G'day all,
Long time listener and all that.
I assume that VA is not going to spend the vast sum that Ansett did with the 2000 Olympics sponsorship, but I can't help but wonder how the V8 Supercars race in Dubai fits their competition strategy, (given that they don't even fly to that port) or how tangible any financial gain would be.
James Warburton (V8SC CEO) has said that the category has no plans to go to Dubai in 2017:
No plans for Dubai in 2017 | V8 Supercars
People with no interest in the sport may think the VA tie-up is a pointless exercise, but my thoughts as a V8SC fan is that it's a good move. The V8SC fan base is wide and varied, however, even with Foxtel taking the rights as of 2015, there is still a large "working class" fan base that are very loyal to certain brands of the sport. Jaging some of those could mean new life-long (albeit not too frequent) customers. There's also a good corporate interest of the sport, and with the new specification cars being allowed from next year (meaning other engine configurations allowed), it's likely to atract an even larger following than in years past. It has the potential to really become a global sport.
Just my thoughts.
BC