With Christmas fast-approaching, the world of A1GP is as busy as ever with plenty of action continuing off the track.
It has been an eventful weekend for current A1GP World Cup of Motorsport Champion, A1 Team Switzerland. On Friday 5 December, seat holder Max Welti and driver Neel Jani attended a ceremony in Bern as the team was presented with a special award to commemorate the 2007/08 title success.
Auto Sport Switzerland and the Swiss National Sports Commission have awarded A1 Team Switzerland the Auto Sport Award for special merits in relation to Swiss motor racing. With this award, Switzerland pays tribute to the dedication and achievements of the representatives of a nation where motor racing is banned and it cannot rely on the support of its own automotive industry. The team then flew over to the UK to attend the annual Autosport Awards.
On Sunday 7 December the Autosport Awards took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, bringing together the most influential personalities in motorsport to celebrate outstanding achievements from the past year. This year A1GPs official timing partner, TW Steel, was also the official watch partner to the Autosport Awards.
As Official Watch Partner TW Steel presented Alexander Sims, the 20-year-old Formula Renault UK Championship runner-up, with an exclusively engraved watch as part of his prize for being named this years McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner. The A1GP show car was also on display at the prestigious event.
This week also see the Motor Sport Business Forum take pace in the Grimaldi Conference and Exhibition Centre in Monaco. The event is a marketing and networking event bringing together motorsport professionals in a unique business setting away from the track. This year A1GP CEO, Pete da Silva, will be at the event on 10 11 December as a key speaker on The Business of World Motorsport. A1 Team Monaco will also have its car on display, although it will be in black livery with gold diamonds, as opposed to the red and white livery usual seen when racing on tracks around the globe.
The final Lippo Village circuit design has now been submitted to the FIA for approval and the granting of the relevant licence. The 3.2-kilometre circuit comprises of 13 turns running anti-clockwise. A1GP Lippo Village, Indonesia will be held from the 6 - 8 February 2009.
An additional test for the A1GP test car has also been confirmed to take place in Portugal at the new Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on 10 13 January 2009. A1GP will be the circuits first international car race meeting at the track when the series heads to Portugal on 10 12 April 2009.
