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Written by:
Cassio Cortes
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com
RACER Magazine http://www.racer.com
10/22/2007 - 07:00 PM
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Want to understand Ferrari's involvement in A1GP? Looking East is a good guess... (A1GP photo) » More Photos
As you can see here and also here, A1 Grand Prix has been sort of a pet peeve of mine for a while. Perhaps it was the fact I suffered frostbite while attending the series' sole American race back in 2005, but most likely it's due to A1's intriguing proposition from a business point of view, and its paradoxical nature of delivering a great on-track racing product while not having a flying chance in hell of turning any profit whatsoever, at least not in my lifetime.
Or so I thought. That last premise, of course, went the way of most of my rationalizations (i.e., straight down the drain) with last week's announcement that Ferrari will become the official engine and, sweep your chins off the ground, chassis supplier for the self-proclaimed "World Cup of Motorsport" beginning with the 2008/9 season. Yes, Ferrari-Ferrari of the Prancing Horse, of Gilles Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn and Jean Todt, and even of Cesare Fiorio and Ivan Capelli.
We're talking about a major, major coup here. Not just because of the Ferrari engines, but most importantly because of the fact the new A1 chassis that will debut next season will be loosely based on this year's Ferrari F2007, which took Kimi Raikkonen to his first world championship. How significant is that? Ask Bobby Rahal how far he went when asking Ferrari
Up until now one of the main things holding A1 back was the anonymity of most of its drivers. Overnight, problem solved: which aspiring open-wheel talent won't want to develop his skills aboard a 600hp+ quasi-Ferrari? Ditto for recognizable drivers perhaps a bit long in tooth for F1 but still in shape to put on a good show aboard something slightly slower.
With two races in China, A1GP already has a sizeable presence in what's set to become the world's largest economy. (LAT Photo) » More Photos
Who's got the power in motorsports? Check out our annual look at the big hitters in racing worldwide in our November issue, on sale now.
One man bouncing off the walls with the announcement is Ohio-based Scott Hollingsworth, A1's chief commercial officer for North America. Hollingsworth's problems haven't been solved overnight, but I'm betting his job just got a helluva lot easier since last week.
"Hopefully our strategy for North America hasn't changed because of this deal, but there's no doubt things will be accelerated significantly now," he confesses. "It instantly strengthens our events and our media coverage, but above all, it draws attention from other companies to become potential partners. They see Ferrari involved, which is arguably THE motorsports brand out there, and that ensures a second look."
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