A1 Bankrupt! - Page 3

Le Bru · 13 Jul 2009, 19:30 (Ref:2501069)

Many thanks for the link.. interesting comments.. not sure what to make of it.. reads like a Bestseller.. lots of intrigue etc.. Hope A1 rises out of all of this the stronger and becomes the great series it is meant to be.

cos · 15 Jul 2009, 19:16 (Ref:2502422)

Court order to wind up the firm was filed today at Companies House; hopefully should be available to view the document tomorrow and find out some more...

Le Bru · 16 Jul 2009, 10:33 (Ref:2502681)

In your understanding is that just the operations arm or the whole series?

cos · 16 Jul 2009, 11:58 (Ref:2502717)

Just A1 Grand Prix Operations Ltd. I think the ultimate holding company of A1 is registered in the British Virgin Islands or somewhere similar; no idea what's going on behind the scenes in relation to the whole series.

rychard · 23 Jul 2009, 17:40 (Ref:2506726)

For a series that's supposedly facing the executioner, they certainly are carrying on as if nothing's wrong ......

"London, Great Britain. A spectacular 24-strong parachute drop over Main Beach this morning heralded the official launch of a ‘new era’ for Australia’s premier motorsport event – the Nitro SuperGP on Queensland’s Gold Coast – which will kick off Season Five of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport later this year.
Now less than 100 days away from the starter’s flag, the Nitro SuperGP will see more than 20 nations battle head-to-head when A1GP joins the Australian V8 Supercars Championship Series on the streets of Surfers Paradise from October 22-25.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said for the 19th year in a row the world’s motorsport spotlight would shine on the Gold Coast event – making it one of the longest-running and most successful of its kind in the world.
“The Gold Coast has become a permanent fixture on the international motorsport circuit and the festival has been entertaining locals and visitors alike for nearly two decades. And this year is expected to be bigger and better with the sleek, Ferrari-powered A1GPs mixing it with the pure muscle and brute force of our home-grown V8 Supercars,” said Ms Bligh.
A1GP Chairman, Tony Teixeira, explained just what this meant to the series: “I am still pinching myself that we have managed to do a deal to bring our Powered by Ferrari cars to such an iconic event. The Nitro SuperGP is one of the most eagerly awaited events in A1GP history and I know the reputation of this event worldwide is incredible. I cannot count the number of people who have told me that I shall be blown away by the superb organisation, the loyal fans, the great racing and the knowledgeable media. I don’t doubt any of these claims.
Joining the launch celebration was Gold Coast resident and Seat Holder for A1 Team Australia, Alan Jones. For once he was delighted to have his photo taken with one of his arch rivals, as the A1 Team Malaysia car had been flown out from the UK so the locals could view the sort of machinery they can expect to see on their streets in October.
Explaining more about what the event means to the area Ms Bligh said: “Over 300,000 are expected to attend the 2009 Nitro SuperGP, not to mention the 700 international media that will take this great city to the world. And this attention brings big business to the Gold Coast and Queensland.
“Our hotels and hospitality industry will benefit from more than 173,000 visitor nights; locals will benefit from the equivalent of over 550 casual, full-time jobs; and the Queensland economy will get a $60 million shot in the arm.
“Events like this are the lifeblood of Queensland tourism meccas like the Gold Coast and the Government is proud to continue its support of the motorsport festival,” she said.

Kiwi3 · 24 Jul 2009, 03:43 (Ref:2506956)

BUT...

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/...oast-news.html

The first few paragraphs. Still working on a deal to save the series?

Armco Bender · 25 Jul 2009, 10:13 (Ref:2507542)

Quote:

"Surfers Paradise is right up there alongside Le Mans, the Indy 500 and Monaco as one of the classics," said Mr Cherry.

Yeah right..

Most people will turn up to watch the V8's,you could probably replace the A1's with go karts and still get the same crowd numbers.

Tyrrell · 25 Jul 2009, 11:45 (Ref:2507585)

Poke fun if you want, but SP needs a series with international television coverage to make it work.

V8 Supercars and A1GP are good for each other

Armco Bender · 25 Jul 2009, 21:06 (Ref:2508005)

A1GP needs the Supercars otherwise no one would turn up to watch.
Case in point Taupo.

Tyrrell · 25 Jul 2009, 22:09 (Ref:2508031)

Miss the point completely if you want to....of course the majority of trackside will be there primarily for the V8 Supercars but the number trackside will be dwarfed by the television spectators tuning in for A1GP. The race is a sort of shop window for the local Gov't, and the foreign tv audience is central to its strategy for the event

rychard · 28 Jul 2009, 12:37 (Ref:2509923)

Tyrrell .... you hit the nail on the head!

Kiwi3 · 28 Jul 2009, 15:35 (Ref:2510021)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armco Bender

Yeah right..

Most people will turn up for the parties,you could probably replace the A1's with go karts and V8's with Minis and still get the same crowd numbers.

Fixed.

Le Bru · 29 Jul 2009, 15:30 (Ref:2510843)

A1 has all the makings of a great series.. it's early days .. just 4 years.
Would rather watch A1 than Nascar or GP2 or even that stroll along procession called F1. The cars look great, the over taking is good. Wish it every success.

RichardRenes · 29 Jul 2009, 21:24 (Ref:2511200)

I think most of us do.. that is why we think (I know I can speak for more than just myself) it's heartwrenching to see it being lead in this way

markw63 · 31 Jul 2009, 07:36 (Ref:2512189)

I am generally not a big "spectator" fan of any single seaters to be honest, but the A1 has changed my viewing opinion so much that even paid out my hard earned cash to go and watch the Algarve round. The racing was very close and really good. Would be a real shame to lose a genuinely good race series.

Le Bru · 31 Jul 2009, 11:23 (Ref:2512342)

Great choice Mark, plus it is so much cheaper to attend than an F1 race.. can get the whole group in. Plus for a tenner each see the cars on the grid.
Looking forward to a full calendar in season 5. Lets hope they market it well and the merchandise is top notch.

fredd1 · 4 Aug 2009, 07:45 (Ref:2515210)

Armco Bender, you got it absolutely right.

I have viewed trackside so many times, SP back when SuperTaxis weren't even on the menu and there was nothing lacking.
The SP publicists (read Qld Govt) which for many years strived to justify their support (and hooray for them) for the event have had their legs chopped.
Too bad; tho' there could be a way back.
A1 just won't cut it - that's why Eastern Creek ain't on the agenda - desperation on the part of the said Govt to look interested after all the past hoohah.

And on another front, I'm afraid, even with a former F1 icon???? (I'm almost ashamed of my heritage here) making the TV call A1 seriously lacks cred.

cos · 24 Oct 2009, 16:58 (Ref:2568770)

The administrator's proposals for A1GP operations have been filed, and there's some interesting reading.

Background of the liquidation/administration: back in May Shakespeare Engineering Components originally petitioned the winding up (liquidation) of A1GP OPerations. This was granted (presumably as the courts deemed A1 wasn't able to pay its debts as they fell due), but the liquidator applied to instead put it into administration in order to maximise what could be achieved for the creditors.

Current plans are for a meeting of creditors at the end of October. The administrator reckons it is unlikely that its possible to rescue to company unless A1 Holdings provides funds to pay off the creditors. Instead the administrator reckons that it would be best the assets were "sold as a whole to enable use in a race series".

At the time of initially being wound up (in May) A1 Operations had approx £17k of cash and £8.7m of stock and assets on its books. However the latter isn't certain, due to the "ongoing issues relating to ownership of the motorcars".

It also owed at least £99.6m to creditors and suppliers. £85m of this was due to A1 Holdings (its parent company, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands I think), but the other largest amounts appeared to be owed to other companies involved in moving, preparing and building the cars:

£2m to DoT
£5.4m to Ferrari
£486k to Michelin
£499k to Magnetti Marelli
£908k to Pankl Drivetrains
£497k to Universal Race Technology
£309k to Xtrac
and approx £389k in tax to HMRC

GroupOfOne · 24 Oct 2009, 18:45 (Ref:2568823)

Interesting reading. Now forgive me for being dim, but could someone explain how/why A1 Operations owes £85m to A1 Holdings?

Francis Albert · 24 Oct 2009, 19:49 (Ref:2568851)

are the debts to the teams included in the £85m?

rychard · 27 Oct 2009, 11:13 (Ref:2570664)

The thread RIP A1GP was locked before I could share something ..... so now I wont bother!

A1GP media officers do not answer questions - even when they did have jobs it was difficult to get information besides press releases. At the moment there is no response whatsover from anyone at A1GP.

From a media point of view it is impossible to apply for accreditation either. So what does that suggest?

Kiwi3 · 28 Oct 2009, 09:45 (Ref:2571274)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rychard

The thread RIP A1GP was locked before I could share something ..... so now I wont bother!

A1GP media officers do not answer questions - even when they did have jobs it was difficult to get information besides press releases. At the moment there is no response whatsover from anyone at A1GP.

From a media point of view it is impossible to apply for accreditation either. So what does that suggest?

Accrediation was only ever done last minute, and as you pointed out it was always difficult to get responses. So what's new?

duke_toaster · 28 Oct 2009, 12:48 (Ref:2571382)

If it's of any interest, A1GP's website is down ...

bludvl_x19 · 28 Oct 2009, 12:51 (Ref:2571385)

Best A-1 GP quote I've heard from the weekend? A-WOL GP

mountainstar · 28 Oct 2009, 15:20 (Ref:2571502)

Likely this is all over with, but I always liked A1 GP and would hope another backer would come along and buy the series.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Jordan Gone/Going Bankrupt????	Armco Bender	Formula One	83	5 Feb 2003 09:13
Janspeed Bankrupt	SPOONERBORO	Touring Car Racing	3	6 Oct 2001 10:20
Minardi Bankrupt?	crash	Formula One	22	20 Nov 2000 20:56