A1 GRAND PRIX BRINGS FOUR COUNTRIES TOGETHER UNDER NELSON MANDELA
International statesman Nelson Mandela welcomed four A1Grand Prix National Seat Holders to his home in Cape Town, South Africa lastweek along with A1 Grand Prix chief executive Tony Teixeira and executivedirector Brian Menell.
Brazilian international Ronaldo (A1 Team Brazil), Real Madrid's Luis Figo (A1Team Portugal) and businessmen Tokyo Sexwale (A1 Team South Africa) and AtulGupta (A1 Team India) met Mandela while in South Africa to promote the A1 GrandPrix series.
The event combined promotion of A1 Grand Prix, the World Cup of Motorsport, withactivity for Mandela's own worldwide music-led campaign to raise awareness aboutHIV and Aids, funding the fight against the pandemic in South Africa. Mandelanamed both Ronaldo and Figo as ambassadors for the '46664 - Give one minute ofyour life to Aids' programme.
Commenting on the meeting, Tony Teixeira said, 'A1 Grand Prix is a commondenominator uniting countries by giving them the opportunity to racecompetitively on a level playing field. By removing financial advantages andensuring all nations have the same chance of winning, A1 Grand Prix is buildingrelationships between countries. We have already received the endorsement ofPrime Ministers and Presidents and now, through Nelson Mandela A1 Grand Prix hasbrought four more countries closer together.'
1. A1 Grand Prix is the first opportunity in any area of motorsport for nations to compete with other nations on an equal basis. 25 national teams will race identical cars with no electronic driver aids. Performance is determined by human bravery, skill and excellence.
2. To date, A1 Grand Prix has officially announced 16 of the 25 national teams that will race in the inaugural season of the World Cup of Motorsport. With only nine spaces left on the grid, the competition is fierce between a further 14 countries all vying to secure a space for their team.
3. Following the summer sun around the globe, A1 Grand Prix will deliver 12weekends of exciting racing action outside of the traditional motorsport season,kicking-off at Brands Hatch in the UK on 25 September 2005 before travelling toGermany, Portugal, Australia, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Indonesia orSingapore, South Africa, Mexico, both east and west coast USA and China. Fulldetails of the provisional race calendar can be found at a1gp.com.
4. All A1 Grand Prix races will be shown live across a worldwide network oftelevision stations. An announcement detailing television rights-holders willfollow shortly.
