A1 Team New Zealand

The entry from New Zealand for the A1 Grand Prix, the A1 Team New Zealand, was formed by Colin Giltran, a prominent businessman from Auckland, who is already known for his numerous car dealerships. The team is managed by Bob McMurray, who recently retired from McLaren Formula One racing team, with whom he had been associated for 30 years. The team car, named Black Beauty, received as a present at New Zealand House, London. The car had been painted a glossy black with a prominent silver fern on it, black is the traditional color of New Zealand sporting teams, though not for auto racing in New Zealand.

Also on the car is the county recognition code, as the competition is between different countries and not just individuals. Even though the code NZL is in white for now, the team hopes to have it in gold soon, as the defending champion country is allowed to have their code displayed in gold. Run by Super Nova Racing, David Sears’ organization, which also runs the A1 Team Germany car, A1 Team New Zealand’s major sponsor is Fisher and Pavkel, an appliance manufacturer. Fisher and Pavkel was formed by Woolf Fisher and Maurice Pavkel, in 1934, when it sold surplus refrigerators. Soon the company began manufacturing and in a few years became an exporter. In 1979, it became a public company, and since then has been restructured numerous times, excelling in its field with many innovative and diverse product lines, and today exports to over 80 countries.