On Thursday, it was revealed that the first round of the inaugural A1 Grand Prix championship will take place at Brands Hatch in September (18).

The announcement was made by A1 GP founder and CEO, Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum, to a delighted audience at Autosport International.

Sharing the stage with the Sheikh, were former F1 driver, Jonathan Palmer, who purchased Brands Hatch and several other British tracks last year, together with motorsport legend, John Surtees, who will run the British team.

Without doubt, the A1 GP car has been the star of the show, and having seen and heard the car, race fans are already looking ahead to September with great anticipation, even Red Bull drivers David Coulthard and Vitantonio Liuzzi took time out to visit the A1 GP stand, both remarking that they were highly impressed with the car, though the Scot was unaware that the car is a brand new design and not an ex F3000 chassis.

Less than a year ago, A1 was still a dream, the brainchild of a wealthy member of the Dubai royal family. Now, at a time when we are all counting off the days to Melbourne, A1 GP has 13 teams (countries) on board, and its first race scheduled for a track that has witnessed some of the finest racing in motorsport history.

Sheikh Maktoum's knowledge of the sport, belies his youth. When he speaks of A1 and knowing what the fans want from their racing cars, he talks from experience, words like "passion", "pride" and "excitement" come from the heart, not cue-cards.

Although he was only six (almost seven), when Pedro Rodriguez was lapping the Kent track in atrocious conditions in the fearsome Porsche 917, giving one of the greatest performances of race-craft in 'modern' racing history, Sheikh Maktoum is fully aware of the history and the significance of the track, which last hosted a Formula One GP in 1986.

Sadly, there are still some cynics, doubtful that A1 will succeed, most notably a publisher who despite taking advertising revenue, insists that the series will never succeed. Pitpass on the other hand, which has never taken a penny in advertising from A1 GP, has championed the series from day one.

Others however, higher up the food-chain, are not so sure. We hear rumours that as the series gathers strength, and makes further inroads into the imagination of race fans disenfranchised with Formula One, a certain diminutive gentleman is watching the growth of A1 will growing concern.

When the series was first announced, there was scepticism, with some cynics claiming that A1 was merely the 'play thing' of a wealthy young Arab, a life-size Scalextric.

However, in recent months, as more countries (franchisees) come on board, we can see that many of these consortiums are led by super-wealthy, hard-nosed businessmen. Are we to believe that these men have all been mesmerised by a rich young man and his pipedream?

The answer is no. These men, and the many more waiting in the wings, eager to buy into A1, are fully aware that the series will succeed, because Sheikh Maktoum has done his research, and how.