German Grand Prix Racing

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German Grand Prix Racing was a company based in Weyhe near Bremen , which unsuccessfully tried to take over several Formula 1 teams in 2002 and 2003 and tried to establish its own racing team without any result. According to general opinion, the company lacked the required seriousness from the start. Today, the history of German Grand Prix Racing is mostly viewed as a case of imposture . The fact that the company was able to conclude contracts with a nominal value of several million euros with several established teams without prior credit checks was later used in the press as an opportunity to criticize the business conduct of Formula 1 in general.

history

The company was founded in 2002 as German Grand Prix Racing GmbH . A year later it was given the legal form of a stock corporation . The managing director was the German banker Oliver Behring. Neither the company nor the managing director had any racing experience. In 2002 and 2003, Behring stated in numerous interviews that he was acting on behalf of Arab financiers who were interested in entering international motorsport. However, he never gave any specific names.

Acquisition of Arrows

Should be used in 2003 with the support of the German Grand Prix: Arrows racing cars

At the end of 2001, Behring first negotiated a takeover with Prost Grand Prix . After the failure of these negotiations, his company acquired a total of 60 percent of the shares in the insolvent British team Arrows , which had ceased racing during the 2002 season. German Grand Prix GmbH was subsequently unable to meet the payment obligations it assumed. When Behring submitted a bad check to settle outstanding claims in November 2002, the financing of the racing team was no longer secure. The FIA rejected the nomination of Arrows for the coming season in December 2002 in view of the uncertain financial situation; then the German Grand Prix terminated the contracts with Arrows.

A German team with Jaguar or Minardi

At the beginning of 2003, Behring announced that German Grand Prix Racing AG would take part in the Formula 1 World Championship with its own team in the 2004 season. German Grand Prix Racing should be a junior team from an established racing team and bring its previous year's vehicles to the start. In spring 2003, Behring reached an agreement with the British racing team Jaguar Racing ; the equivalent of the agreement was given as an annual amount of £ 29 million . German Grand Prix Racing signed Sven Barth and Thomas Westarp as drivers; The company also got in touch with Craig Pollock , the former manager of Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve , who was to take on a managerial role at the German Grand Prix. The deal could not be realized, however; it failed after a few weeks when Behring was unable to make the payments demanded by Jaguar. At least one check presented by Behring was not covered.

Behring then negotiated with Paul Stoddart about taking over the Minardi team. The negotiations again ended early due to a lack of funding. There were no more activities.

In the spring of 2003, the public prosecutor's office in Verden began investigations against Behring on suspicion of fraud .

evaluation

After initial support in the media landscape, an increasingly critical attitude towards Behring arose in the spring of 2003. The conviction prevailed that Behring was at no time in a position to meet the obligations entered into. The German press repeatedly referred to him as "Gernegroß", "Hochstapler" or "Schaumschläger". Bernie Ecclestone described him as a "fine guy who just forgets to pay". At the same time, the way the teams dealt with Behring was an indicator of the great economic difficulties that many racing teams had to suffer from at the beginning of the 21st century. Eddie Jordan commented on the events with the words: "We are in a tight spot and therefore have to talk to every potential investor".

literature

  • Free ride into Formula 1: Oliver Behring takes over the Arrows team for an Arab sheik . Interview with Oliver Behring in: Die Welt from November 18, 2002.
  • Unbelievable: A phone, a suit, a tie, a great story from the sheikh - you're in Formula 1. The unbelievable story of Oliver Behring . In: Der Stern , issue 25/2003, p. 142 f.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ We just want to help Arrows : Message from November 18, 2002 on the website motorsport-total.com, accessed on May 23, 2011.
  2. ↑ a b c d e The star. Issue 25/2003, p. 142.
  3. ↑ Handelsblatt. dated December 2, 2002.
  4. ↑ Message on bbc.co.uk, accessed on May 23, 2011.
  5. ↑ Motorsport news. Issue 15/2003, p. 5.
  6. ^ Message dated March 26, 2003 on grandprix.com, accessed May 23, 2011.
  7. ↑ a b Motorsport news. Issue 30/2003, p. 5.