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#1 Anorak Man

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 03:32

I'm tickled to hear that Frank and Paddy have cornered the F1 advertising niche for Anti-Nicotine products.

Which raises the question; what other unlikely sponsorship deals have been stitched, cobbled, and juxtaposed in GP history? There must have been some Beee-Yoooties, and don't forget the ones that didn't quite make it to the sign-writers and decal printers. Who knows, we might even inspire a new alliance in preparation for F1 finally ditching it's shameful carcinogenic sponsors. And we can all go back to Spa again, Yippee!


AM

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#2 Anorak Man

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 03:36

Didn't Mr. Surtees do a little lateral-thinking in the 70's, along this line?

How Damon Hill must cringe nowadays to see photos of himself emblazoned with the name of, and presumably profiting handsomely from, one of America's seediest accountancy firms. Arthur 'Shredder' Andersen! (Incidentally, the Royal Bank of Scotland still uses them. You have been warned.)


When Tyrrell F1 announced a major (dissonant) sponsorship deal with a washing machine manufacturer it was plain Ken had started to 'go-off' a bit. I gave it six months, at the time, it lasted just a tad longer. But, creditwhereitsdue, the cars went round and round, and the mechanics overalls were spotless!


And how on earth did Niki Lauda con a South American biscuit manufacturer into forking out annual meaningful-readies for wearing their name on his nut? The man's a genius. He's probably back knocking on their door right now.

"Listen, I'm telling y'Anoraks LOVE biscuits, they eat tons of the things. Recession proof. With your name on my head, European sales of 'Sweet Maries' will go through the roof!"

"Yes, I think you have a point Senior Niki, will $50,000 a year be OK?"

"Make it $250,000, and I'll have Parmalat tattooed on my forehead like the Mark of the Beast.* "


Then there's the 'Foster's Grand Prix', that surely must've been another of Sir Les Paterson's ideas. Completely potty. A marriage made in the wine bar, if not the brewery.


Got any more?

AM


* Mark of the Beast. Holy Bible, Revelation 13:16-17
Final Assessment test coming soon.

#3 ensign14

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 06:16

There was some relationship between the late Roland Ratzenberger and TVAM (ITV's breakfast television channel) in the mid 1980s, after puppet Roland Rat Superstar basically saved the station from going bust...

#4 petefenelon

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 08:57

Simtek nearly clinched a deal with "Death Cigarettes" (to the point where I think the stickers were in the transporter at Imola.... urgh).

Anything to do with Hans-Gunther Schmid's firms has to count as weird - ATS and RIAL wheels, natch, and his weird involvement with the Hotel Arawak at Freeport...

March after the money ran out in '92 out cut loads of weird and tiny local deals in exchange for food, transport to and from the circuit etc.

A favourite of mine was 70s Mini clubbie racers "Knickers In Tins Racing", named after... well, knickers in tins, which they promoted! (No, don't ask me either....;))

#5 Eric McLoughlin

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 09:14

How about "John B & Q" in the BTCC. The driver changed his name to the name of the sponsor.
As for beer, didn't Molson sponsor the Canadian GP for a while?
Carciogenic products - Skoal Bandits springs to mind.(Hope we're not laying ourselves open to being sued!)
Essex Petroleum - their arrangements with Lotus in the early 80s were distinctly odd.

And, of course, Juston Wilson's PLC money raising activities are different. Do the investors expect any sort of financial return?

#6 Zawed

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 09:57

I always found Ruffles sponsoring Barrichello and Fittipaldi in 94 season a little amusing. I think Ruffles is some brand of snack food, but an amusing name nonetheless...

Surtees and Durex, that was quite a combination...

#7 David Beard

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 11:49

Originally posted by Zawed
Surtees and Durex, that was quite a combination...


which brings to mind Sampson Shag..........but I'm sure all this has been done before :

#8 ensign14

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 12:09

The Death Cigarettes one reminded me - Arturo Merzario was once sponsored by an undertaker.

Along the lines of Justin Wilson, Naoki Hattori's NPQ drives in the Coloni in 1991ish were sponsored by dozens of people whose names were on the sidepod. Similar thing as to Racing for Britain, Tim Lee-Davey at Le Mans and the Spirit of Indiana Indycar in the 70s (although these did not have their names added).

#9 Maldwyn

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 12:35

Originally posted by Eric McLoughlin
Essex Petroleum - their arrangements with Lotus in the early 80s were distinctly odd.

As were the Ambrosio's with Shadow and Arrows :drunk:

#10 bill moffat

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 12:47

Originally posted by Maldwyn

As were the Ambrosio's with Shadow and Arrows :drunk:


..and how about the mysterious Prince Malik Ibrahim and his times at Arrows.

I should also point out that big John had sponsorship (as a one off at Silverstone) from "National Organs" prior to the Durex deal :cool:

#11 Bart

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 12:49

I think Jos Verstappen driving round with "InvestInWilson" on the side of his car is quite amusing.

#12 Maldwyn

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 13:02

Originally posted by bill moffat
..and how about the mysterious Prince Malik Ibrahim and his times at Arrows.

Ah yes :rolleyes: the Prince and his t-minus "brand" that was going to generate so much money :eek:

#13 David Holland

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 13:06

Moneytron and Onyx was also a very dodgy looking deal. The Belgian moneymarket expert Mr Van Rossem, who owned Moneytron, was a strange character. I heard from a good source that his wife ended up dead and he kept her body in a freezer!

Also I thought that Death cigarettes were about to announce a deal at Imola 1994 with Pacific and not Simtek as Pete says, or am I mistaken?

#14 petefenelon

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 13:38

Originally posted by ensign14
The Death Cigarettes one reminded me - Arturo Merzario was once sponsored by an undertaker.

Along the lines of Justin Wilson, Naoki Hattori's NPQ drives in the Coloni in 1991ish were sponsored by dozens of people whose names were on the sidepod. Similar thing as to Racing for Britain, Tim Lee-Davey at Le Mans and the Spirit of Indiana Indycar in the 70s (although these did not have their names added).


According to my other half the T-shirts from the Lee-Davey Le Mans effort never turned up....


pete

#15 petefenelon

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 13:42

Originally posted by bill moffat


..and how about the mysterious Prince Malik Ibrahim and his times at Arrows.

I should also point out that big John had sponsorship (as a one off at Silverstone) from "National Organs" prior to the Durex deal :cool:


See the threads on FAtlantic in Britain for discussion of the National/Southern Organs lot... all very murky, fraud, psychics, fleeing the country.... marvellous!


Team ownership in the late 80s/early 90s was something that tended to be the hobby of some very dodgy folk - Luhti, Akagi, Calmels, the bloke who sponsored Larrousse and turned out to be a car smuggler..... where does ownership blend into sponsorship though? (and while we're thinking about that what about Mr Luna who set up the GLAS-Lambo team that became Modena Lambo when he.... disappeared?)

Oh and Ted Ball of Landhurst leasing fame - various "sponsorship" stickers on cars were just mates of his. I think "Ollocks" was some sort of shady character he knew...

Surprised nobody's mentioned the oh-so-tasteful Penthouse-Rizla livery yet....


...and there was a thread somewhere about races with curious sponsorship...

pete

#16 bill moffat

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 16:08

Chris Meek ran atleast one of his cars with the legend "Princess Ira " (or was it Ita?) on the front. The connection has always bugged me, who can de-bug me ??

#17 antonvrs

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 16:14

How about Dan Gurney's Olsonite Eagles in the late '60s-early '70s? Olsonite was/is a big manufacturer of toilet seats.
And, to go a little further afield, one of my favorites was the two women who drove a very large '47-8(?) Chrysler in the 1950 Carrera Pan-Americana sponsored by a brassiere manufacturer.
Anton

#18 theunions

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 16:22

Originally posted by antonvrs
And, to go a little further afield, one of my favorites was the two women who drove a very large '47-8(?) Chrysler in the 1950 Carrera Pan-Americana sponsored by a brassiere manufacturer.
Anton


Tammy Jo Kirk drove a NASCAR Craftsman Truck sponsored by Lovable Bras a few years ago - IIRC this was a nearly full season deal.

#19 antonvrs

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 16:57

"And, to go a little further afield, one of my favorites was the two women who drove a very large '47-8(?) Chrysler in the 1950 Carrera Pan-Americana sponsored by a brassiere manufacturer."

In the interest of accuracy I have to correct myself- Mrs. Lammons of Jacksonville, Texas, drove a 1948 Buick sponsored by "Hi A brassiere by Marja".

OT, I'm afraid, but a nice little story I found while looking up the above:
"The romance of the race centered around Car 40, a 1949 Lincoln entered by Marie R. Brookreson of Willcox, Ariz., in which she rode as assistant to Ross Barton, of Long Beach, Calif.
As they told it, Barton, 72, a veteran of the Spanish-American War, with the Silver Star and Purple Heart decorations, is an amateur pilot. A couple of months before the race he was forced to set down his light plane on Miss Brookreson's ranch in Arizona. In the two days he stayed there, he fell in love with Miss Brookreson, whose hair is white, 'though she isn't telling her age.
Miss Brookreson said, "There's going to be a big highway race in Mexico in May. If you'll drive my car in it, I'll marry you after the race." Naturally, Barton agreed."

Wouldn't you?

Anton

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#20 Stefan Ornerdal

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 17:20

Conny Andersson's entrant and sponsor in F3 was Private Press - and that was very, very "private" Magazaines. :blush:

Stefan

#21 petefenelon

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 18:14

Originally posted by Stefan Ornerdal
Conny Andersson's entrant and sponsor in F3 was Private Press - and that was very, very "private" Magazaines. :blush:

Stefan


Ron Harris Team Lotus all over again? :p

pete

#22 David Beard

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 19:06

Originally posted by antonvrs
How about Dan Gurney's Olsonite Eagles in the late '60s-early '70s? Olsonite was/is a big manufacturer of toilet seats.


Indeed...this is the "Nobility" model - white ABS with integral support arms - fits regular and elongated bowls.

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Olsonite Eagle is covered on the website....http://www.olsonite.com/eagle.asp

#23 Maldwyn

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 20:07

Originally posted by bill moffat
..and how about the mysterious Prince Malik Ibrahim

A bit of a coincidence but I'm watching a re-run of CART's race at Fontana in 2002. Derek Daly was interviewing Chris Pook and reeled off a list of names who had met with Pook and, yes, you guessed it, Prince Malik Ibrahim was one of them :eek:

#24 Ian McKean

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Posted 22 April 2003 - 21:43

Originally posted by Anorak Man
I'm tickled to hear that Frank and Paddy have cornered the F1 advertising niche for Anti-Nicotine products.
AM


I think Patrick deserves some credit for giving up smoking. After school he went to Dartmouth Naval College where smoking was encouraged to calm the nerves and cadets got their Players cigarettes for 6d per twenty.

Patrick was on 60 a day when we met up again at Birmingham University. He had to have an operation, I think it was to remove a growth on his jaw or his sinuses, one or the other. Afterwards he told me that they couldn't anaesthetise him because he had so much tar in his lungs. (No I can't explain the effect of tar on anaesthetics - must ask my sister who is one!)

They had to place a tube down into his lungs and suck up the tar. After the operation they showed him a jam jar with an inch of tar in the bottom.

Well that's what he told me at the time! And he never exaggerated.


PS
His grandmother was always dropping hints and leaving notes to persuade him to give up smoking.

PS2
An enduring image of pain is Patrick attempting to light a match and somehow burning the sulphur tip into his second finger so the match was welded into his finger.

#25 lanciaman

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 03:03

Jim Hurtubise drove the "Tombstone Life (Insurance) Special" at Indy.

Ted Field's Interscope Racing was a madeup name.
Fields of Marshal Fields department store money raced in IMSA and Indy, often with Danny Ongais, in black Interscope cars. Interscope was just a shell company. Later Fields went into the music/entertainment business.

#26 WDH74

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 04:51

The Viagra sponsored stock car (can't remember the driver, all of the sudden) always makes me question the logic behind it. Also, wasn't Graham Hill's first Indy drive called the "MG Liquid Suspension Special" or something similar, which had nothing to do with MG or liquid suspension?
-William

#27 Ross Stonefeld

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 05:39

Originally posted by Anorak Man
I'm tickled to hear that Frank and Paddy have cornered the F1 advertising niche for Anti-Nicotine products.

Actually Dennis Vitolo raced in CART backed by Smith Kline Beechum (pre-merger) with the Nicorette sponsorship during the late 90s

Originally posted by WDH74
The Viagra sponsored stock car (can't remember the driver, all of the sudden) always makes me question the logic behind it.

The logic is the hundreds of thousands of fans who attend the 36 races on the Winston Cup. Phizer/Viagra loves their access to that fan base for handing out brochuers and even having tents erected (giggle) so people can fill out questionaire sand the like. Eli Lilly, who will soon have their Cialis version (which is going to make Viagra look like some streetcorner herbal remedy) are on the Newman-Haas CART cars.



Last season an F1 team was approached by a Dutch(?) company called PRIVATE. Which is a fairly 'hardcore' men's magazine. This is a team that isnt rolling in cash and turned down the deal because corporately they felt it harmed their future.

#28 theunions

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 06:31

Originally posted by lanciaman
Jim Hurtubise drove the "Tombstone Life (Insurance) Special" at Indy.


This was also the car in which he suffered his nearly fatal burns the following week at Milwaukee in '64.

#29 theunions

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 06:35

Originally posted by WDH74
The Viagra sponsored stock car (can't remember the driver, all of the sudden) always makes me question the logic behind it. Also, wasn't Graham Hill's first Indy drive called the "MG Liquid Suspension Special" or something similar, which had nothing to do with MG or liquid suspension?
-William


Mark Martin is the Viagra driver. And IIRC the Liquid Suspension specials (Huffaker chassis) DID have something like that. They were driven by Walt Hangsen and others - Hill's first Indy ride was in a Mickey Thompson Harvey Aluminum "pancake" car.

#30 theunions

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 06:37

Originally posted by David Beard
Olsonite Eagle is covered on the website....http://www.olsonite.com/eagle.asp


Interesting that, after being out of racing for nearly 3 decades, they've suddenly decided to put up this page and make this poster available...

#31 Ian McKean

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 08:14

I read that Stig Blomqvist was sponsored by the Swedish version of Viagra on this year's Swedish Rally.

#32 Mohican

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 09:33

Have mentioned the WKRT-entered Alfa Romeo 33TT12, World sportscar champion in 1975, in another thread. The point is that it was sponsored by Redlefsen sausages...

#33 lanciaman

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 13:15

The Brothers Whittington drove the Cali Cartel Specials.

#34 WDH74

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 22:43

Thanks theunions! Don't know why I thought G. Hill's first Indy ride was the liquid suspension special, but I vividly remember seeing pictures of it in a book some years ago, and most likely saw a picture of Hill on the next page or something, and linked the two. At the time I figured the car was sponsored by BMC, to promote Hydrolastic suspensions.
-William

#35 Mike Argetsinger

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Posted 23 April 2003 - 23:33

Originally posted by Ross Stonefeld
Eli Lilly, who will soon have their Cialis version (which is going to make Viagra look like some streetcorner herbal remedy)


Ross- Congratulations!! Sounds like you've finally landed a key testing position.

#36 Ross Stonefeld

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Posted 24 April 2003 - 00:30

That might be best actually, the Lilly people didnt see the humor (or advertising) in the Playboy/Durex/Cialis special.


"What do you mean it doesnt work? If I can get Martini & Rossi on board we can cover the entire evening"

#37 mp4

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Posted 24 April 2003 - 22:24

My fave was Penthouse sponsoring Hesketh.
I recall seeing a Hesketh at Mosport in '76 or '77 with a really yummy lady painted on the front fairing.

*sigh*

#38 wildman

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Posted 24 April 2003 - 23:48

Originally posted by Anorak Man
And how on earth did Niki Lauda con a South American biscuit manufacturer into forking out annual meaningful-readies for wearing their name on his nut? The man's a genius. He's probably back knocking on their door right now.


Er...Parmalat is an Italian dairy. Parma latte...capisce?

#39 wildman

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Posted 24 April 2003 - 23:53

I always thought Yardley's tie-in with McLaren was a bit odd, particularly with a Revlon heir driving one of the cars.

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#40 lanciaman

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Posted 25 April 2003 - 00:34

Originally posted by wildman
I always thought Yardley's tie-in with McLaren was a bit odd, particularly with a Revlon heir driving one of the cars.



Peter was sensitive about the fact he had no claims on Revlon money: Charles Revson was his uncle. Peter's father owned a small vitamin manufacturing company and shortly before Peter's death launched a vitamin supplement called RevUp.

#41 wildman

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Posted 25 April 2003 - 02:30

As I recall, he had no claims on the Revson fortune because the family witheld all support when he refused to give up his racing.

#42 Anorak Man

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Posted 26 April 2003 - 03:00

'Pologies for neglecting you lot, busy time of year, up to my neck in repentant sinners wanting to get saved. Wonderful, Praise God! It's more fun than injecting pigs, but only slightly more hygenic.

These are terrific replies, almost all of them are new to me. But you are far too reticent, give us the details. Except, that is, for the smutty ones. Who lets the RC Riff-Raff in here, lowering the tone of the place? I start the ball rolling nice an' straight, and no sooner is my back turned than you boot it into the gutter, and down the Olsonite tubes.

Art Merzzario sponsored by an Undertaker. This is a gem!
Let's have more on this please. What were the advertising slogans? Suggestions?

"Art's Formula One Funeral Services : Less Haste : More Dignity"

That explains why he was always LAST on the Grid. So he'd be first to arrive at the pile-ups ... in one piece, and ready for business. Hey, 'ang on a mo'. It was Little Art who unbuckled Niki's 'corpse' from the burning Ferrari, and lifted him out ... into the 'hearse'.

Niki made a stunning recovery: Art lost the commission.

Somebody get the sponsor details from him, please. Nice bloke, but not a word of Engleesh.

AM

#43 Anorak Man

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Posted 26 April 2003 - 03:01

Parmalat: Italian parent company, doubtless, but allow me to bring you up to speed on F1 Biscuits.

Since the BSE 'accident', the bottom has fallen out of the European ice cream market* and Parmalat have greatly expanded their biscuit sectors. They own ten major international biscuit brands, ALL manufactured in South America. Venezuela, Chile, Nicaragua, and Brazil does the Coffee Cremes.

In fact, 'tween me and thee, Niki's pushing the Parmalat Biscuit Blokes in Brazil to market Copse Corner Chocolate Chip Biscuits, targetting British Anoraks. You'll have noticed he's put on a bit of weight testing the recipe. Like I said, he's a genius!

AM


* If you are still consuming English or European ice cream, carry on, its already too late for you I'm afraid. Variant CJD symptoms start with slurred speech, forgetfulness, typographical errors, then your brain caves in, and it's off to your Judgement. (Holy Bible, Hebrews 9:27)

Wiser heads switched to Tip Top New Zealand ice cream in 1990. Applies to quite a few other foodstuffs too, but you don't want to know. Believe me, you really don't.

Better get ready while you're still cognizant.

#44 Haddock

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Posted 26 April 2003 - 12:48

Couple more to throw in the pot.....

There was the 1994 deal Sauber did with the non-existent Broker Magazine. The cash turned out to be as non-existent as the magazine, and Mercedes had to bail the team out. The whole experience was intrumental in persuading the German manufacturer to go with McLaren when they returned to F1 'properly' the year after.

Last year there were a pair of Rover 400s in the British Touring Car championship (I refuse to call the things MGs) with appeared to carry sponsorship from underwhelming Scouse pop group 'Atomic Kitten'.

#45 petefenelon

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Posted 27 April 2003 - 01:48

Originally posted by Haddock
Couple more to throw in the pot.....

There was the 1994 deal Sauber did with the non-existent Broker Magazine. The cash turned out to be as non-existent as the magazine, and Mercedes had to bail the team out. The whole experience was intrumental in persuading the German manufacturer to go with McLaren when they returned to F1 'properly' the year after.

Last year there were a pair of Rover 400s in the British Touring Car championship (I refuse to call the things MGs) with appeared to carry sponsorship from underwhelming Scouse pop group 'Atomic Kitten'.


Sessionman and racer Tommy "Slim" Borgudd used to carry sponsorship from Abba on his ATS...


pete

#46 RTH

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Posted 27 April 2003 - 08:14

Originally posted by Haddock
Couple more to throw in the pot.....



Last year there were a pair of Rover 400s in the British Touring Car championship (I refuse to call the things MGs) with appeared to carry sponsorship from underwhelming Scouse pop group 'Atomic Kitten'.


The MG's did win races last year , and those girls have sold tens of millions of records.

#47 TODave2

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Posted 27 April 2003 - 11:45

Originally posted by Eric McLoughlin
And, of course, Juston Wilson's PLC money raising activities are different. Do the investors expect any sort of financial return?


I'd certainly be tempted to take a punt on Wilson myself, but my understanding is that the minimum investment is £500 and that sort of money I can't afford to gamble. If it was £50 I'd probably go for it.

I think F1 Racing had a rough calculation that a £500 investment in Schumacher when he started in F1 would now be worth in the millions...

#48 Ross Stonefeld

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Posted 27 April 2003 - 15:38

I still dont see a good reason to invest in wilson. From a business point of view its an almost impossibiliy, and from a 'feel good' standpoint why throw money at some rich kid's hobby? The ytalked about possibly mortgaging his house to pay for the drive, not mentioning his home is worth 1mil +

#49 Haddock

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Posted 27 April 2003 - 16:10

At some level, a lot of investment gets thrown at people and ventures that someone just takes an interest in, rather than those which make the most sense.

I used to be involved in a small internet start-up and a lot of the people who funded that kind of thing were just aged rich businessmen who liked the excitement of getting involved in a small-scale venture again - something which a lot of them had done themselves when they were younger. Sure there was the appeal of perhaps making money, but I think most of the investors recognised that this was, on balance, pretty unlikely. There is after all, a certain amount of underdog appeal in Wilson - the F3000 champion who outpaced Webber, Enge et al, but who is too tall, and perhaps not media-friendly enough to have really progressed since then.

And I wonder if some of the people who are funding Wilson take the same view - perhaps even think of it as a kind of 'bet' on the wider motorsport business, rather than any kind of sensible investment. I don't know what kind of money racing drivers outside of F1 actually get paid, and tgherefore can't comment on whether it is in any way worth the gamble. To my mind, the guy has to stand a chance of earning enough to pay shareholder dividends in some category other than F1 for it to be worth the risk - and I don't think ALMS, touring cars, IRL drivers etc earn enough money for that to happen. Anyone who thinks of it as charity, on the other hand, is kind of strange. He seems a nice enough bloke, but essentially its paying someone already richer than many of his investors to go and do something he enjoys (at least I hope he enjoys it, he's pretty much in a bonded-labour contract now....).

#50 RTH

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Posted 27 April 2003 - 17:09

Originally posted by Haddock
He seems a nice enough bloke, but essentially its paying someone already richer than many of his investors to go and do something he enjoys (at least I hope he enjoys it, he's pretty much in a bonded-labour contract now....).


His Father is very wealthy , in 1995 he told me he had just spent over £100,000 on Justin's last year in Karting when he was 15. They always had the very best of everything in Vauxhall Junior and drove some very flash roadcars and motorhomes.