COMMENTARY

It's glitzy, It's glamorous and it rocked Shanghai last October. It was a marriage made in heaven between the world's most exclusive sport, and the sleek modernity of China's second city, a natural union between an elite corporate-driven spectacle and China's booming commercial metropolis. After last year's first-ever Chinese Grand Prix, the Formula One motor racing circus returns this month to .nd a more confident Shanghai strut-ting its stuff on the world stage thanks to F1's global reach.

Mark Thomas, Managing Director of Broom Motor Sports Marketing, a company involved with the F1 BAR (British American Racing) team, says bringing Formula One racing to Shanghai was a masterstroke by the authorities in boosting the city's public image. "I think the Shanghai government invested in sports events like Formula One primarily to raise its pro.le within a global context. In terms of that, the F1 race is part of a greater plan which includes the Expo in 2010, and Formula One is an excellent platform to do that because It's seen around the world and has races all over the world. To that end, Shanghai is well on its way to achieving its goals."

What happens on one side of the F1 world can have a knock-on effect on the other, but Thomas dismisses the shambles which descended on Formula One earlier this year at the United States Grand Prix as irrelevant to the Shanghai GP. Back in July, fans were outraged when only 6 of 20 cars started the US race after a disagreement about tires. "The in.uence of that event on the Shanghai event will be zero," he says. "I think Formula One fans have forgotten about it - with the exception of those in the US. But it will have no effect on Shanghai."

With Shanghai officials signing a seven-year contract and paying more than 40 million dollars to host the race, Thomas points out the importance of bringing more Grands Prix to the city, making it a yearly event and not a one-off. "As the Shanghai race repeats each year, I think more and more people in the international com-munity will relate to Formula One and the fact that Shanghai has this race."

The buzz

It's the international community that Shanghai is trying so hard to impress by bringing one of the world's most prestigious sports to town. Thomas is in no doubt that this move is paying off. "It's educated people more about the city. I've spent a bit of time in Europe recently and one of the things I noticed was that there were quite a lot of articles that have been written about Shanghai and they are giving a very upbeat, positive image of the city." He continues, "I think there is a buzz going around the world at the moment that Shanghai is a happening place and it's the place to do business in China, and Formula One reinforces that."

Everyone in Asia knows Shanghai is on the up and Formula One is spreading this message further across the world. But it's too early to be certain of any concrete bene.ts just one year on, says Thomas. "Anyone who walks away from the circuit goes with the feeling that Shanghai is the best in the world. How it all relates to inward investment and such is probably too intangible to say at this stage. But all I would say is that once people come here they see the modern appearance of the city, its dynamism and all that sort of stuff it really makes a positive impression."

The brand new racetrack itself gives visitors a good Shanghai vibe. Thomas says "All the people who have actually been to the Formula One track and seen the race and witnessed the organization of it have said it's one of the most impressive, if not the most impressive, setup in Formula One. The work that the government has done has been truly excellent - they have produced a wonderful race and constructed a first class facility."

China's thirst for recognition on the world sporting stage means the emergence of a talented Chinese F1 driver would boost the sport and see even more attention heaped upon Shanghai's F1 circuit. But while this is a Mecca for the market-ing men, it remains a distant prospect, according to Thomas. "There are a few Chinese drivers involved in motor racing in general, but in my opinion China is a long way off getting a fully capable driver in an F1 car." He adds: "If a Chinese driver of good standing broke through, it would multiply the popularity of F1 by a long way, just in the same way that Yao Ming has multiplied the popularity of basketball by appearing in the NBA. But in terms of ability alone, maybe that driver hasn.t started driving yet - to get a genuine Formula One Chinese driver may even take a decade."

The international dimension of F1 is the key to developing Shanghai's brand name across the globe. But the Shanghai race last year was also a milestone in Chinese sport, says Thomas. "I think Shanghai getting F1 is one step towards the city gaining an even bigger international pro.le. But in a sporting context, I think sport in China may look back at the first Formula One race and say that was the first truly great sporting event in China, and one which set precedent and understanding for the success of future events . even the Olympics." Thomas believes that the successful outcome of the race last year, from an organization and marketing point of view, was invaluable in showing China how commercially successful events are run. "People learned so much about what works and what doesn.t work. From that perspective it really could be important in a sports context."

This means Shanghai's image as a business destination has also been improved by the legacy of last year's race. "One of the most important things for me is that, before Formula One, all sports events in China were dependent on spon-sorship - without sponsorship the event died. But ticketing revenue and hospitality revenue from F1 has changed that," says Thomas. "It's changed events from being immature events to being mature, western-type events with multiple revenue sources."

Essentially, F1 showed that money could be made from the event itself, not just from advertising opportunities. "F1 controls its rights so well - rights for ticketing were respected and that means people had to actually buy tickets instead of them going all over the place where people picked them up for free," relates Thomas. Millions were also made from corporate hospitality at the race, and the Formula One business road show left a blueprint in its wake in China for all to follow. thanks to Shanghai's bold move to bring F1 to town.

Ultimately, F1 was the event that got the world talking about Shanghai. Last year a TV audience of an estimated 300 million viewers sat down to watch their heroes tear around the brand new circuit, as F1 TV shows around the world paraded .ashy footage of the city to fans curious to learn about this new track on the F1 calendar. Those same fans who cast their eyes upon the city last year will want more. Fortu-nately, the now-yearly exposure will elevate Shanghai to the status of an iconic Asian city for the new millennium.