30/04/2007
NEWS STORY
Regular F1 fans aren't the only ones feeling themselves at a loose end on Sundays, courtesy of the four-week gap between the Bahrain and Spanish Grands Prix.
With Chelsea not playing on Sunday, all the washing up and housework done, and precious little on the box, Bernie headed off to watch the finale of the second season of A1 GP at Brands Hatch.
Although he has said little about the series, Ecclestone is known to have been taking a keen interest in it. After all, though it has drawn derision from F1 purists for the 'Batman' look of its cars, the lack of recognisable racing 'personalities' driving the cars and the swathes of empty grandstands, there is no arguing that A1 GP has taken motorsport into new markets and proved that not only is there racing talent out there, but fans eager to watch.
In many of these countries - nations already on Bernie's 'to do' list - A1 GP has done the groundwork, and even though motorsport might be in its infancy in these countries, A1 GP has proven that there is a potential market.
Pitpass knows that Bernie has flirted with the A1 GP management for some time, therefore it doesn't come as any surprise that he should pop up in Kent at the weekend, ground tremor or no ground tremor.
Whilst attending yesterday's event, Ecclestone took the opportunity to meet with Tony Teixeira, who now runs A1 GP following the departure of series founder Sheikh Maktoum. Regular readers will remember that Teixeira was Ecclestone's guest at Monaco last year, even getting a grid walk... but spared the embarrassment of being mistaken for a Banana republic minister by Martin Brundle.
The Kent meeting has led to speculation that Bernie might buy into the A1 GP concept or simply go all-out to kill it off, having recently admitted that he is looking at the idea of a Winter series aimed at the developing markets in Asia.
"There's a formula called GP2," he said earlier this month, "which is a step down from F1, and which people generally graduate from. I want to make sure we bring that series to Asia in the winter, so hopefully we get to find a few drivers through the exposure."
Mindful that a winter series in Asia would be seriously damaging to his series, Teixeira told the Daily Express: "If it came up against us, that would be unfortunate for everyone.
"Why not cater for 35 countries between us?" he suggests.
Rather than go on the back foot, the burly South African is adamant that his series can see off any challenge, even if it is from the man who changed F1 from a sport into an empire.
"We will be around for a long time," says Teixeira. "We made mistakes in our first year - wrong places, some poor teams, bad promotion - but this season has seen some great crowds to see outstanding racing in places such as Holland, New Zealand, Indonesia and South Africa.
"Sure, some circuits are too big for us like Shanghai and Sepang in Malaysia but we now have about 20 countries queuing for us to come to them. Five want streets races, three are willing to build circuits.
"Japan, Russia and Portugal want to have teams," he adds, either being misquoted or having forgotten that Portugal is already back on board while Japan withdrew after just a couple of races of the first season. Russia too had a team, but it also fell by the wayside.
"We're not struggling," he insists. "We have great TV contracts and we have yet to tap into revenue streams like betting and merchandising. I'm not worried about spending money. I'm in oil and diamond mining. You sink a well, explore, prove the reserves and it will be four to seven years before you start getting something back. That's how it is. This is no different."
Ecclestone has other views.
"There is a future for a series which brings in drivers who can step up to F1, that's my business," says the Englishman. "I'm not sure A1 does that. Maybe there is room for a GP3 series which would also provide another road to F1.
"I hope things go well for Tony," he adds. "An awful lot will depend if we get another series running in Asia. Then it would be difficult for them."
Well, much as we hate to rain on Teixeira's parade, but not only does GP3 exist, it already has its own logo.
The much anticipated new Formula One magazine The Paddock reveals that Formula One Promotions and Administration (FOPA), Bernie Ecclestone's private company, is registering a pan-European trademark for a logo bearing the text GP3.
The magazine reveals the application was made in five categories including number 41, which covers arranging and producing sporting events. It joins other registrations for the logo to the GP2 series and the word GP1, which are also in FOPA's intellectual property portfolio.
The original applicant for the GP3 logo was in fact not FOPA but a business called Base S.r.l. which then assigned the application to FOPA in October 2006. All of FOPA's marks with the prefix 'GP' cover category 41 and could be valuable assets to the company, whose assets stood at just $22m on its last filed accounts.
Meanwhile, a company connected to the new International Formula Masters (IFM) sub-GP2 series, which launches on 20 May, has also filed for a pan-European trademark of a logo bearing the text GP3 International Master. The logo shows a silhouette of an open-wheel car similar to those used in IFM.
The IFM series follows the FIA World Touring Car Championship to all its European rounds and has a top prize of a GP2 test with Campos Racing as well as $326,000 in cash. Costs have been controlled to ease entry with a full-season fee set at just $54,000; single race options are also available. The car itself only costs $147,000.
IFM's trademark application is currently being checked by the European authorities and category 41 is among the eight covered by it. Speaking on behalf of FOPA, Alpha Prema director Sacha Woodward-Hill said: "FOPA is aware of this application and may oppose it, if it considers such a step necessary for the legitimate protection of its own marks."
It will be interesting to see how this develops for while A1 GP has provided some great racing, and introduced some interesting new talent, it is in desperate need of serious motor racing people at the helm. In all honesty, even ignoring the potential challenge from Ecclestone, one struggles to wonder how A1 GP can continue to survive unless there is a radical overhaul.
However, ignoring whether Teixeira and his partners are willing to allow anyone, especially someone with Bernie's reputation, to get his hands on 'their baby' remains to be seen, especially when the Englishman will not get involved for altruistic reasons. If he gets involved he will want as much control as possible for the minimum outlay.
Bernie doesn't play games, and if he's serious about taking the Asian market, or indeed any market, for himself, he'll do it.
Ideally, these guys could sit down and work out a deal whereby a formula - no pun intended - could be agreed that would be good for everyone, not least motorsport fans and upcoming drivers in developing countries.
All -out war will benefit nobody, it never has, never will.