MotoGP madness - Busy about the Business

I really do miss the SuperGT races

If you've ever been to a Super GT race - aside from the GT Queens - these races are like a 3-day all you can soak-up, testesterone-filled trip to disneyland, legoland and a candy store combined... for a petrolhead, of course. It's Fast and Furious in the flesh, sorta. For reasons best reserved for the more experienced pundits, it is kinda sad that the Super GT Series does not come to Malaysia anymore. 

Hanging about at the Sepang circuit mall area at one these races in the past used to inspire me to think of the event as this ridiculously over-the-top, gloriously absurd showcase of really fancy and totally souped-up super cars. To say it was an event for car enthusiast --super or otherwise -- would really be understating it. Somehow I would always bump into that cute mechanic from the workshop where I service my car or that geezer who sold me those insanely expensive run-flat tyres. 

"Aiyohhhh kakak, tak boleh miss ini race lor! Tiap-tiap tahun saya mesti cuti satu hari datang ini SuperGT," (I'm not sure how to translate that, but essentially - this is one race I cannot miss) was what that cute mechanic said to me. Aside from the mind-bogglingly expensive cars on display, the exhibition booths were always filled with people peddling their wares, from spark plugs, suspensions, brake pads, tyres, tyre rims to in-car audio systems, the latter making me a bit deaf. "It's a big and good business and that's why we're here," said the tyre man shop to me. 

By the time I started working with one of the Super GT 500 teams, that meaning became evidently clearer, particularly if you are one of the three mega Japanese car manufacturers - Toyota, Honda and Nissan. "There is a following [for SuperGT]. And that following is important to us, because that following are the 'influencers'. SuperGT is at the top end of what's technically possible, that helps sell the brand, yes, but the role of these influencers is what keeps the machinery of that business going," was how a guy from one of the 3 car manufacturers explained it to me.

Now of course MotoGP and SuperGT don't stand on the same comparable stage. For one, one has 2-wheels, the other 4-wheels. *grins*.. But to me, they both are prime examples of how relevant these race events are to the industry that surrounds and supports them. 


Big Brands, Medium Brands, Small Brands... Big Business

I've had numerous conversations.. no, arguments.. about the merits of motorsports as being an industry in its own right. There are those who would argue that motorsports - racing on either 2- or 4-wheels and everything in between is essentially a spectator sport, pure entertainment, with little or no direct real relevance to economic activity or transfer to the public domain. Well, I am not so sure about that. 

My pathetic collection from the weekend.. 

At the recently concluded Malaysian Motorcycle GP (MotoGP), what was particularly interesting to me as I wandered about the mall area were the number of exhibition booths taken up by commercial brands. I am not talking about those peddling their fanwear paraphernalia either. Wandering about the mall area over the MotoGP weekend, all the major brands like Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Ducati, KTM, Alpinestars and even Red Bull as well as local industry players like Modenas were represented. These are not small names, by any means. These are the heavyweights of the motorcycle industry, one that is giganormous. 

For instance, (disclaimer: this author professes to be numerically dyslexic) both Yamaha and Honda combined generated a staggering Yen ¥2,268 billion (or ¥2.268 trillion - 12 zeroes is a trillion by the way) in sales which is about USD$21billion for FY2013 from the motorcycle sector alone. Then consider this: sales in the motorcycle segment accounts for almost 66% of Yamaha Motor Corporation's net sales. As for Honda Motors, the motorcycle segment accounts for 14% of their net sales. Imagine what the overall total revenue for both companies would be! Phew.. 

To put that into some kind of business perspective comparison (seriously?!), consider the sporting world's two mega-super-major brands - Nike and Adidas (after all it is a FIFA World Cup year). The Swish and the Three Parallel Bars generated a combined revenue of USD$43.8 billion, and that is across the entire gamut of their business. Yamaha and Honda's figures were just on their motorcycle business.

Mind-boggling... 

Transference

Realising the omnipresent threat of a fiscal migraine, I went in search of my normal self and poked my nose in a few of the booths. I spent some time in the Yamaha booth one morning and in talking to their sales and marketing people, I kept hearing the same tune (from the company with tuning fork logo! pun totally intended), "MotoGP is really very important to Yamaha. What transpires on the track truly does translate into the products we produce for the consumer and ultimately sales for us."

The brand spanking new Yamaha MT-07. The CBU units will be available in Malaysia from November onwards. Go to

www.yamaha-motor.com.my for more info.

At a media launch of Yamaha's latest motorcycle, the MT-07, someone asked how much of the MotoGP technology does Yamaha really inject back into the motorcycles it produces for consumers. Their response -- though naturally guarded as this falls in the proprietary realm and is therefore classified "top secret" -- is that there are many areas of technical and mechanical development that takes its cue from the MotoGP technology. The example cited was that of the MT-07 rear suspension design. "As the layout [of the rear suspension] contributes to the objective of a lightweight and compact design, our engineers mounted this part directly to the engine, a feedback derived directly from the MotoGP technology," explains Shiraishi-san, the MT-07 project leader.

OK, I am not a motoring technical expert, but on whether the technology from MotoGP ends up in the products, the answer is pretty much a big fat YES. 

Rossi and Lorenzo at the Yamaha MT-07 bike reveal

In layman's terms, as another sales and marketing person so eloquently put it to me, "it's simple when you think of it this way - if Marc Marquez does well, chances are his fans will go out tomorrow and look for that same brand of helmet he uses. If Lorenzo wins a race, there's a high probability that his fans will go out and look for that A-Stars riding jacket, the same guys who make Lorenzo's racing leathers." 

To cement that point, I spoke to a gentleman who distributes HJC helmets in Malaysia and he shared his experience on the positive effect of having both Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies as HJC's ambassadors on his sales. "It's amazing you know. Not only do the fans replicate the riders' helmet designs, but they also buy the same brand that Ben and Jorge use."

Here's another example closer to home. In conversation with the men who supply Hafizh Syahrin's racing leathers (RS Taichi), they said "just by having Hafizh Syahrin use our leathers has really boosted our sales efforts in the region, especially in Malaysia. It's incredible what an effect Hafizh has had on the confidence for our brand." 

To me, the effect that MotoGP has on its fans actually goes beyond just satiating the entertainment allure of the sport. There is also a very direct impact to the very big and very real thriving industry that surrounds it. Be it the sales of the motorcycles themselves, spare parts, helmets, riding leathers, boots, gloves, lubricants or fuel .. you name it. 

I haven't even begun to think about the revenue derived from TV rights either! Honestly, the fact that in as much as there is an entertainment value to MotoGP, it is no secret that there is also a very real economic value. Nothing earth-shatteringly new there, of course.

Go check out a cub prix race, it's crazy fun too!

Is there a real viable economic argument to motorcycle racing and motorsports? I believe so. What I saw at the MotoGP (and SuperGT), I also see at the Malaysian Cub Prix Championship, at a proportionately different scale, of course. You'll also see the presence of local and regional industry players at these races too. And they too have told me at various points in time that their involvement goes beyond just being a sponsor to a team or rider, it's part of an investment strategy that will hopefully yield into sales, and therefore company revenue and ultimately brand equity. OK.. some say that's the usual PR spiele while others argue that those returns are actually incremental. 

Hmm.. Then I recall what that Japanese manufacturer said about influencers. It's funny what perception can do to your brand and to your business, and these influencers (people or otherwise) are one of the primary directors to the health of not just the business, but also the industry.

Whichever side of the fence you're on, I have this to say - every time I was at the end of a SuperGT or MotoGP race weekend, I always left with this feeling that the businesses that make up this [mis]perceived, 'confined' industry that supposedly occupies the peripheral space in the consumer's consciousness, just left the circuit that little bit happier. 

And you know what, on my way home on Sunday, sitting in that ghastly post-race traffic jam, I actually lost count of the number of riders using RS-Taichi or Alpinestars riding jackets, or the number of Ducati / Yamaha / Honda / KTM motorcycles that annoying whizzed past me as I fumed in the car. By that account, is there a real viable economic argument to motorsports? What do you think?

MotoGP madness - 30 and counting

It is incredible to think that the recently concluded 2014 Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix or MotoGP was the 24th edition of the event on these tropical shores. Year on year, it is an event that continues to cement its presence to be ranked amongst one of the most, if not THE most important event on Malaysia's racing calendar. 

And in my mind, it is arguably the biggest racing event in Malaysia. Granted, the Formula One attracts enormous publicity from the local, regional and international media, but, the star-studded, Hollywood A-list filled-paddock affair pales slightly in comparison to how the MotoGP is able to attract motorcycle racing fans and two-wheeled aficionados across every age group from pretty much every corner of the globe who descend en masse into the circuit, flooding the grandstands to the brim every October since 1991.

For the first time in almost 15 years, I got to spend some time in the grandstands, amongst these motorcycle racing fans and it was an eye-opener. In the past, I would marvel at the various antics of these adrenalin-filled fanatics from the edge of the pitlane. This time, I was amongst them - OK, for a couple of hours - and honestly, I was a bit scared but also in awe. 

Fab Fans

I even spoke to some of them, who were happy to share their thoughts about being at the race. Some were first-timers, like Mr. Tom (from Perth, Australia) who said, "well, this was one race we hadn't visited yet, so we decided, why the heck not! We got the tickets and jumped onto a flight and here we are!" I asked if he was a fan of any particular rider, to which he responded, "no." Curious.. He did go on to add that, "of course we want to see our boy Jack (Miller) do well in the Moto3, but really, we're here because of the racing. We're not here because of any rider, we're here because of the racing. It's great!"

They are everywhere! VR46 fans

Interesting.. After stalking about the grandstand and the mall area, I bumped into another group, who were more than happy to indulge my curiousity. One of them was clearly a VR46 fan, decked top-to-bottom in the Doctor's trademark yellow. I asked them the rather obvious question of what attracted them to come to the MotoGP. Well, the response was unsurprisingly and unanimously, "Mestilah, The Doctor!" Of course, Valentino Rossi. Ddduh, on my part. I was later informed by The Doctor's fan club coordinator that his fans in the grandstand fronting the start-finish straight alone numbered close to 7,000. 

 Anyway, if you looked closely enough amongst that ocean of yellow, one would also find islands of black with a very visible 'por fuera' X; which is great, especially having had the privilege of working with the owner of that particular brand. 

From way back when.. with JL

I chanced upon such a group clad in their JL99 t-shirts as I entered the circuit on Saturday. Walking up with JL99's Spartans, the discussion was very animated in clipped English, Spanish, Japanese and (I am quite sure it was) Russian, each discussing Lorenzo's strategy for the weekend; from the tyre choices to the heat and the possibility of rain, whether it plays into his hands... etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Judging from the conversation, it felt like the group had just stepped out of their respective computer screens and their online JL99 Spartan fan-forum; bringing the same debate into real life, right there at the gates of the circuit. Spock would say, "fascinating.." and I would agree. 

It's true that these fans are also amongst the most loyal and discerning. I spoke to an En. Mat (he wanted to be known as that) who had spent his youth watching the likes of Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, Randy Mamola and Wayne Gardner battle it out. By the time he was able to acquire a set of his own wheels, his pilgrimage to the Shah Alam (and subsequently Sepang) circuit began in earnest. 

He said, "bila dapat tengok rider-rider kegemaran saya di trek dan bukan di kaca TV adalah pengalaman yang sangat special, lepas tu jadi ritual saya tiap-tiap tahunlah!" (the experience of watching my favourite riders at the track and not on TV is really special, after which it became an annual ritual for me). 

Whilst the impressive tsunami of yellow is ever prevalent amongst the thousands who frequent these races across the planet, the sight of groups of fans who support the other riders lends an especially colourful atmosphere to the GPs. 


Pescao phenom

Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah

What was especially nice to see was in that great mix of fans, this year there were also pockets of 'Pescao' fans about the circuit too. While chatting to that die-hard motorcycle racing fan En. Mat, his choice of attire for the weekend intrigued me, because he wasn't in yellow, or black but the colourful mosaic of this "Pescao". 

He said, "saya rasa Hafizh ada sesuatu yang special, dan saya memang suka tengok dia racing! Lebih-lebih lagi, dia dari Malaysia, jadi tak logiklah kalau saya tak sokong dia!" (there's something special about Hafizh and I like watching him race. That he's from Malaysia, it doesn't make sense if I don't support him!)

Nice.. It's worth mentioning that 20-year old Hafizh Syahrin Abdullah earned his nickname "Pescao" during his 2-year exploits in the CEV Spanish National Championship (2012 finishing 6th and 2013 finishing 3rd). Derived from the Spanish word "Pescado" meaning fish, the name stuck with him after he continually proved his innate talent of racing in the rain. Prior to his move to Spain, Hafizh had already blazed a successful trail in the domestic and regional championships. 

An Aussie Hafizh "Pescao" Syahrin fan

But what really launched Pescao into the stratosphere was his ride in the Moto2 category as a wildcard at the 2012 edition of the Malaysian Motorcycle GP, an exploit I might reserve for another post. Sorry. :)

Though luck eluded Pescao at the 2014 edition, fans will take heart in knowing that his determination is by no means diminished, in fact it's fired him up even more. So, watch out for him racing at the season finale round in Valencia. 

I also know Pescao will also take some heart in knowing that whilst watching his race with Vale Rossi in the same room, The Doctor was truly impressed with Hafizh's race craft, his confidence and ability to carve his way through the more experienced field. The Doctor's prescription was this - experience and controlled aggression. 


Daring to Dream

L-R: Barry Leong, Hafizh Syahrin, Anita Azrina (GM, Brand Management 

PETRONAS), YM Tunku Datuk Mudzaffar (Chairman, AAM), 

Ramdan Rosli and Kenny Chua

There were in total, 6 Malaysians competing in both the Moto2 and Moto3 races during the MotoGP Malaysia weekend. It was a heartbreaking affair as there was not to be a repeat of the 2012 edition. 

However, to me, I take heart in knowing that Malaysia has taken a huge step forward in terms of producing riders that can compete on the world stage. 

Hafizh is one of them, as are Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman. If we were to look beyond the results from this one round, what is incredibly encouraging is both the number and quality of riders that Malaysia is capable of and is producing.

What's even more interesting is that while these 6 flew the flag at the MotoGP, there are another 24 Malaysians who are also plying their trade at the international stage. Best part is, ALL 30 riders came through the domestic Malaysian Cub Prix championship! 

Ramdan Rosli is racing in the CEV Spanish 

National Motorcycle Championship that earned him a

Moto3 

wildcard ticket at the 2014 M'sian 

Motorcycle GP

Bumping into a Cub Prix rider at the GP, I cornered the poor kid and asked him about what effect these 6 riders has had on his own ambitions, "it definitely gives me a huge motivation to try to make the step up through the different motorcycle racing categories. It's definitely my aim to work hard and try to emulate what they have achieved. And, it's not just me, the achievements of Hafizh, Zulfahmi and Azlan is also a powerful motivation to young kids out there who want to try their hand at motorcycle racing." 

With a strong motorcycle racing foundation already in place, the achievements of these 30 Malaysian riders has the net effect of giving Malaysians something to dream about. Can Malaysia compete with motorcycle-racing mad countries like Spain, Italy or UK? Is Malaysia capable to producing riders to match Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo, Cal Crutchlow or Tito Rabat?

Why ever not?