Something odd seems to be happening in the world of motorsport of late. For those of you who thumb through the pages of motoring magazines such as Autosport or Motorsport you may have read a couple of articles about various manufacturers expressing an interest in returning to front line racing. At a time when the economies of most countries are balancing on a knife edge it would seem that their timing is rather strange.
Recently both Volkswagen and Porche have openly spoken of entering into F1. In Porches case they have spoken of the need to control their own F1 destiny, implying that a full works entry would be the way forward for them. Volkswagen have long be linked to F1 through their own name or any of the several brands that they own and it would seem most likely that they would look to enter as an engine supplier at first but who knows where that may lead.
Outside of F1, SAAB, a company that just a couple of years ago were on the brink of total collapse, have expressed an interest in entering the World Rally Championships.
Lotus, a car maker almost permanently jumping from one financial mess to the next, returned as a name to F1 this year however since dipping their toes back into the water, Group Lotus have gone on to invest heavily in a GP2 team and have annoucned that their GT4 programme will be expanded to include an LMP2 entry for 2012 and a full LMP1 entry to follow.
Major investment in global motorsport is a risky buisness for any car company and even more so in the present climate. In recent years the giant American car makers have had to go cap in hand to the US Government for loans to survive while shedding their interests abroad with the sales of big names such as Jaguar/Land Rover, Aston Martin, SAAB and Vauxhall/Opal. Most of the European car makers have curtailed their activities somewhat and rationalised a lot of their work.
So the question is, why now and is motorsport still the most effective way of putting your name in the market?
Recently both Volkswagen and Porche have openly spoken of entering into F1. In Porches case they have spoken of the need to control their own F1 destiny, implying that a full works entry would be the way forward for them. Volkswagen have long be linked to F1 through their own name or any of the several brands that they own and it would seem most likely that they would look to enter as an engine supplier at first but who knows where that may lead.
Outside of F1, SAAB, a company that just a couple of years ago were on the brink of total collapse, have expressed an interest in entering the World Rally Championships.
Lotus, a car maker almost permanently jumping from one financial mess to the next, returned as a name to F1 this year however since dipping their toes back into the water, Group Lotus have gone on to invest heavily in a GP2 team and have annoucned that their GT4 programme will be expanded to include an LMP2 entry for 2012 and a full LMP1 entry to follow.
Major investment in global motorsport is a risky buisness for any car company and even more so in the present climate. In recent years the giant American car makers have had to go cap in hand to the US Government for loans to survive while shedding their interests abroad with the sales of big names such as Jaguar/Land Rover, Aston Martin, SAAB and Vauxhall/Opal. Most of the European car makers have curtailed their activities somewhat and rationalised a lot of their work.
So the question is, why now and is motorsport still the most effective way of putting your name in the market?
