Grapevine: New Series Plans to Fill F1's Winter Void

Middle Eastern motor racing fans have been promised a new winter championship next year to fill the empty months when Formula One shuts down.

Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, nephew of the Crown Prince of Dubai, told Reuters on Thursday that the A1 series would start up in September 2005 and could extend throughout the southern hemisphere.

"A1 stands for Asia, Arabia, Africa and Australia," he said in a telephone interview. "They are all venues where street racing has been very limited. A lot of these countries cannot afford Formula One and this is an alternative at a time of year when F1 is not racing.

"I found a vacuum in the motor sport world where there was nothing on television and that really frustrates a guy like me," he added.

Maktoum said his championship, using cars built by Lola in Britain and powered by 3.5 litre Langford engines, would offer up to $2 million in prize money. Teams could recoup their costs if they finished fifth in every race. Asked how much was needed to get the series up and running, he replied simply "a hell of a lot".

While the series has yet to secure the approval of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), a launch is planned for Dubai in late March before the region's first Formula One Grand Prix in Bahrain on April 4.

"We're not competing with Formula One, we are a completely new concept," said Maktoum. "It will be nothing like anything with an F in it."

The deal with Lola and Langford, billed as one of the largest in the history of motor sport, was announced on Monday with the company commissioned to build 30 cars for the winter one-make championship.

The cars will have no electronic controls, with the emphasis on the driver's abilities, and the championship will have between nine and 18 races in a season. The sheikh said he wanted a minimum of 24 countries involved, either through teams or as venues.

He added that buying into Formula One, whose teams have long tried to woo wealthy Middle Eastern investors, had been considered but he liked this idea better.

"I came up with this idea and I can afford it," he said. "I have the backing for it and it has government support. This will be huge, bigger than anyone expects. "I don't want it to be a rinky-dinky championship, I want it to be a real one."