03/01/2005
NEWS STORY
The group behind the proposed breakaway championship - the Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC) - is offering a major incentive to the teams contesting the Formula One world Championship, in a clear attempt to win them over.
Whereas Bernie Ecclestone currently hands over 23% of F1 revenue to the teams, the GPWC is offering as much as 80%. Furthermore, equally attractive offers are being made to would-be sponsors, broadcasters and even fans - with talk of GPWC race tickets being reduced to a fraction of the cost of F1 tickets.
It's understood that the team principals will be shown the GPWC 'blueprint' before they head off to the opening race of the 2005 season in Australia (March 6)
"The GPWC racing series is not a dream, it is reality," says the group's commercial head, George Taylor. "It has already started."
According to The Times, a spokesman for GPWC was at pains to point out that though there is much respect for what Ecclestone has achieved, F1 appears to have lost its way.
"We are not here to criticise Bernie Ecclestone because he has done an unbelievable job with Formula One," he said. "But it doesn't work as well as it could or should. There are a lot of things that are right, but there are increasingly a lot of things that are not right. We have to move quickly because, realistically, things need to be in place during 2005 if we are to be ready in time.
"There is no use me worrying about Mr Ecclestone," he added. "We are listening to what the teams, the fans and the broadcasters are telling us so that we can produce a series with a structure and a transparency that benefits all stakeholders and not just one. We need a more balanced economic model that benefits the teams more, the customers more and gives the advertisers a global platform."
It's understood that GPWC has already held talks with a number of circuit owners, however Ecclestone has many of the circuits under long contracts, and they would be unable to host a rival series without his permission, which is highly unlikely. Any circuit on the F1 calendar has to obtain special permission from Ecclestone if it wishes to host a race for cars (or bikes) over a certain engine size.