A1 GP cars held at Durban airport
A legal wrangle put next week's A1 Grand Prix of Nations race in Jakarta in jeopardy when all 50 racing cars were attached by court order at Durban International Airport and were unable to leave South Africa this week.
However, the dispute was apparently settled out of court late on Thursday night. The cars had already been loaded on to pallets at Durban airport, ready to be transported by cargo planes, when they were attached.
On Wednesday afternoon, lawyers acting for Johannesburg-based insurance brokers Aon South Africa made an urgent application before Durban High Court Judge Herbert Msimang, claiming they were owed $6-million (R34-million) in insurance premiums.
The application was made against the eight international A1GP companies which own the cars used by the international racing teams. After hearing oral argument, the judge granted the order, which was served on the A1GP's legal adviser, Theo Watson.
The sheriff acted swiftly on Wednesday afternoon to attach the cars and accessories, and draw up an inventory.
The outstanding premiums were for the cars driven by all 10 teams except for the team from the US.
The insurance was for public liability, transportation and damage for almost all the races in this year's series. The policies were underwritten by Lloyd's of London and other British companies.
The insurance has now been cancelled and the cars are uninsured. The order states that should the A1GP companies provide alternative security for the disputed R34-million, the cars can be released.
On Thursday night lawyers acting for A1GP went to the Durban High Court, saying they were fighting the attachment order, and asking for a guaranteed urgent court hearing this morning.
They said they would contact KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala on Thursday night to arrange this.
Representatives from each company then held discussions with a view to settling the matter out of court. They apparently reached agreement, but will have to return to court on Friday morning to have the attachment order lifted.
One giant cargo plane from Singapore landed at Durban airport on Thursday to take the first load of cars to Jakarta, where the next race is scheduled for next weekend. It sat on a runway for three hours then left without its cargo.
Another, coming from Europe, was believed to be in the air last night. Watson said he had not studied the court documents and did not want to comment.
Aon managing director Anton Roux said his company did not want to stop the next race and was pleased the situation had been resolved.