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  Few people in the modern age can claim to have created an entirely new global sporting event, but that is precisely what a member of Dubai’s ruling family has done with the A1 Grand Prix.

  Unlike other motor sports where drivers race for teams in their own specially developed car, A1 removes any technological advantage as each driver races the same model of car with the same engine. And instead of competing for a specific sponsor or motor manufacturer, they compete under their home country’s flag - creating a World Cup of Motor Sport.

  “A1 Grand Prix is the first opportunity in any area of motor sport for nations to compete on a level playing field,” Sheikh Maktoum explained. “It is a series where technology and innovation are deliberately equalised and performance is determined by human bravery, skill and excellence. Team and driver combine to create their advantage and the winning nation raises its flag in celebration.”

  The first A1 Grand Prix season began at Brands Hatch in the UK at the end of September, with a total of 12 races set to take place around the world at a mix of world-famous venues, new state-of-the-art facilities and tight twisty street circuits. The winner of the first series will be crowned at the final race of the inaugural series in Shanghai on 2 April 2006 and, with 25 national teams taking part – each representing a different country, the competition has already caught the imagination of race fans across the globe.

  “A1 Grand Prix is more than just another motor sport phenomenon; it's an entirely new sport - The World Cup of Motorsport,” Sheikh Maktoum said. “Pitting driver against driver and country against country for the first time in history.”

  A number of motor racing legends are supporting their national teams with the Austrian team run by former Formula One World Champions Niki Lauda and Keke Rosberg, the Australian team owned by former F1 World Champion Alan Jones, and Team Brazil guided by two-time F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, with Nelson Picquet’s son, Nelson Picquet Jr, in the driving seat.

  “The concept of A1 Grand Prix is fantastic,” Fittipaldi said. “This category gives the edge to the driver as all the cars are identical. Brazilian fans will be able to support our team in the same way they support the national soccer team.”

  Among the backers of Team Brazil is soccer star Ronaldo who unveiled his nation’s distinctive green and gold car at a ceremony in Sao Paulo in June.

  “We have already won the football World Cup five times and it would be wonderful to win the first motor racing world cup as well,” the three-times FIFA World Player of the Year enthused. “The participation of Emerson, who has two F1 world titles and two Indy 500 victories to his name as well as an unquestionable level of technical knowledge, is justified by our common goal to put Brazil in an atmosphere of technological innovation and high dose adrenaline.”

  The series is being run in warm countries during what is termed motor racing’s ‘off season’, including a race meeting at the Dubai Autodrome in December, with each team competing in identical single-seat racing cars built by Lola International and fitted with Langford Performance Engineering 3.5 litre 485 brake horse power engines.

  The business concept is each team is a franchise of A1 Grand Prix, with the owner of the franchise, or ‘seat holder’ for his nation, able to focus on running a profitable and sound business model with income generated through sponsorship, local media rights, merchandising and significant prize money. A1 Grand Prix provides the entire infrastructure for the championship and is responsible for providing the cars and engines, handling the transportation logistics of the cars, and ensuring maximum television and media coverage of all the races.

  The drivers, as well as the sponsors, must be indigenous to the nationality of the team, with each of the 12 three-day racing weekends having the same format: day one, a Friday, is free practice, day two further practice followed by qualifying, and day three a 15 to 20 minute sprint race determining the grid positions for the longer main event, which lasts between 40 and 50 minutes.

  There are points on offer for both the sprint race and the feature race, while a bonus point is picked up by the team completing the fastest lap in each.

  “All points are allocated to the winning nation and there are no driver points,” Sheikh Maktoum explained. “The World Cup of Motor Sport promotes countries and utilises the national patriotism instilled in every person on the planet, not only attracting traditional motor sport and sporting fans, but exciting anyone who is passionate about their heritage, country and population.”

  The Middle East is represented in the series by Lebanon, whose first race at Brands Hatch was cut dramatically short on lap 14 of 38 when driver Khalil Beschir was rammed by the Italian car and went into a wild barrel-roll – although fortunately neither driver was injured.

  Top honours in that incident-packed opening race went to Brazil’s Nelson Picquet Jr who overcame Will Power of Australia to win the feature race in front of a crowd of 60,000 spectators. Third place, 12 seconds behind Australia, was narrowly won for Mexico by Salvador Duran, with New Zealand fourth after an impressive comeback by Matt Halliday who started at the back of the grid.

  Speaking before the race began, A1 Grand Prix CEO Tony Teixeira said: “We promised to deliver 25 teams by the start of the first season, and we’ve done it. We have offered seat holders, commercial partners, their sponsors and our broadcasters details on the sound business model on which we have based the A1GP series. This has made owning or supporting a franchise and showing the races on television an attractive proposition.

  “In fact, we have been so successful in generating interest in A1 Grand Prix, the national competition began before our cars have taken to the track. We’ve had to turn away applications from a number of countries to keep to our limit of 25 teams.”

  The 25 successful nations to win a seat at the A1 Grand Prix are Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland and the USA.

  From Britain the series moved to the EuroSpeedway Lausitz circuit in Germany where this time it was French driver Nicolas Lapierre who dominated, winning both the sprint and the feature races, with Great Britain and Canada taking their first podiums of the series by coming second and third respectively.

  But with 10 races still to go, there is plenty of action left in the opening season of A1 Grand Prix as each of the competing nations seeks to become the first ever winner of the World Cup of Motor Sport.