Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 11 October 2009 – A1 Team Malaysia will not be on the grid for the first round of the 2009/2010 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport.
A combination of factors has forced the team to make this difficult decision, primarily driven by the unavailability of appropriately experienced drivers and the rumours surrounding the Series’ participation at the event.
Jack Cunningham, Chief Executive, A1 Team Malaysia, explains, “The opening round of the new A1GP season is less than two weeks away. It is unfortunate for us that we do not have a driver available for this event. We have not been able to conduct any pre-season testing in the A1GP car and, with the minimal practice session time available during the weekend, any driver we propose would be severely disadvantaged and ultimately, uncompetitive. It has been a difficult decision, but without the proper preparation, it would be foolish, unsafe and unfair of us to put any driver in this position.
“Surfers Paradise is notorious for the huge challenge it presents to even the most experienced drivers, so we had to consider our position very carefully. The minimal preparation time was just not enough for us to put anyone else forward and led us to conclude that the best option would be to miss the event.
The rumours about the Series have put us in a very difficult position with our business partners. We were already facing the tough decision not to compete due to our lack of driver, but these have added to the pressures on us to make a decision on our participation at Surfers Paradise. Our priority is to Malaysia, our commercial partners and our stakeholders; we have to be confident that we are representing them to our best ability, operating professionally and competitively.
A1 Team Malaysia has competed in the last four seasons of the A1GP Series and has been one of the front running teams during this time. The team has consistently finished in the top 10 and is regarded as a potential championship title contender having finished 6th overall of the 22 teams competing in the last season.
