A1 Team Netherlands was the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

team of

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix Operations Ltd. operated as 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 themse ...

, an international racing series.

Management

A1 Team Netherlands' owner was former

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

driver and

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

winner Jan Lammers. The team was managed by Lammers's racing team Racing for Holland, notable for their participation in the

24 hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans () is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the city of Le Mans, France. It is widely considered to be one of the world's most prestigious races, and is one of the races—along with ...

and FIA sportscars series.

History

The 2005-06 season had a difficult start for Team Netherlands. In the first two sprint races the car was hit in the first turn on both the

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

and

EuroSpeedway The Lausitzring (formally known as the Dekra Lausitzring for ownership reasons) is a race track located near Klettwitz (a civil parish of Schipkau, Oberspreewald-Lausitz district) in the state of Brandenburg in northeast Germany, near the b ...

circuits. Despite these setbacks,

Jos Verstappen Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch racing and rally driver, who competes in the European Rally Championship as a privateer. Verstappen competed in Formula One between and . Born and raised in Dutch Limburg, ...

showed impressive overtaking action in the main races moving from the back of the grid to the seventh position. The season continued with average results, with 4th up to 19th positions as end results. The street circuit of

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

brought the first victory for A1 Team Netherlands as in the last turn of the main race, Jos Verstappen managed to take the lead from the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

car. A similar manoeuvre that failed during the sprint race forced Verstappen to start from the 16th place on the grid. In 2006-07 Team Netherlands finished 5th in the championship, with one victory. In 2007-08 Team Netherlands finished 7th in the championship, with 2 podiums. For the 2008-09 season Jeroen Bleekemolen returned as a driver, alongside A1GP rookie

Robert Doornbos Robert Michael Doornbos (; born 23 September 1981) is a Dutch former racing driver who also competed with a Monégasque licence. He has been test and third driver for the Jordan and Red Bull Racing Formula One teams, as well as driving for Mina ...

. Both drivers alternated races, starting with Bleekemolen at

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

. Team Netherlands finished 4th in the championship, with both drivers having scored one victory in a sprint race.

Drivers

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

( key), "spr" indicates the Sprint Race, "fea" indicates the Feature Race.(results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

A1gp.com Official A1 Grand Prix Web SiteOfficial Team Website - A1 Team Netherlands

Racing for Holland, homepage of the management teamA1GP Team Netherlands Photosite
{{A1_Grand_Prix_teams

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Dutch auto racing teams National sports teams of the Netherlands Auto racing teams established in 2005 Auto racing teams disestablished in 2009