The first round of the 2009 / 2010 A1GP season appears to be in doubt with claims the cars are not even on their way to Australia let alone will have the required safety improvements before the opening practice session on Thursday Morning let alone the planned test sessions at Queensland Raceway this Monday.

Nikon Super GP General Manager, Greg Hooton held a press conference today to attempt to clarify the position of his organisations dealings with A1GP organisers however his statement appears to raise more doubts than before.

“I need to make it clear that this event is happening next week. Do not lose sight of the fact that I’m standing in V8 Pit Lane where next week the V8 Supercars will for the first time ever have two, 200km races. The V8 Supercars are absolutely a major aspect of this event and will be here in force next week,” said Hooton.

“There are certainly rumours surrounding the appearance of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at the Nikon SuperGP at this time, there is no question about that.

“At this point in time, I need to make clear that A1GP has not breached any terms of contract with GCMEC (Gold Coast Motor Events Company*).

“The current situation is as follows:

“Operational staff within A1GP continue to work with our staff on preparing for their race.

“A1GP have released their teams list. I have letters from the competing teams committing to racing on the Gold Coast. A1GP have paid deposits on accommodation.

“A1GP have paid deposits on the hire of general equipment. A1GP have approved and completed their on-track signage. Where necessary, A1GP Teams have been making visa applications.

“They (A1GP) have released their 2009/10 series calendar and yesterday further released details on their next round in Zhuhai, which will follow our round.

“They have had their series rules for racing approved. They have provided a provisional driver listing to us but under their rules of racing this in fact can change up until the Wednesday before the event and in fact driver changes can occur between races within an event.

“A1GP are responsible for their own freight bookings and movement to ensure the cars are here for racing next Thursday.

“The taxpayer has not lost money, nor does the taxpayer face any risk of losing money at this event. This event, as has been stated previously, is completely underwritten by IMG.”

It has also been reported by the Gold Coast Bulletin that Brisbane Airport has had no bookings of the expected 2 Jumbo's of A1GP cars expected to transport the cars and equipment down under.

This has caused a furious warning from acting Queensland Premier, Paul Lucas, giving A1GP organisers a 24hr ultimatum to guarantee the series cars will be flown from London to the Gold Coast in time for next week's race.

"I'm told that they haven't yet booked the race car transport, but I'm told that they've booked their accommodation and their visas are in process," Mr Lucas said.

"In the next 24 hours we want confirmation to make sure that they get here.

"We expect the A1 GP to comply with their contract. We will look to our contractual rights if people don't look to their contractual obligations. This event is worth millions and millions and millions of dollars to the Gold Coast.

"We expect A1 GP to keep up their side of the bargain."