OCTOBER 18, 2001
Premier 1 Chassis - Reynard beats Dallara to the deal
The new one-make Formula 1 rival, Premier 1 Grand Prix, has unveiled a new deal with Reynard Motorsport to produce its homogenous chassis design.
When the new series was launched it was with the Italian chassis manufacturer Dallara, the dominant force in Formula 3, that the Premier 1 organizers were allying themselves but then recently the news came after the launch of two of the 24 cars that no deal had in fact been done and that Reynard was in the hunt for the deal.
Now it has been revealed that Reynard has indeed won the contract, and an announcement of the engine supply is expected to follow soon. Again, this was originally thought to have been a done deal with Judd supplying 3.5-liter V10 units for all the cars but Robin Webb, the operations director, later said that the engine deal would be done as soon as the chassis deal was in place.
The FIA has however given its provisional clearance for the new series, the brainchild of Essex millionaire Colin Sullivan, who aims to link the two massive global audiences for Formula 1 and world soccer with his new series in which the colors of international soccer clubs are carried on each of the 24 cars.
"Reynard Motorsport is proud to be selected as the supplier of the Premier1 Grand Prix cars," said Reynard boss Robert Synge. "It is another exciting opportunity for us to demonstrate our expertise in the design and build of technologically advanced single-seater race cars.
"This Championship will be a unique platform for Reynard and with our strong pedigree the company is ideally placed to produce a car which exceeds all Premier1's expectations, combining top class performance with the highest safety standards."
"This particular contract has been well contested since it first went for tender almost two years ago," added Heinz Schurtenberger, CEO of Premier1 Grand Prix. "In-depth discussions have been held with Dallara Automobili who demonstrated their extensive knowledge and expertise during the process of negotiations."
"The end result will have performance close to a Formula 1 car but will run on slick racing tires and will have the advantage of ground effect aerodynamics," explained Robin Webb.
"Launch control, traction control and ABS will not feature, but the cars will have the latest electronic gear shift technology, and will comply with the stringent FIA safety regulations."