24/05/2005
NEWS STORY
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Former motorcycle, and Formula One, World Champion, John Surtees, has said that the British entry in the forthcoming A1 Grand Prix series will not be there to make up the numbers.
Following a two-day shoot-out, during which four young hopefuls were put through their paces, under the watching, knowledgeable eyes of the man who will run the British team, the drivers face an agonizing wait as the decision as to who gets the drive is made. It's thought that this could take up to a week.
"This was an evaluation to see how the drivers get on with the team as a whole not just in the car," revealed Surtees, who following his career as a racer enjoyed success as a constructor in F2, F5000, and to a lesser extent F1.
"We were not just going to look at the times," he revealed. "We need to have a relationship where the engineers, mechanics and drivers work together very well.
"The one thing we want our driver to bring is ability and not money," he continued. "We shall make the decision in the relatively near future. We may decide on more than one driver as would need to have a back up due to other commitments or unforeseen circumstances.
Both Surtees and Christian Horner, the Red Bull team boss whose Arden International will engineer the British entry, insist that A1 Team GB is not there just to make up the numbers, and that the team "really want to win".
To check out our shoot-out picture gallery, click here