Premier1 Grand Prix: on track
Premier1 Grand Prix: on track
London, 03 October 2002: The eagerly anticipated Premier1 Grand Prix series, continues to move closer to its goal - the world's
leading soccer clubs competing in a F1 style motor racing championship. Premier1 Grand Prix will deliver a unique and thrilling
motor sport formula - an exciting new one-make race series that has been skilfully designed to provide F1 speeds but with closer
racing and greatly enhanced entertainment.
The current focus of the Premier1 Grand Prix championship is signing the football club partners. Following this will be the formal
granting of contracts to the chassis and engine supplier, the race teams and drivers, the TV broadcast/marketing arrangements and
the allocation of rounds to the circuits. Premier1 already holds FIA sanctioning for the series.
Several factors have hampered progress in recent months but the process of delivering this bold new series is proceeding with
renewed vigour and success. The bankruptcy of designated chassis supplier Reynard Cars, the football clubs' attention on the 2002
FIFA World Cup, and a reorganisation of Premier1's operational structure and policies have all contributed.
"Our plans were certainly delayed by the demise of Reynard," says Robin Webb, Operations Director of Premier1 Grand Prix. "However
we took advantage of this pause to carry out some important internal reorganisation.
"This has seen us close down our Swiss office, relocating our operations to the UK, and bringing Alan Gow on-board. Having
masterminded the British Touring Car Championship to the peak of its enormous success in the 1990s, Alan certainly has the expertise
to help make Premier1 the worldwide success it deserves to be."
"Together, we have achieved more in the past few months than was done in the previous two years. But we took the policy of not
broadcasting our every move - instead we simply put our heads down and got on with the job of meeting our critical targets. The
first of those objectives is to have the soccer clubs contractually committed to the series and, as will be revealed, we are doing
this with enormous success." continues Webb.
"This will be a truly international championship with representation from at least 14 countries throughout Europe, South America and
Asia. In recent weeks final contracts have been agreed with some of the biggest names in international football and an up-to-date
list of these signings will be published in a few weeks. I think quite a few people are in for a big surprise."
"Perhaps some sceptics may have thought that the Premier1 program had faded away. But quite the opposite; we have just been getting
on with achieving what we need to do in order to put it all in place. Despite the interruptions we are still very much on track",
concluded Webb.
Reaching out to the enormous fan-base of both football and motor sport supporters, the unique Premier1 formula will prove to be a
real shot in the arm for motor sport particularly as top-level motor racing has increasingly suffered from public and media
dissatisfaction.
Colin Sullivan, Premier1 founder, is even more passionate and committed to the project than ever before and has provided Premier1
with additional and very substantial funding in order to continue to drive the project through to fruition.
Premier1 Grand Prix has revised and confirms its start date as 2004. Further news about Premier1 Grand Prix will be distributed
soon. Please visit www.premier1grandprix.com to keep up to date with the latest developments.
ENDS
For more information contact John Sharp on +44 (0)20 7384 8718
MPA MEDIA, Imperial House, Imperial Road, London SW6 2AG, England
premier1gp@mpafingal.co.uk