ANDRE WORRELL
The global motorsport industry is big business. Every year, billions are spent on events around the world to see people in fancy cars go fast; very fast.
In Trinidad, motorsport events attract a cult-like following of rabid fans eager to both show and tell about who has the fastest, loudest, meanest toy.
Inside of all this adrenalin-fueled action lies real business opportunity. Among the many that exist, one area representing immediate potential is the creation of a world-class racing facility to serve as home for all major motor sporting events held disparately across the country.
This is where Clive Bowen and Andy Stobart come in.
Bowen is the founder and managing director of Apex Circuit Design, a UK-based full service race track design and operation company and Stobart is the head of communications for Renault's Formula 1 team.
From a vision, to planning, construction to operational support, Bowen is the man you call when you want to transform motor sport from a fun (and sometimes illegal) pastime into a legitimate, commercially viable industry. The Business Guardian caught up with Owen and Stobart on a recent visit to the country to explore the business of motorsport in T&T.
Since its establishment in 1997, Apex has been designing motorsport circuit facilities that have commercial viability foremost in mind. The company designs facilities according to the highest regulatory standards in the motor-sporting industry.
Commenting on the company's achievements to date, Bowen, a former racer himself, said: "We have designed 17 venues for customers across the world. One of our primary objectives is to design facilities that cater to the specific needs of the environment that we go into so there is no one-size-fits-all approach to what we do."
Questioned about his interest in the T&T market, Bowen stated that the market was ready for a permanent home for motor sports in the country.
He said: "We have identified the opportunity, along with our local colleagues, to establish a permanent motor sport destination in Trinidad. So our presence here is really with an intention to understand what is motor sports in Trinidad, who competes, what appeal to the public is there for motor sports in Trinidad and identifying the opportunities that exist in creating a business around a venue in Trinidad."
Bowen pointed out that the crux of the business of creating a motor sport destination in T&T was changing the perception of the venue itself.
He said: "What's important is shifting the mindset from it being viewed as just a racetrack and moving it to being perceived as a destination in the same way a theme-park operator, or a mall developer positions itself to keep people onsite as part of a larger social experience."
Questioned about what infrastructure requirements would be required to create a standard, regulation racetrack facility in Trinidad, Bowen said: "Area is important. We would need somewhere upwards of 250 acres for this to work. Location is important because if it's in the middle of nowhere, takes forever to get to and has poor road networks, people are not going to bother to make the effort on a consistent basis to attend events. It's proximity to existing townships as well matters since residents wouldn't be too keen on having a venue such as this because of the number of people, noise and traffic it would bring to their area."
Bowen stated that from his research a few sites had been identified as possible locations, but none had been confirmed as such as yet. Bowen was quick to note, however, that the actual track itself would consume only a part of the site required.
He said: "For the 250-acre minimum plot size, you would probably only utilise 50 per cent for your motor sport infrastructure. The other half would involve commercial development of the facility to offset the investment in the physical infrastructure. The venue would unlikely survive on revenue generated solely from motor sporting activities."
Going further, Bowen said the actual track and circuit events at the venue would be minimal compared to other more commercially sustainable uses.
He said: "Most venues of this nature would only have about 15 per cent of the track time for motor sports. The other 85 per cent would be used for more commercial activities such as corporate events, for (car) manufacturers, for driving schools and other private hire engagements. These are the areas that would ultimately prove to be more lucrative for an operator than just hosting a major (racing) event."
Noting the obvious direct benefits that would accrue to the venue operator, Bowen also pointed out the myriad of indirect benefits that would be recognised at the state level.
"The indirect benefits of say an international event, is really something that could be measured at a government level. This would involve increased flights to the country, increased patronage of hotels and restaurants, increased use of existing transportation infrastructure and a general increase in the tourism spend in the country. All this would help bolster foreign exchange and increase the tax take for the government."
Turning his attention to the social aspect of motor sporting, Bowen noted that having a permanent venue would bring a measure of order to how racing is done in Trinidad.
He said: "There is a social responsibility component to this as well. Quite a lot of what happens in the motor sports scene is illegal. It's on the road. So bringing that off the highways and public roads is a positive for the country as a whole."
Tying everything together, Bowen noted, would be based on long-term thinking in terms of how all the business opportunities in the motor sporting industry would be captured along the value chain.
He said: "At this stage, in a project like this, the most important thing is to identify the opportunities for a 20-year plan. This would involve land acquisition, developing a cohesive master plan that would encompass a number of different land uses, having government support and getting investors onboard to support the project at different points along the way. It's not something to be done in one massive effort but rather something that would be broken down into smaller tasks that would need to be accomplished that would add up to a commercially viable whole."