It's not often that Pitpass hears about innovative concepts for motorsport teams. The vast majority of them follow a similar model - sponsors pay the team in exchange for logo space on the car and when the races are broadcast on television their brands get coverage. Making the most of the partnership is up to the sponsors since, with only a few exceptions (notably McLaren), teams rarely get involved with how the sponsors promote their F1 involvement. It can be an incredibly expensive game for sponsors.

The price of logo space on the car is just the entry ticket - sponsorship experts recommend that companies spend an additional sum (as much as 25% of the cost of their deal with the team) on advertising the fact that they are involved with motorsport. The simple fact is that the logo on the car alone is not enough to really turn the wheels of a motorsport sponsorship.

Given the economic climate it is no surprise that now, more than ever, teams need to do all they can to help sponsors make the most of their motorsport involvement and secure their funding. The surprise is that the cutting edge of this is not to be found in F1, which has motorsport's highest sponsorship costs, but in the new low-cost GP3 series launching next year.

One team bidding for one of the ten slots is Planet Rock Racing which has Pitpass' business editor Chris Sylt on its executive team, however, we're not bringing this story to our readers as a bit of nepotism since the team has a model behind it which is unlike any other in motorsport.

Planet Rock Racing has a very rock and roll background. Its chairman is Malcolm Bluemel, the owner of top rock music digital radio station, Planet Rock which lends its name to the team as its title sponsor. The president of the team is rock DJ David 'Kid' Jensen who seasoned readers may remember was the face of the BBC's Top of the Pops programme in the 1980s. Those same readers may also remember that Jensen has been involved with motorsport before as he was behind the Kid Jensen Racing F3000 team in the late 1990s.

The Jensen name may also sound familiar due to David's son Viktor who is the youngest ever winner and podium finisher in Formula Palmer Audi. Since 2007 Viktor has been racing in British F3 and he is now gearing up to be Planet Rock Racing's lead driver. The lineage shows that rock is embedded in the team but the real trick to its business model is down to more than this.

Taking a nod from the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain, Planet Rock Racing's ownership is divided between its executive team, investors and celebrity shareholders. In particular, the celebrity shareholders are superstars from the music industry hand-picked for their passion for racing. There are plenty of celebrities who fit the bill such as Pink Floyd's drummer Nick Mason and Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay to name just two. The team has yet to reveal which celebrities are coming on board but it couldn't be much better placed - many of rock's glitterati, including Alice Cooper and Fish from Marillion, are presenters for Planet Rock.

The team's celebrity shareholders are far from window dressing. Planet Hollywood gained its fame because it put its celebrity shareholders to good use - they were given small stakes in the company in exchange for commitment to attend its restaurant launches. Their presence created unrivalled media attention and drove the company to a $3bn stock market valuation on flotation. It is this same engine that powers Planet Rock Racing.