Ryan Briscoe	13	3					12	17	6	10
			Karl Reindler			15	16	12	3					14	13	14	14	16	Ret
			Ian Dyk																	3	8	16	Ret	14	Ret

2007–08	Alan Docking Racing	Lola Zytek Cooper Avon		NED		CZE		MYS		ZHU		NZL		AUS		RSA		MEX		SHA		GBR				20	17th
				spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea
			Ian Dyk	21	12	Ret	13	Ret	9	13	15
			John Martin									9	Ret	6	5	6	14	Ret	21	15	14	14	Ret

2008–09	Alan Docking Racing	Ferrari, Michelin		NLD		CHN		MYS		NZL		RSA		POR		GBR										36	8th
				spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea	spr	fea
			John Martin	12	4	11	6	8	4	Ret	4	12	13	10	12	7	8

References