A1 Team Canada cemented its place in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport history books by becoming the fifth nation in the series to celebrate a victory when Vancouver’s Sean McIntosh lead the team to a stunning Feature race win in Indonesia in February 2006. Canada went on to complete the inaugural 2005-06 season finishing tenth overall in the Nations Standings – not bad for a team that came together just a couple of weeks before the opening round of the nation versus nation championship in September 2005.
A1 Team Canada, under the guidance of Canadian businessman and Seat Holder Wade Cherwayko, quickly established itself as one of the most consistent nations in the series despite its hasty beginnings. With Formula Renault stand-out Sean McIntosh selected as the first Canadian driver in A1GP, the team scored on its debut at Brands Hatch in England and subsequently collected its maiden A1GP podium, a third place Feature race finish, at the very next round at Germany’s EuroSpeedway.
The highlight of the 2005-06 season was undoubtedly McIntosh’s Indonesian Feature race victory, a win all the more remarkable as the Canadian was forced to start from the back of the grid having retired from the earlier Sprint race on the opening lap. Racing against drivers from around the world boasting Formula One, Champ Car and Indy Racing League experience, McIntosh was unfazed as he worked his way from last place to first to lead Canada to a brilliant Round 8 Feature victory.
Quebec’s Patrick Carpentier had the honor of racing for A1 Team Canada in the final three rounds of the inaugural season. The decorated Champ Car veteran led the team to points scoring finishes in Mexico, the USA and China to wrap the season tenth overall in the Nations Standings with a total of 59points. A1 Team France were crowned the first ever World Champions having dominated the season.
The 2006-07 A1GP season again saw A1 Team Canada as a consistent force, armed this time round with a blend of youth and experience in the form of Toronto’s James Hinchcliffe and the returning Sean McIntosh. Taking advantage of the newly introduced ‘Rookie-Only’ sessions on Friday mornings, Hinchcliffe, a front-runner in the Champ Car Atlantic Championship, enjoyed the lion’s share of the racing last season competing in seven of the 11 rounds across the globe.
Canada again scored an early podium and came close to tasting a second victory courtesy of Hinchcliffe’s efforts in the second round at the Brno Autodrome in the Czech Republic last October. Having sealed a second place Sprint race podium, and therefore securing Canada’s first-ever A1GP front-row start for the afternoon’s Feature race, Hinchcliffe promptly snatched the lead from A1 Team Malaysia’s Alex Yoong on the run to the first corner. The Canadian led all but the last five laps having seen Yoong exact his revenge with a passing move which tipped Hinchcliffe into a spin. While he recovered to finish fifth, it was a case of ‘what might have been’ for A1 Team Canada.
While both Hinchcliffe and McIntosh would go on to score further points for Canada, a run of seven straight non- scoring races in the second-half of the season severely restricted the team’s chances of emulating the previous season’s top-ten standing. As it was Canada just missed out, finishing the season 11 th overall in the A1GP Nations Standings with a total of 33 points, just two points shy of the Mexican entry ahead in tenth. A1 Team Germany scored nine wins on their way to becoming the 2006-07 A1GP World Champions.
The 2007-08 A1GP season sees a new-look A1 Team Canada take to the grid. Status Grand Prix assumes responsibility for the day-to-day running of the team having taken over from John Village Automotive during the off- season. Status Grand Prix are well-versed in A1GP through their continued management of A1 Team Ireland – the two nations to be partnered together in the pit-lane this season.
The A1GP schedule once again hosts some stunning venues with the series taking in trips to The Netherlands, Czech Republic, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Mexico and Great Britain.
| 
|