Plans for an investment round to raise $100m for the revival of a World Cup of Motorsport series after a 15-year absence have emerged. Executives including the architect of London's 2012 Olympics bid, Sir Keith Mills, and "a number of deep-pocketed investment funds" and individuals have expressed interest in financing the project, according to Sky News. A similar championship known as 'A1GP' originally ran between 2005 and 2008, before folding at the end of 2009 amid the global financial crisis. If funding for a revival is successful, it would see 20 teams representing countries from around the world to compete for the World Cup of Motorsport in a single specification car. Each car would run on sustainable fuel and have a top speed of 350kph, making it one of the fastest racing series in the world - second to F1. The project has been spearheaded by a team of individuals including Marcin Budkowski, a former FIA Head of F1 Technical Department and Executive Director at Alpine, and Former F1 engineer who worked with Toyota and Caterham, Mike Gascoyne, has also been enlisted as an advisor. The bid is being done in collaboration with Origin Sports Group, whose founder is Sir Mills, which played a key role in the America's Cup World Series and Invictus Games.
New series looking to capitalise on Drive to Survive audiences
The series plans to run from December through to July in 12 races spread across Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Each team would be represented by an experienced driver and one younger competitor selected through an annual talent competition. The revival of the series is said to be a bet on the potential for International TV audiences, with Drive to Survive on Netflix credited as being a key driver for motorsport interest around the world.
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