08/09/2006
NEWS STORY
As the clock counts down towards October 1st and the start of a new season of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, hosted at Circuit Park Zandvoort in Holland, A1 Team Great Britain Team Principal John Surtees has announced that Robbie Kerr, Darren Manning and Oliver Jarvis will form the team's driver line-up for the new A1GP campaign.
All three were in action at last week's pre-season test at Silverstone and following their respective performances the trio of talent will be retained to represent A1 Team GBR as the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport enters its second season of global competition.
Commenting on the team's line-up ahead of the 2006-07 A1GP season Surtees remarked: "Quite simply I think we have one of the strongest driver representations in A1GP with Robbie, Darren and Oliver on-board. Obviously Robbie and Darren were with us last year and did a solid job scoring podiums and helping us to third overall in the Nations Standings while Oliver joins us as a rookie but with impeccable credentials as last season's Formula Renault Champion and McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year.
"First and foremost A1 Team GBR has to win this season so we'll look at the drivers for each race and decide who gives us the best chance of helping us to achieve that goal. All three worked well together at Silverstone last week in pre-season testing and we look forward to seeing that form translated into results when the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport gets underway next month."
Robbie Kerr (26) returns having raced in 10 of the 11rounds held in the inaugural season of A1GP where nation was pitched against nation for the first time in motorsport across six different continents from September through to April. Kerr, the 2002 British F3 Champion, was a consistent front-runner steering A1 Team GBR to seven podium finishes before handing over to Yorkshire's Darren Manning for the final round of the 2005-06 season in China.
Looking ahead to a return to A1GP competition Robbie said: "It was great to be back in the car last week and get up to speed having been out since my last race at Laguna Seca in March. I'm obviously delighted to be back representing Great Britain in A1GP and having come so close last season I want to ensure we get that elusive first win this year and go on and mount a serious title challenge, something I know we're more than capable of with the new team line-up."
Manning (31), bringing a wealth of driving experience ranging from Formula One testing through to Champ Car and Indy Racing League racing, stunned with his pace on his A1GP debut scoring a second place podium in the Chinese Sprint race in April helping to secure third place for A1 Team GBR in the Nations Standings behind World Champion's A1 Team France and second-placed A1 Team Switzerland.
Eager to build on his Sprint and Feature starts for the team in China Manning commented: "Personally speaking it's an honour to represent Great Britain in something as exciting and unique as A1GP. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the team out in China and am looking forward to kicking off the season at Zandvoort. We had a productive test at Silverstone last week, the team gelled right from the off and that was translated into our overall pace. I'm looking forward to working with Robbie and Oliver as the season progresses and getting A1 Team GBR onto the top step of the podium."
While Manning and Kerr have already represented A1 Team GBR, Cambridgeshire's Oliver Jarvis (22) will be keen to follow suit having impressed the team with tests at Pembrey and Silverstone. Winner of the prestigious 2005 McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award and last season's Formula Renault UK Champion, Jarvis is currently blazing a trail in domestic competition locked in the fight for this year's British F3 Championship where he sits second in the standings in his rookie season with two wins to his credit.
Jarvis might be new to the A1 Team GBR fold but he's no-less keen to do his bit to help the team achieve its objectives for the season ahead: "I was really pleased to first be invited to test with the team and now join them for the new season of A1GP. It's a great platform for a young driver to represent their nation and for me personally its pleasing to know that my on-track efforts throughout the regular season have been recognized leading to this opportunity. I'm looking forward to bolstering the driver in-put and hopefully getting the chance to race for my country."
Darren Manning will take the wheel for A1 Team GBR in Round 1 at Zandvoort on Sunday 1st October with Oliver Jarvis participating in the scheduled 'Rookie' session on Friday 30th September. Robbie Kerr will be in World Series by Renault action the same weekend, competing at Le Mans, France with Team KTR.