Motor racing is a fickle game. It is
not so physically dangerous as it was, but it is a
mine-field (it was Sir Stirling Moss who said that he
remembered when motor racing was dangerous and sex was
safe!). You can be the greatest talent in the world, but
if you don’t get the breaks, you will never get close
enough to F1 to even be seen. Today I am giving a kid a
break - and so can you.
James
Grunwell
His name is James Grunwell and he is 15
years old. He impressed me from the first meeting - a well
presented and polite young man, wearing a Williams F1
T-shirt. Proud of his achievements so far, but not
big-headed either. The kind of kid that you would be proud
to call your own son.
Like many of our children, school did
not hold him enthralled - in fact by the time he was 13 he
was under achieving. To reverse this trend, his father,
Joe Grunwell, promised him a go-kart if James were to
improve his marks. What you have to also understand is
that this kid had been watching F1 since he was five years
old. This was an irresistible carrot. The deal was struck,
and true to his word, the grades improved, and James got
his backside in a go-kart.
The parental idea was that the go-kart
would be a fun incentive, but for someone with the
competitive urge this is not enough. “Racing” is the
name of the game. James entered his first go-kart race in
2002 and the 13 year old came 4th in his first outing, in
the closely fought Yamaha 100 class. In his second race in
the 2002 season he came 3rd. He was also hooked. He is a
‘racer’.
In 2003 he continued with the Yamaha
100 class. The season covered seven meetings at tracks all
over Thailand. In this rough and tumble class he crashed
out while leading the final three times, but his four
finishes were all on the podium. He has a raw talent.
This year he moved up to the top class
in go-karts, the Intercontinental A. He has four more
events in this class and I am sure he will do well, as he
gains more experience against much more seasoned
campaigners in this top class. He is also having a run in
a 1,000 cc Morris Cooper in the support races at the Bira
Circuit, including the main Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS)
event. In his first Mini event this month, he came from
the rear of the grid and hacked his way through to 2nd in
eight laps. He has the much needed competitive urge. Let
us also not forget he is still only 15 years old, an age
where he cannot even hold a road license!
James knows that motor sport has a
ladder you must climb. For a young fellow based here, it
is AIM Racing’s Concept I single seaters and then
perhaps the Asian Formula BMW. After that it is the
European Formula BMW or Formula Renault. Be a top runner
there and he can join the likes of Kimi Raikkonen who went
from F. Renault into F1. It is not easy and it is a long
road. It is also an expensive road. This is where you can
help.
Even at this early stage, competitive
motor sport costs money, but sponsorship has its benefits
for the sponsors too. Messrs Marlboro and Vodaphone know
this and this is why they plough millions of dollars into
Michael Schumacher and his team, just to get their names
in front of the viewing public.
Let’s look at the James Grunwell
situation. Millions of dollars are not necessary to get a
young driver started. He has got this far through Mum and
Dad, and as James said, “I went round all my uncles and
aunts begging for money.” However, he won’t get much
further without outside help. Being a racer myself, I can
recognize another one, and that is why I have decided to
help this young driver. An important part of his racing CV
is known as “column inches”. I will do that for James,
mentioning his sponsors wherever possible, provided we can
get him enough to keep going. One already there is
Shenanigans in Pattaya (who I have just mentioned) and it
was landlord Kim Fletcher who brought James to my notice.
He is British and his mum is Dutch.
There are many businesses with Euro origins in this
country and I am suggesting you look at how yours can
help. The budget he needs for two years in Concept I is
around one million baht. That is only 100,000 baht for
each of ten sponsors, or 50,000 baht each for 20
companies. It is a gamble. You may not see our ‘hope of
tomorrow’ make it to the top - but on the other hand,
you just might. You could be hitching your wagon to a
star. As a worst case scenario, you will have had fun
being part of a racing team in Thailand. I can tell you
from my own experience of motor racing, that all my
sponsors during my motor racing career enjoyed it.
So can we give a really nice young man
a leg-up the ladder? For any of you in a youth oriented
business, he would be a natural, but for the rest of you
entrepreneurs it is up to you to see how you can use the
involvement - even such things as employee rewards to be
able to be part of the team for one meeting. Or just come
and have fun yourselves. Kim Fletcher came back from Bira
so enthused he’s going again next month!
Acceptance of sponsorship has to be ethical too. James
now has one Irish Pub (Shenanigans) assisting, so he
cannot run another. If a real estate company comes on
board, he cannot display the sign from another competing
company. It is a case of ‘first in best dressed’. You
can contact me through the Automania column in the
newspaper for more details. I believe he is worthwhile.
Multiple
pile-up at Monaco in the 1950 GP
Whilst
this is all very noble, and the fossil fuel subsidy costing
the country squillions, one can see the need, even if you are
not a ‘greenie’. The big guns in the automakers are all
tripping over themselves, looking at hydrogen power and
hybrids with electric motors and gasoline engines, but we
already have a thriving ‘green’ transport industry in this
country. Electric personal transport.
I
was also taken by the ‘ag-bikes’ on display, complete with
two (yes, one for each wheel) electric motors. These will take
you anywhere off-road, and not a whiff of exhaust smoke
anywhere. Paul also told me that he has designed an
all-electric ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) which is being built
for movie actor Steven Segal, who is shipping three to America
and leaving another on his ‘ranch’ up North. These will be
on general sale before the end of the year. There is also a
children’s ATV now on the market at under B. 20,000.