Motorsport
Features
“Digital has become the free-to-air platform” | F1’s Frank Arthofer
Liberty Media’s major investment into Formula 1's digital media operations has demonstrated its value during sport’s global lockdown, believes Frank Arthofer, the series’ global head of digital media and licensing.
Closed-door sport gives fresh impetus to innovations in virtual hospitality
Closed-door sport is forcing innovation and fresh thinking about virtual hospitality. But can it ever hope to replace the real behind-the-ropes experience? Ben Cronin reports.
McLaren hires Veloce to ensure gaming arm is more than just marketing for ‘real’ motorsport
Callum McCarthy looks at Formula 1 team McLaren's recent tie-ups within sim racing and esports, and how this reflects on real-life operations
Petronas Yamaha SRT aims to tap burgeoning racing interest in “two-wheel” SE Asia
Tom King talks to Razlan Razali, team principal of Petronas Yamaha SRT MotoGP team, about the growth potential for motorcycle racing in Southeast Asia.
Ex-Heineken exec Pincus takes F1 commercial reins with clear remit to add new global partners
Formula 1 has spent the past few years in existential self-examination
ITV retains British Touring Car Championship rights until 2026
UK commercial broadcaster ITV has extended its long-running coverage of the British Touring Car Championship for a further five years to 2026.
The renewal with rights-holder Toca starts in 2022
NHRA strikes multiyear media-rights extension with Fox Sports
The National Hot Rod Association and Fox Sports have announced a multiyear extension of their domestic media-rights agreement to telecast all NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing series competitions across Fox,…
IndyCar to stage Nashville street race in 2021
The NTT IndyCar Series has added a street race in Nashville, Tennessee, to its schedule next year with the inaugural Music City Grand Prix on August 6-8, 2021
Brown targets more Asian sponsors for McLaren
McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown wants his team to secure more sponsors from Asia, believing brands from the region are under-represented on its roster
APAC’s biggest domestic motorsport series, Supercars, turns to global stars for engagement
Tom King speaks to Supercars' chief executive Sean Seamer, and takes a look at how Australia's top motorsports series is adapting in order to keep its fans engaged during the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘We’re very focused on bringing the cost cap down’ | Mark Waller, McLaren F1
Mark Waller, managing director, sales and marketing, McLaren F1, talks about the difficult decision to furlough some staff members during the Covid-19 pandemic and argues the case for an even lower team cost cap in Formula 1.
Covid-19 drives F1 to a crossroads
The future of Formula 1 is an uncertain one, as the Covid-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on its schedule. Christian Sylt looks at the options for the motorsport.
Nascar moves quickly to fill void from Covid-19 with nationally-televised esports series
Esports has never been as important or relevant as it is now amid the global Covid-19 pandemic. Nascar has been an early mover in this space with the creation of the eNascar iRacing Pro Invitational Series.
Georgiou targeting further growth for Eurosport Events after announcing UCI tie-up
Eurosport Events' partnership with the UCI is its first outside of motorsports. Andrew Georgiou, Eurosport president, tells Adam Nelson about his plans to extend the reach of the broadcaster's events promotion arm even further.
Formula 1 could have up to seven different regional betting sponsors, says ISG
Digital advertising technology could allow Formula 1 to have up to seven different regional betting sponsors, according to the sport’s global data and betting rights partner Interregional Sports Group.
How oil giant Shell is using Nissan’s Formula E team to reposition itself for the energy future
Kevin McCullagh looks at oil company Shell's entrance into the realm of electric motor racing and how it is marketing its diversification into electric vehicle charging and other ‘new energy’ products.
Agag’s political skills make way for Reigle’s audience acumen as Formula E tries to build on first ever profit
Former Manchester United executive Jamie Reigle replaced Alejandro Agag as the chief executive of Formula E this September with the Spaniard becoming the chairman of the electric racing series. The pair tell SportBusiness about their plans for the motorsport in their first joint interview since the leadership restructure.
Vietnam makes $475m bet to join Singapore on F1’s Southeast Asia lineup
The organisers of the upcoming Vietnam Grand Prix will spend $475m to join the F1 lineup in Southeast Asia, according to research by Formula Money. SportBusiness takes a closer look at the economics.
Formula E closing the gap on Formula 1 as a sponsorship proposition
Sponsorship deal values in Formula E are catching up with Formula One according to Robin Fenwick, founder of specialist motorsport agency Right Formula. Matthew Glendinning reports.
McLaren’s new commercial chief Mark Waller is bringing lessons from American sport
Mark Waller joined McLaren Racing in May from the NFL, becoming the British motorsport team's managing director of sales and marketing. He's relishing his new role, and sees opportunities to drive the business forward in adding consumer-facing sponsors, creating more digital content, and expanding the team's already impressive esports programme.
In era of racing sponsor retreats, Chevrolet doubles down on activation
The North American auto industry’s increasing gravitation toward crossover sport utility vehicles, trucks, and electric vehicles has lessened the natural link between the “stock car” element of auto racing, making the sport now a more fertile sponsorship area for brands in other product sectors.
Virtual advertising technology unlocks split sponsorship inventory and multi-lingual graphics for Formula One
Formula One is likely to implement virtual advertising more widely in its global broadcast feed following its sponsorship and data rights partnership with ISG. But the sport needs to be careful not to fall foul of broadcast regulations concerning product placement. Ben Cronin reports
Nascar searching for new ways to return to relevance after decade of decline
Organisers admit they 'lost their way' by alienating core fanbase
TV ratings and attendances down significantly, while many sponsors have left
James Barclay, Jaguar Racing | “Formula E is the perfect platform to tell the world about our electrification expertise”
Ahead of the fourth round of the Formula E season in Mexico, James Barclay, team director, Jaguar Racing, gave a manufacturer’s take on why the electric motor racing series is proving so appealing to car brands and non-endemic sponsors.
Liberty demonstrates its Asian ambitions with Hanoi Grand Prix announcement
Hanoi will host a Grand Prix in 2020 after first expressing interest in 2016
‘Mission-driven’ all-female W Series hopes to attract free-to-air coverage and purpose-beyond-profit sponsorship
Event promises to provide a platform for female drivers to succeed in F1
Series will underwrite costs of all the drivers
Formula One enlists biometric testing to better understand its TV audience
Formula One is working with market research group Populus on biometric studies of the live TV audience during grand prix coverage. Jonathan Dyson reports on how the work is being carried out and how the results are being used.
IMG confident Circuit of Americas investment will help World Rallycross to go global
Agency funds 'multi-million pound' circuit at Austin facility to bring series to United States
New potential sponsors already in discussions to partner with World RX following move