Virgin coverage worth $60m with Brawn

F1’s new constructors’ world champions considered reviving the famous Tyrrell name before settling on Brawn GP for the 2010 season, boss Ross Brawn has revealed.

Debriefing the team’s achievement with members of the British press, the Briton said deciding upon a brand identity for the Brackley based squad in the wake of Honda’s departure had been a quandary earlier this year.

Brawn, and other members of senior management including Nick Fry, bought the outfit from Honda for a single symbolic British pound, and discussed calling their new team ‘Pure Racing’, the 54-year-old revealed.

“We went through a lot of permutations.  Pure Racing was one, we looked at Tyrrell, too,” Brawn said.

Tyrrell, founded in the late 50s by the late Ken Tyrrell and the winner of four drivers’ and constructors’ titles, was sold to Honda’s predecessor British American Racing in 1998.

Said Brawn: “In the end, Caroline McGrory, our legal secretary, said ‘let’s call it your name’ and there didn’t seem to be any objections.  I felt awkward.  It is an odd thing.”

As is customary, the Brawn GP logo will now be added to the formula one constructors’ trophy, which will be presented by the FIA at its awards gala later this year.

“It was awkward at the beginning, seeing my name there as the team name.  But I am very proud and honoured that my name is carried by the team,” said Ross Brawn.

Virgin coverage worth $60m with Brawn

Virgin has emerged as the big winning sponsor of the 2010 season, pulling off brand exposure that far exceeds the cost of its deal with the Brawn team this year.

Sir Richard Branson penned the deal before the eventually championship winning team captured a single grid position or point at the season opening Australian grand prix in March.

The contract signed was for about $400,000 per race, or less than $7 million for the entire 2009 calendar.  It is likely, however, that a slight increase on the $400k rate was negotiated at some point this year.

A much more comprehensive deal was speculated earlier this season, but Brawn’s success ramped up the price tag, and Virgin is now expected to link up with the new Manor team for 2010.

But Virgin will make the switch having notched up about $60 million in brand exposure, through Brawn’s nearly 9 nine hours of international television coverage, according to the media analysis experts Margaux Matrix.

source: GMM