Status Grand Prix Limited, the team responsible for securing A1 Team Ireland’s victory in the 2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, wishes to announce that Managing Director and Team Principal, Mark Gallagher, is stepping down from his management duties to join Cosworth Ltd where he will lead its Formula One™ Business Unit.
Mark was a co-founder of Status Grand Prix when it acquired the Irish franchise for A1GP in 2005 and will remain a shareholder and Director alongside Teddy Yip, John Hynes and David Kennedy.Mark Gallagher said; “The last four years have been challenging and rewarding in equal measure, particularly as they culminated in us winning the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport™ title for Ireland which was both a personal ambition as well as a team goal. I would like to thank my partners, all of those who have worked for me directly over the last four years and of course the excellent drivers who have raced for Status Grand Prix and Team Ireland during this time. The opportunity to lead Cosworth’s Formula One operation is a terrific challenge and one that I relish.”Principal shareholder, Teddy Yip, said I would like to thank Mark on behalf of the team for his tireless work over the last four years and wish him every success with Cosworth in Formula One. We have already put in place an initial plan for our future race team operations, including in A1GP, as we are an ambitious team and keen to achieve further successes. There are also exciting opportunities that we are actively considering in the USA for Status Grand Prix in 2009. Mark’s departure means a new structure in terms of day-to-day management and we will make further announcements in due course.”Aside from owning and operating the Irish franchise in A1GP, Status Grand Prix successfully operated A1 Team Canada to race winning success in 2007/08 and provided engineering support to A1 Team Netherlands in 2008/09. In the past, the team has also participated in FIA GT and the Le Mans 24 Hours. A1GP and sports cars will feature in its future planning as well as a possible move to other senior single-seater categories