A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a 'single make' open wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themselves or a team, the usual format in most formula racing series. As such, it was often promoted as the "World Cup of Motorsport". The series was ratified by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and races were held in the traditional Formula One off-season, the northern hemisphere winter. The nation-based A1GP concept was founded by Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum
Auto racing organized what is considered to be the world's first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen. One hundred and two competitors paid a 10-franc entrance fee. The first American automobile race is generally held to be the Thanksgiving Day "Chicago Times-Herald" race of November 28, 1895. Press coverage of the event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile. With auto construction and racing dominated by France, the French automobile club ACF staged a number of major international races, usually from or to Paris, connecting with another major city, in France or elsewhere in Europe. Brooklands, in Surrey, was the first