Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

mote the series until 2006 as the first step in the long-term development of the category - but since, as you know, we have a contract to promote World Superbike until 2021, I hope that if we make a similar success out of developing the World Endurance Series, the FIM will be able to give us a similar longterm horizon for this branch of the sport, as well. Why did it take until now for you to restructure the championship, given that your deal with the FIM dates from 2000? In 200 I, we had a kind of hybrid transition year, where, in agreement with the FIM, we were only partially responsible for the series, in order to give a kind of soft landing to the previous system, in consideration of its previous history even if this also resulted in a soft takeoff for the new arrangement. What are Octagon's aims in promoting World Endurance under the new umbrella? In structuring the series, was attracting a TV deal the main objective? In our opinion, clearly the presence of television - and Eurosport will cover the whole series, in full - is a key factor in the growth of the championship and in widening public recognition of the special attractions of endurance racing. But, it's not the only one - and anyone who has followed our strategy for the successful development of World Superbike will know that we haven't concentrated only on television, as the record crowds at many rounds will confirm. Our efforts in developing the series have been focused on many levels, beginning, first of all, with the public at the race meeting. We recognize that we have a responsibility to keep them happy and entertained when they pay their fifty dollars or euros or whatever to enter the circuit, and this is very important to the overall success of the series. What we did in World Superbike was to create a show which does not begin and end only with the racing - and we have always made sure there is a full program of non-stop action on the track - but which creates an atmosphere of involvement on the part of the public. You can talk with your favorite riders and get their autographs, observe close-up the way the teams operate, and feel a part of the whole event. In Endurance racing, we believe this off-track component is even more important, because the pit stops are vital to the competition, with a crew of people in a team who are even more active than in a Superbike race or GP, and whose work in the garage is more spectacular, and more easily appreciated. Look at the key ingredient which pit stops represent in Formula One car racing - except, that in motorcycle sport, people pass each other on the race track, also, not only in the pits! Number one, we are focused on creating a good event for the people at the circuit - but number two, the television coverage is also important, so how do we make this series more TV-friendly? We decided to follow two strategies: first, to create specially edited programs for television which counter the problem of how to provide TV coverage of 24-hour races - or even six-, eight- and l2-hour events. We will feature live coverage of the start, a couple of visits in the middle, then the finish - a total of one or two hours of coverage which will include the best of the race, and will also be aired as a one-hour combined resume a couple of days after. This is how Eurosport and the overseas TV affiliates we hope to develop will cover the longer races in the 2002 World Endurance Championship - but the second kind of race will be the 200-miles events. This is still an Endurance race - you have a minimum of two- riders, two compulsory pit stops, but only a two or two-and-a-half-hour race, which can be carried completely live on TV, as well as again the one-hour summary program a couple of days later. This is indeed a TV product - but it will also be very entertaining to watch from the grandstands, because of the importance of the pit stops in a shorter race. This is why our calendar for the first season in which we are completely responsible for the championship has races of both kinds. But it's a pity that the six-race series you've established for this first Octagon year has a preponderance of 200-miJe races, and doesn't include any of the three classic 24-Hour events Le Mans, Spa and the Bol d'Or. Why not? These three events had a history of their own which, in tum, defines their commercial status in the eyes of the organizers. When we make an agreement with a race organizer - and this has always applied in Superbike, too - we create a real partnership based on joint responsibilities conceming promotion and TV coverage. It was not possible to make such an agreement with the organizers of these three races, therefore they have decided to relinquish their chance to join the World Endurance Championship and will organize their own threerace series - but without FIM sanction. This means that they must arrange their own licensing system for riders, their own insurance policies, and so on. What did the discussions flounder on? Did these three organizers object to paying Octagon an affiliation fee for their races' World Championship status? No, the fee wasn't the main issue, more a feeling that they preferred to maintain the status quo as far as organizing their own races is concemed, meaning they retained overall control over their promotion, the TV coverage and so on. It's their right to choose that - but we couldn't accept this. If we have the responsibility to manage and promote the championship, and are answerable for our actions to the FIM, to the public, to the media, to the teams and to the manufacturers, we need to be in control of the whole product, just as we are in Superbike. These three organizers were not prepared to cede ultimate control over the organization of their races to Octagon, for reasons you must ask them to explain - so we regretfully had to exclude them from our championship calendar. This same thing happened in the car world 10 or 15 years ago, when the Le Mans 24 Hours refused to join the World Endurance Series for what appeared to be the same reasons - but, in due course, they gave up their isolation and joined in. Will Octagon be making efforts to create the same result on two wheels some time in the future? It's too early to make a forecast yet - each party has made what the French call 'une prise de position.' They've staked out their position. From our point of view, we are always open - but we have a project we have to develop and must respect the commitments made to us by other organizers who better appreciated our long-term objectives for Endurance racing as a category. But I remain optimistic that one or more of the organizers of these events will appreciate the benefits of joining our World Endurance Championship Series. For many outside France, it's not really a surprise this happened - but given the proud history of endurance racing in Spain, and the traditions of the Montjuich 24 Horas, it is a surprise there's no round of your series there, especially as there is today a very successful Barcelona 24hour race held on the Catalunya GP circuit each year. Is the reason there's no Spanish round of the World Endurance Championship related to your rivalry with Dorna, which is, of course, Spanish-based? No - that's not the reason. We decided specifically that, for the first year of the championship, we didn't want to have too many rounds, in order not to over-extend the teams both financially and humanly, and to give them time to grow. This is the same strategy as we applied to Supersport in developing it to its present extremely successful level - in the first year, just eight races, all in Europe; the next, nine; then start holding inter-continental races and so on until we are near to the step where the Supersport will have the same calendar as the Superbike class. But, in the meantime, the teams have grown alongside - they're more professional, they have more money and more sponsorship support, and this has happened because we didn't push them too hard at first. That's the first reason - and the second is that we could only make a success of this with partners who are convinced enough of the potential for success of the venture to put everything into making it a good event. The 2002 calendar is a reflection of this situation - and there are circuits in Spain which are interested in holding a round of the World Endurance Championship in the future whom we are in active discussion with, same as in other countries. But we have to let the calendar grow in step with the teams. But, if budget is a consideration, what about Japan? Why include Suzuka at this stage, if most of the teams competing in the other five races won't be able to take part in it? cue I e n e _ S • MAY 1, 2002 51

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