The announcement of the 2008/09 calendar for the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has been welcomed by Belmayne A1 Team Ireland Team Principal Mark Gallagher. As well as established favorites such as Zandvoort and Mexico City, the venue of the team's first victory, new races have been added in Portugal, Indonesia and Italy. The season opener at Mugello will also mark the competitive debut of the new A1GP car, powered by Ferrari.

After a strong finish to season three, with a win in Mexico followed by podiums in China and Great Britain, Gallagher is determined that the team will carry the momentum through and be amongst the challengers for the title when racing resumes in September.

Mark Gallagher; Team Principal: “It's great to see the new calendar published with some now traditional events on the schedule, along with at least three new circuits for the series. The opening round at Mugello will be of particular interest bearing in mind the terrific new partnership with Ferrari, which will generate enormous interest and is creating great excitement in relation to the race debut of the new A1GP car, powered by Ferrari.

"Aside from A1GP's very good points in terms of offering excellent racing and a level playing field for nations taking part, the calendar cements A1GP's position as a global series as we have seen over the last three years visiting every important region in the world. This is a high quality world series for drivers, the nations they represent and sponsors seeking to reach a world wide audience.

From the point of view of Team Ireland it is terrific for us to offer our nations drivers the opportunity to compete on a variety of race tracks around the world, including not only venues used by Formula 1 but also some outstanding tracks which have generated many fantastic spectacles since the series started in 2005.

"I've no doubt that when the new A1GP car is seen in public, and Ferrari's involvement helps to take the series to another level in terms of performance, we can all look forward to a fantastic season of A1GP and our aim is for Team Ireland to be amongst the frontrunners from the outset."