Motorsport: A1 series revs up to first race

As the clock ticks down towards the debut of the A1 Grand Prix series at Brands Hatch next weekend, questions remain unanswered as to its position in world motorsport.

One thing is certain. Colin Giltrap's purchase of a franchise, now sponsored by Fisher and Paykel, is the best thing to happen in New Zealand motorsport for years and a mighty boost to the careers of Jonny Reid and Matt Halliday.

Still to be discovered is whether fans round the world will warm to a series that will try to provide what Formula One has been lacking just as the premier championship is showing signs of a revival.

It seems an odd choice that the first A1 Grand Prix will be staged on the same weekend as the Brazilian Grand Prix when one of the stated aims of the new series is to fill the gap in the off-season of Formula One.

Organisers of A1 could not have predicted that the Formula One drivers' championship could be decided in Sao Paulo and that Michael Schumacher would be out of contention.

While Schumacher and Ferrari were reducing the rest of the field to bit-players in the past few seasons, a competitive alternative looked more and more attractive.

But this season has produced a new front-runner in Spaniard Fernando Alonso, hard pressed by Finn Kimi Raikkonen.

What's more the leading drivers, including British hero Jenson Button, appeal to younger fans. Ferrari's Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello are technically superb but unlikely to be found in a lap-dance club.

Formula One is still suffering from the dominance of a few manufacturers and the smoke-fuelled excesses of tobacco sponsorship. But the boss of world motorsport, Max Mosley, is determined to push through reforms that will cut costs, encourage more teams and spice up the racing.

Second-tier series such as Formula Two, Formula 3000 and now GP2 have been promoted as feeders for Formula One with varying success. A1 Grand Prix is an entirely new concept, never threatening Formula One's status, but offering a different type of entertainment.

It has been dubbed the World Cup of motorsport, and the concept of different nations running the franchises in basically identical cars could be a winner. Signed up so far are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland and the United States.

With three spots open, notable absentees are Italy and Spain, where Formula One frenzy is at fever pitch.

The national card is a potential trump for A1GP. Formula One teams are multi-national - Spaniard Alonso drives for a French manufacturer and an Italian manager. Raikkonen's McLaren team has a New Zealand heritage, a British management and a German engine.

Some of the A1GP team pedigrees are a bit like Graham Henry's Welsh Maoris. Simon Khan, who will drive for Pakistan, is a Yorkshireman who lives in Spain and until recently had never been to his "homeland".

Ireland's Ralph Firman has relatives in the Emerald Isle but has the accent of a Bond St jeweller.

But if there are thousands of fans at Brands Hatch in eight days when the countries compete in two races, Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum's billion-dollar gamble will earn applause that is the same in any language.