A1GP: All the Things F1 Isn’t

From a marketing perspective, the A1GP series couldn’t fit Cooper’s global marketing aspirations any better. With races at venues in China, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico the new series has the potential to reach around the globe. And of course this is one of the main ways the manufacturer seeks to make a return on its investment. “We decided to associate our involvement with the Cooper brand when we saw the preliminary race schedule,” explains Julian Baldwin adding: “Lots of people dismissed the series, but A1 will deliver. From a branding point of view its perfect.”

But why Cooper and not Cooper-Avon or Avon? “Cooper is the worldwide brand. Its an ideal way of getting the brand out of America and introducing it to the emerging markets,” says Baldwin. Avon, on the other hand, is seen as much more of a UK/European brand despite its associations with numerous other race series including Formula 3000. This all ties in nicely with what is known about Cooper’s global strategy. After all Cooper Tire & Rubber Co has production capacity in China through Hanzhou Zhongce. No doubt the company is aiming to capitalise on its A1GP involvement by raising awareness in what is predicted to become the largest tyre market on earth.

Despite the fact that the series will visit all of these “exotic” locations and more during the course of the ‘05/’06 season, it was launched in more familiar surroundings. A1GP’s inaugural race at Brands Hatch is widely regarded to have been a resounding success, particularly in terms of media coverage. The opening race sold out one of Britain’s favourite racetracks with an attendance of 72,000 over the race weekend. Not only that, but local and national press coverage, not to mention national TV and satellite broadcasts, ensured that the widest possible audience heard about the new series. In this day and age the financial productivity of any series comes down to TV coverage.

T&A was reliably informed that although coverage of the battle for first place will always take precedence over a billboard, technicians and camera operators are under pressure to keep adverts “in-shot.” This is particularly significant for Cooper because the American company’s logo is one of only two that appears on every participating vehicle. Julian Baldwin would not be drawn on exactly how much money had changed hands to make Cooper’s involvement possible, but he did explain that a certain amount of trackside advertising was included. This means that at this stage in the season a TV replay of a car, locking its Cooper tyres in front of a Cooper billboard is a real possibility. After Brands Hatch the next stop was the Lausitzring Euro Speedway in eastern Germany. During qualifying A1GP insiders confided that they expected this race to be one of the quietest of the season.

Even so 34,000 motor racing fans turned out to witness the new series’ maiden race in Germany and once again a variety of different TV stations were present including the influential German terrestrial channel, ZDF. A1GP does not pitch itself as a competitor to Formula 1, however that doesn’t stop comparisons from being made. After attending the Brands Hatch inaugural race, The Times’ Richard Rae announced: “Formula 1 knows it has a fight on its hands.” Julian Baldwin makes it clear that Formula 1 should not be seen as a competitor, but from his point of view A1GP certainly provides “bigger bang for your buck,” ‘If we hadn’t have got involved when we did, I would be kicking myself’ Cooper’s early decision to get involved with A1GP has the potential to pay rich dividends. Not only does getting in on the ground floor mean that Cooper has given itself space to develop its relationship with the powers that be, but it also enables the manufacturer to keep a rein on the costs involved in participating.

Furthermore T&A has learnt that a number of manufacturers (including Pirelli) are “observing” the series with a view to getting involved themselves. But of course defending a position is often easier than attacking one. From Baldwin’s perspective, Cooper’s position is “about more than handing a wad of cash to A1GP.” Instead the motorsport director sees the company’s involvement as “providing a tyre solution while being a partner of the series.” Take last year’s SEMA show for example. The 2004 US aftermarket industry trade show was the first time that the A1GP brand was seen in America. And where was its debut? The Cooper stand. “You have to hand it Sheik Al-Maktoum its just such a good idea – I wish I had it.”

But enough talk of business plans and marketing strategies. The tyres are what its all about. As far as technology is concerned, the tyres Cooper supplies to the A1GP are more advanced than anything the company has previously produced before. According to Mr Baldwin, the technology involved is not far off Formula 1 and is therefore a significant step up from Formula 3000. Cooper has always “run motorsport as a commercial business operation and will continue to do so,” Baldwin explains. Bearing this in mind, Cooper’s exclusive tyre position means the company doesn’t have to spend the exorbitant amounts that Michelin and Bridgestone do on testing and tuning tyres to each race venue. But isn’t operating as a single supplier shooting yourself in the foot, when it comes to motorsport payback?

Not as far as Cooper is concerned. “Take a look at tyres in Formula 1. They are either not mentioned or mentioned negatively. And an open tyre series escalates cost.” Instead Baldwin believes that running A1GP as a single tyre series has more relevance when it comes to developing production tyres. “Increasingly there is a lot more linkage between road and race, in both directions.” “We haven’t gone for the fastest tyres, but we have gone for the one that was the most fun and provided the best all round performance,” said Baldwin referring to the 370/660R13 Cooper A1 tyres that the manufacturer developed for the series.

In contrast to the expensive and risky antics of competing manufacturers, single supplier series are all about striking a balance, making an ultra-high performance tyre that can perform in as wide a variety of situations as possible. Consequently it is much more likely that there will be some information to share with the passenger car development teams and even in the opposite direction. Julian Baldwin puts it like this: “The [race] tyres have got to clear water; got to grip; got to be durable. How relevant is that to the road?”

The company’s wet tyres are said to have particularly benefited from this dialogue. Furthermore Cooper’s A1GP full wet tyres are only seven seconds off the pace of the slick tyre. But its not just Mr Baldwin who is pleased with Cooper’s A1GP wet tyres, the drivers themselves are also said to be impressed. Cooper supplies five sets of slicks for each of the 25 cars plus two sets of wets for each race, totalling roughly 1000 tyres per weekend. “The team also brings six fitters/operators plus three technicians to each race, a total of 10 people,” explains Baldwin. All of the company’s A1GP tyres are produced at the company’s Melksham plant.