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Car race event a damp squib
By Zhou Weirong (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-03-14 06:12
SHANGHAI: Amid rain, fog, strong winds and gloomy skies, China's top
sports-car makers and racing teams gathered in Shanghai over the weekend for the
China Circuit Championship (CCC).
Billed as the country's top car race, the six-stop CCC had its first stop
last Friday through Sunday in the largest city of the country boasting the
world-class Shanghai International Circuit.
CCC's aim is to become a leading world-class car race brand. However, unlike
other international brands such as F1 which attracted tens of thousands to
Shanghai and raked in profits for sponsors, organizers and players, CCC 2006
turned out to be a disappointment.
In spite of more than 40 eye-catching Hollywood car stunts arranged between
the races, only about a few thousand people showed up in the main stands of the
circuit which can seat 200,000 people.
"I regret buying a ticket to come; many people are here with free tickets
from the organizers," said one car sports fan surnamed Wang.
Organizers attributed the low attendance to the bad weather. The city had
just been hit by a cold wave from the north which reduced the temperature from
20 to 7 degrees celcius.
But many car racing teams and their sponsors pointed the finger at lack of
experience and poor marketing.
"The organizers should learn to understand their sponsors. They are
short-handed in providing professional marketing and good returns to the
sponsors," said Li Shanxiong, general manager of the Beijing Hanstone
Advertising Co Ltd, marketing partner of the Beijing Yalun Linglong team.
Zhang Qi, a senior manager from team sponsor Shandong Linglong Rubber Co Ltd
admitted his disappointment.
"We invested millions of yuan in the car racing event.
We thought it was a good platform to promote our brand," he said.
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