Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Group is the latest company to be linked with a buyout of Honda Racing. The Daily Telegraph reported last week that an unnamed third party had entered the fray to buy the team, a company described by a Honda source as reputable, with deep pockets and a brand image known throughout the world. The Telegraph and the Reuters news agency have now named Virgin as the mystery bidder, quoting a source close to Honda who stated that Bransons company has lodged an offer to buy the team. http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=45132
At least we could trust Branson to field a first class team of qualified people. Maybe it will take a few years to work it all out, but I bet they would be comptitive.
This guy is the king of PR. He knows the second he links his name to this he gets a free advertising ride. I'd be surprised if he would truly dump money down this black hole not unless he can make some serious money off of it.
I've got to respectfully disagree there - He's already got more money than God. It's whether it "appeals" to him I think (Other things that have appealed; fastest waterborne crossing of the Atlantic by a "passenger" vessel, round the world balloon trips and other "lunacy".....) As we've both now said, he's the king of PR, and pretty much everything he touches turns to gold. It's not in the above reports, but wasn't there one recently linking him to Adrian Reynard? [Next door neighbors?] I can see him doing this - Especially if the "Virgin Group" needs a nice juicy tax write off...... My 02c, Cheers, Ian
http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_4939145,00.html Honda have confirmed that Richard Branson's Virgin Group have made a bid to buy their up-for-sale F1 team. Reports in the British press on Wednesday morning brought news of Virgin's interest to the forefront and Honda have now confirmed that the group is one of several prospective purchasers of the team. "We are negotiating with several buyers and one of these parties is the Virgin Group," a Honda spokesman told the BBC. According to the Beeb, as little as £1 would be required to buy the team after Honda announced its intention to withdraw from the sport in December. However, the buyer would then need to provide a budget of at least £40m if the team is to make the grid for the season-opening Australian GP on March 30. It is not the first time that the Virgin Group have been associated with F1, with Virgin Mobile sponsoring Jordan in 2002, whilst Virgin Atlantic Japan have backed driver Takuma Sato for many years. Branson himself is said to be a F1 fan, having previously attended a number of races. He also has links to of Adrian Reynard, one of the founders of the BAR team that was rebranded Honda four years ago. Things are looking up for Button. Go Button!
You can't argue with a man that's made 3 billion from his own business. Everything this man touches turns to gold, like the English Bill gates if you will..... If he has or will put in a bid then he obviously thinks the team can do well. Guess what i'm trying to say is this team could do very well. He's probably one of the few men that i would trust to run me F1 team.
I love Branson, he is a God to me, but I doubt he is behind this. Didn't he just close a bunch of Virgin stores for lack of cash? Brawn said a decision will be made on the 24th, one way or the other.
It would be UTTER poetic justice if it ended up being Branson and Richards. Richards ousting the halfwit Fry, who himself ousted Richards on his way to dragging the team through its worst years ever. I am sure Richards would fire Fry with the UTMOST enthusiasm.
+1 Branson is like Trump. He knows that his name carries enough weight that it alone has value and he doesn't need to put his own $$$ in. But Branson-Richards Racing would probably attract sponsors like poop attracts flies. And that's probably the best that Branson could bring to the table... and in return, Richards offers Virgin some discounted sponsorship opportunities. Win/win all around, no?
I'm not sold on Richards. Remember he run that team before and it was a mess until he got fired. OTOH Richards was successful with endurance racing, but that doesn't mean he has it for F1.
Exactly, I'm a Branson fan, but apart from the airlines and music he rarely puts any of his money at risk. He provides the name and partners the cash. And plenty of the ventures have gone under.
Don't forget Virgin Galactic! And he was willing to take on Northern Rock. Probably is now happy he never did. Virgin Galactic was a huge gamble and it paid off. Well probably will at some point. Here's hoping for a ride one day.
Actually I do like RB... I like Trump too in many ways. Both of them are smart enough to know their names carry a lot of weight. There are many businesses that Trump gets a cut from, solely because they use his name. I don't know the exact businesses but IIRC many of the "Trump Towers" around the country are buildings he has nothing to do with, other than being a "partner" with a tiny ownership interest (like 1% or less). They get to use his name which carries a lot of brand appeal and recognition, and he gets his cut. Sort of like 'partnering' with a mafioso to get protection in exchange for a cut Branson is the same... there was a guy who talked about 'going into business' with Branson, and it turned out to be selling used cars but Branson had nothing to do with it other than letting them use his name in return for a cut. But he has this reputation of being able to turn poop into gold and lots of money guys will flock to him and his name. I'll bet Richards is putting his name on the signage and in return, Branson gets the reknown of being "an F1 team owner" and adds that to his list of creds. I thought I read before that Branson wasn't much of a car guy, no? I really hope he does get involved, because I'd love to see the team still in F1... I'd just be surprised if it was really Bransons $$ behind it.
Andreas, I hate to disagree but didn't BAR/Honda finish second in the constructors title in 2004 under Dave Richards, and the thank you he got was being removed and replaced by that dunce Nick Fry who is clueless. This is the same joker that got rid of Geoff Willis when he was getting the car right. I think Richards working with Ross Brawn would be great, as long as Dick Fry was gone.
Just read that Branson is close friends with Adrian Reynard. Could Reynard be coming back to BAR? I wonder where Ross Brawn's loyalties lie in all this? If he wants to stick with Nick Fry that could make things awkward. If Ross wants Nick to go then they could be a good team with Brawn, Reynard, and Dave Richards all on the technical side and Branson working on getting sponsorship and publicity.
Branson would be a great team owner. I ran into him at Foxy's on Jost van Dyke, BVI one New Years Eve and he was as laid back and unpretentious as one could be...would have never guessed he was a billionaire.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7896784.stm Interesting that they plan to use MB engines instead of Honda powerplants.... "They are planning to use Mercedes engines, but the German company has set a deadline by which the team have to prove they have the finances in place to pay for the power-plants".
The Bernie and Max comedy duo must be on cloud nine if this is true. What more of an endorsement of the sport's viability could you ask for (?) than having one of the greatest marketing geniuses step up to the plate at such a tenuous time for the sport which is reeling from the economic slowdown. My bet is that the dynamic duo are stroking Sir Richard Branson as I post this message. Two thumbs up if RB steps up to the plate. Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada
