2005 Lola B05/52

The A1 Grand Prix series was launched in 2005 and promoted as the 'World Cup of Motorsport.' It was a 'single make' open-wheel racing series founded by Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum of Dubai, initially in 2003. During the first season, which began on September 25th of 2005, twenty-five single-car National franchises competed to determine a Champion Nation. The first season was planned for 12 rounds with each race weekend sub-divided into a Sprint and a longer Feature race. After the cancellation of a race scheduled for Curitiba, Brazil in January 2006, the number of races was reduced to eleven. The series attracted former Grand Prix drivers such as Christian Fittipaldi, Ralph Firman, and Jos Verstappen. Former World Champions John Surtees, Alan Jones, and Emerson Fittipaldi were franchise holders.

The 'spec' racing formula used carbon fiber-clad aluminum honeycomb chassis from Lola powered by 3.4-liter normally aspirated Zytek V8 engines that delivered 520 horsepower. Each engine was designed to last the entire season and weighed only 120 kilograms. It used a Zytek EMS 4.6.1 engine management system, Zytek DCDI with coil-over plug ignition, a sand-cast aluminum alloy cylinder block and head, and four valves per cylinder. The engine was backed by an electronically controlled paddle-shifter operated via a six-speed paddle-shift semi-automatic sequential transmission using a two-piece carbon clutch.

On normal dry races, the A1 Grand Prix cars raced on slick tires, with pneumatics supplied exclusively by Cooper Tires.

Nelson Piquet, jr. won the inaugural race of the series for A1 Team Brazil. Team Germany won the second season with 128 points, 35 points ahead of Team New Zealand. The 2007 and 2008 season was the final season that used the Lola-Zytek A1GP car. Neel Jani was the winning driver for Team Switzerland. For the final racing season, the teams used the 'Powered by Ferrari' A1GP car.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2021

Sold for $140,000 at 2021 RM Sothebys : Amelia Island Auction.
This Lola B05/52 A1 Grand Prix car was raced by the A1 Team Ireland franchise throughout the 2007-2008 A1GP season. It made its first appearance at the official Silverstone test in August 2007 where it was driven by series Test (and former Jordan Grand Prix) driver Ralph Firman, who also raced it in the first race of the season at Zandvoort where he finished eighth in the Sprint race and sixth in the Feature race.

After the inaugural race, driving duties passed to GP2 frontrunner and BAR-Honda F1 test driver Adam Carroll. At Brno, he finished third and sixth in the Sprint and Feature races respectively. Throughout the remainder of the season, the car earned a further seven top-six placings with the high point being the Mexico City round in which Carroll placed first in the Feature race, having already secured fourth in the Sprint race the previous day. The car earned two additional podium finishes with a third in the Shanghai Feature race and a third in the Sprint race at Brands Hatch. At the end of the season, the team was in sixth place in the championship.

The current owner acquired the car in 2020 and was subsequently given a comprehensive overhaul. The work included a complete rebuild of the engine and gearbox.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2021