Motorsport has long looked for its next big cash cow once tobacco was stubbed out, it seems like Red Bull has what the very best need to beat the opposition at the Dakar.
People in motorsport have often wondered what the next big cash cow would be after tobacco sponsorship was all but stamped out. It is an expensive past time and for a while from the 1980s to the early 2000s, the concept of a ‘pay-driver’ or privateer had been pretty much relegated from the news cycle of motorsport, even in the high-stakes world of Formula 1.
All but a few of the drivers in the elite motorsport championships in the world were professionals whose talent was rewarded with backing from the automotive sector and then tobacco and ‘lifestyle’ companies.
This changed drastically after regulators the world over made it all but impossible for motorsport to have an association with tobacco – although Ferrari seems to get away with it somehow while keeping it under the radar – and then the next big cash cow of financial institutions ran for cover following the financial crisis.
After this double whammy, the next source of deep pockets seems to be energy drinks companies. It is no coincidence that riders and drivers hocking Red Bull, Monster Energy and Rockstar among others have become conspicuous in motorsport these days.
For proof of how much influence and spending power the most successful of these companies, Red Bull, have one need only look at which teams dominated this year’s Dakar Rally.
BULLS ON TOP
Peugeot, backed by Red Bull, took a 1-2-3 finish in the car category with Stephane Peterhansel leading home Sebastien Loeb and Cyril Despres. Of course, the major contribution in this endeavor would be of the French manufacturer. But it is no secret that Red Bull has an extensive program of giving support, gear as well as arranging for a LOT of media coverage for the teams and athletes it sponsors. The process of selection chooses only the very best as has been proven in F1 by Sebastian Vettel and now Max Verstappen. If you are deemed a worthy investment, you have little by way of backing to worry about provided you deliver.
Peugeot definitely delivered as did the Red Bull sponsored factory KTM team in the bikes category with Sam Sunderland becoming the second straight first-time winner after Toby Price had to withdraw following a huge crash that left him with a broken left leg.
Sunderland was followed by Matthias Walkner as the challenge of the factory Honda team – sponsored by Monster Energy – faltered with one of the pre-event favourites, Joan Barreda Bort, being slapped with a one hour penalty that effectively killed his chances to win.
TRIPLE THREAT
Red Bull were even partnered with the dominant Kamaz truck team that scored a 1-2 finish, making it a sweep of the three most important categories of vehicles at the Dakar Rally. A clean sweep for the energy drinks company that saw a turnover of 3.4 billion dollars in 2015 on the sale of almost 6 billion cans worldwide. That lead to a record profit of 559 million dollars and an operating income of 680 million dollars. Little wonder then, that the company has been listed as the 74th most valuable brand in the world by business publication Forbes, as of May 2016.
It spends in excess of 300 million dollars a year for F1, so you can imagine how far expenditure in series and championships that call for a lot less money will go.
Another, and less expansive form of rallying, the World Rally Championship sees plenty of Red Bull influence too. They were firmly behind the factory Volkswagen team that swept all before it and continue to be associated with Sebastien Ogier, who won the opening rally of the season. And the company’s expansive and very creative media arm made it possible for motorsport fans to follow even live stages of the Monte Carlo Rally for free instead of looking for pirated streams.
Of course, all of this influence tips the scales in favour of those with backing and it requires someone out-spending (smartly of course) any team owned or sponsored by Red Bull in order to win.
BORT FALLS SHORT
This was a task that proved too much for Bort yet again as he and Honda were forced to take another year of coming up short. The Spaniard is considered to be the best Rally Raid rider in the world at this point but there has been a noticeable gap in the technical capability of the Honda and the KTM. A lot of which is the function of much expenditure on spares and support for the bikes but also a lot with how the rally went down this year.
Navigation was treacherous on account of a new way of marking waypoints in the road-book and many riders fell foul of these issues as they lost time. Bort got a one hour penalty without that dropped him out of the lead of the rally. Even India’s very own CS Santosh was slapped with a penalty that led to him falling at the tail of the top 100 before he made up enough time to finish 47th overall.
Santosh may even have been able to make up more time but 1,500 kms of stage distance was cancelled due to heavy rain that even led to stages being washed out. It was one of the most disrupted editions of the Dakar ever since the entire event was cancelled in 2008 due to the threat of terrorist attacks in North Africa.
A DIFFERENT ENERGY
On the subject of the Dakar not actually going to the Dakar anymore and the underlying theme of this feature – energy drinks as the next motorsport cash cow – it is worth noting that there is a Rally Raid event that continues to run the original route from Europe to the Senegalese capital of Dakar. And has been doing so since 2009.
With the belief that the Dakar Rally was called such for a reason, former winner Jean-Loius Schleisser has been the driving force behind it and expressed a desire for the event to remain true to the original spirit of the event first run by Thierry Sabine in 1979. That spirit means a focus on drivers and riders that are not necessarily part of a well-oiled factory team with loads of support and Bivouacs – mobile rest stops at the end of each stage – that are located far from airports and towns.
And sure enough, backing for the event comes from a major energy drinks company. Powerade, which is owned by the Coca Cola Company, is the title sponsor of the event and being a part of the event has ensured that it manages to get at least some coverage despite being run on pretty much the same dates as the South American event every year. Of course, there is far less hype and reportage on it but it is interesting nonetheless to see such ambition. Hopefully that means that the actual event itself would find it worthwhile to come back to Africa but South America is a far bigger market for automotive manufacturers.
It is unlikely that the prominence of the Dakar Rally among rally raids will be matched anytime soon unless Africa as a continent undergoes a massive surge of development that will develop a demand for cars, bikes, quads and All Terrain Vehicles.
Until that day comes, all eyes will be on South America come early January for the motorsport world. Regardless of which company selling what ‘lifestyle’ product gets bitten by the motorsport bug or simply chooses to cash in on motorsport’s enormous advertising potential. That last bit is something the corporate sector in India needs to wake up to as well. In case of any doubts, inquire with TVS and Hero MotoCorp.
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