Mr. Ji Bo 'an, Managing Director of Porsche Asia Pacific Motorsports Department
Easy Car Reporter: After the epidemic, many European drivers will come to Asia to compete, and many Asian drivers will also go to Europe to seek more challenges. Will this promote the development of motor racing in Asia? ?
I think so. We have a customer team from the Asia-Pacific region to participate in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. At the same time, in the GT World Challenge, we also have factory drivers and engineers to join the GT World Challenge Asian Cup. I think this is a very healthy system, which allows some European resources to come to Asia, and we also have Asian customers to participate in international competitions. This is not only the problem of the team or the drivers themselves, but also the development of motor racing. ?
A good example is Ye Yifei, a driver from China, who moved to Europe at the age of 14, where he participated in go-karting and single-seater racing. Now we are proud to have a China driver take part in the World Endurance Championship and drive a Porsche 963 to win the championship. As we all know, Yi Fei and Guanyu Zhou are two shining new stars in China motorsport, which actually reflect the development of China motorsport. Not only are there more and more races in China, but our China drivers also shine in international races. ?
Easy Car Reporter: The Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia is very famous in the circle, but the public may not be so familiar with it. Will there be more measures to attract citizens to participate in this activity? For example, send tickets to them, broadcast live on the Internet (supplement: domestic official WeChat account, Weibo and the government will broadcast live), or set up a track day for publicity? ?
Ji Bo 'an: As you just mentioned, in the past three years, the preparations for offline activities were complicated and there were access restrictions. I think there are two ways to improve your attention. Events such as the Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia can be held at the same time as the world's top events, such as F 1. We plan to return to F 1 as a warm-up activity in Singapore this year, which is believed to be helpful to enhance the attention in the future. It is very important that we have signed a contract with F 1 for the next eight years. Seeing the popularity of F 1, the cup will also get attention from it. I wonder if you paid attention to last weekend's grand prix. I watched it on TV, but what I want to say is that I have never seen so many people in Melbourne, which is amazing, so I think it is necessary to do some promotion around F 1. In addition, I think Netflix has also made a certain contribution, expanding the audience of F 1 and attracting more and more women and young people to pay attention to F 1. So I think F 1 has a very large fan base and a very high degree of attention at present, and I believe the Cup can benefit from it. ?
The other is that at the end of 10 this year, the Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia and the Porsche Sports Cup in China will jointly hold the season finals at the Shanghai International Circuit, and also hold the sports car day. This wonderful weekend will definitely help to raise the visibility of the event. We will open the stands for the first time since 20 19. For me, I look forward to seeing people watching the game in the paddock and stands at the end of 10. Whether it is promoting sports events or racing, it will achieve a win-win effect.
Easy Car Reporter: What is the best way for amateur drivers to enter the Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia? Is there any other way to join the cup? ?
Gibeon: We have the Porsche Asia-Pacific Motorsports Pyramid, which can provide a complete path from entry-level motorsports to promotion to top events. If you have never driven a sports car, welcome to the Porsche Experience Center in Shanghai, where you can experience driving a sports car for the first time in your life. After that, if you want more promotion and want to explore more potential of your sports car on more tracks, you can come to Porsche circuit to experience it. After that, if you want to improve your driving skills, you can choose to come to Porsche GT Track Day. Through this platform, you can have more sufficient track driving practice and time to prepare for future races. When you are ready to take part in the race, you can drive your coupe to China for the Porsche Sports Cup and some road racing events. Then, if you are ready to drive this car, you can start with the Porsche Sprint Challenge in China. After the tempering of the previous platforms, you can enter the Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia. Therefore, behind this is a complete promotion path, and anyone wants to start a motor racing journey. ?
From Porsche Experience Center in Shanghai to Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia during the F 1 Singapore Grand Prix. Of course, this cannot be completed overnight, and it needs to be improved step by step. In 20 19, we launched the Porsche Sports Cup in China. We see more and more customers stand out from the Porsche Single-lap Challenge on road cars and then drive GT cars into the Porsche Sprint Challenge in China. As I mentioned this morning, I believe there are many racing talents in the Porsche Single-lap Challenge. When people are not familiar with racing, it is difficult to understand the sport or start a racing career. Now we have a complete promotion path of Porsche Asia Pacific Motorsport Pyramid, which can help them realize the gorgeous transformation from participating in the competition to entering the Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia. ?
Easy Car Reporter: How much does it cost to get from the bottom of the pyramid to the Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia? ?
Gibeon: At least it is lower than the cost of F 1. A few years ago, I saw the promotion path from karting to F 1, which may be several million euros. For us, it is actually difficult to give you a specific number, but we can give you some reference. For example, going to Asia to participate in the Porsche Carrera Cup, including the operation, costs about 3 million to 3.5 million yuan a season. The cost of Porsche Sprint Challenge in China will be lower, because there are fewer competitions, and the registration fee and transportation fee will be relatively lower, which is about 65,438+0.5 million for the whole season. From the Porsche Experience Center to the first Porsche Carrera Cup season in Asia, the total amount is about 5 million to 6 million, but this is only a rough estimate, which is not accurate.
Reporter: Porsche recently released its financial report. From the financial report in 2022, we can find that Porsche has achieved very good results in China, and China continues to be the largest single market for Porsche in the world. Can this prove that motor racing is helpful to sales? Or does Porsche's sales in China have a great impact on Porsche motorsport, whether in China or in the Asia-Pacific market? ?
Gibeon: That's a good question. Porsche and motorsport are inseparable, but not directly related to sales. Motor racing is rooted in the DNA of Porsche brand. Since the birth of the brand, Porsche has been involved in motor racing for 75 years and has never stopped fighting on the track. I also believe that we will continue to do so. Indeed, motor racing also needs economic support and investment, so it is easier for us to carry out and promote motor racing activities to some extent when we have good market sales performance. Whether it is car racing or road car sales, it is a healthy cycle on the whole. Motor racing is the core of the brand, which always contributes to the development of the brand, and the development of the brand will also contribute to the development of motor racing. They complement each other and are inseparable. ?
Reporter: The China market is not as traditional as the global market, because since the birth of automobiles, it is a deep-rooted tradition that racing cars promote the sales of road vehicles, but the domestic market can see that this is not the case. Can it be explained that Porsche has broken China's model through a very traditional sales or marketing model, changed people's thinking, and guided them to pay attention to racing, thus linking with sales? ?
In fact, we must face up to the racing history of Europe and China. We are nearly 50 years behind them. The world's first grand prix, F 1, was held at Silverstone Circuit in 1950, while the China Grand Prix, F 1, was only held in Shanghai in 2004. We should look directly at the gap. At the same time, we should try our best to shorten the gap, and I believe we can catch up soon. I stayed in China for 8 years and witnessed the rapid development of motor racing in China. Porsche is committed to promoting the development of motor racing, which has a certain promotion effect on both Porsche's own brand image and the domestic automobile industry. ?
In the past few years, we have also made many landmark achievements in China. For example, in 20 19, we started to hold the Porsche Sports Cup in China, which built a bridge for motorsport enthusiasts and customers to enter the world of motorsport, and let more people contact and love motorsport. In 20021year, Porsche Asia Pacific Racing Trading Co., Ltd. was officially unveiled to provide more convenience for racing customers in China. Consumers can purchase Porsche racing cars and related services directly through RMB; As just announced, we are honored to be a member of China Automobile and Motorcycle Sports Federation this year, so that we can start to provide racing photography training for racing enthusiasts and give us more possibilities to promote racing sports and racing culture. At the same time, we also firmly believe that these things we do can help the sales of products, because buying Porsche products is not only buying this car, but also buying the brand background and experience behind it.
Reporter: Seeing this year's Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia, there is only one stop in Shanghai, China, which has become more international this year. Can you talk about it? ?
Ji Boan: In the past three years, we have encountered many challenges in the calendar, especially last year, we adjusted several versions of the calendar. Now that it's all over, it's important that we return to a series of international tracks. I will return to Shanghai International Circuit this year. I hope the opening match of the 2024 season can be held at the same time as F 1 in early April as usual. This year, the Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia will end together with the Porsche Sports Cup in China, and there will be a sports car day, which I like very much. At the same time, I also hope to have the opportunity to play the opening match with F 1 and the closing match with WEC in the future. I hope WEC can come to China in the future. In WEC Supercar Group, there are many original equipment manufacturers, and China is an important market for original equipment manufacturers. I look forward to seeing WEC races in Shanghai or other domestic tracks in the future. In particular, we are also very concerned about this competition, because Ye Yifei is a contestant, and I very much hope that he will have the opportunity to play at home in the future. Personally, I am also looking forward to the confrontation between WEC, Porsche and Ferrari, which has never happened in 50 years, so it is very special. With these heavyweight races and the return of F 1 to China, I think it will contribute to the further development of the racing industry. ?
Reporter: The Macau Grand Prix will celebrate its 70th anniversary. I remember the 60th anniversary of the Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia, and even Sébastien Loeb participated. I'm surprised that Macau is not on the calendar this year. Will you feel sorry or have other plans? ?
Gibeon: Macau has always been a special place for Porsche. In fact, when we made this year's calendar, everything was not 100% sure, but we must move forward. It's a pity that Porsche Carrera Cup Asia will not go to Macau, but we are open to the future. As I said, Macao is very important. I believe we will return with a strong lineup later. There are 9 1 1 GT3 R participating in the Macau GT Cup, as well as drivers from the factory team, and there may even be additional support from the factory team. We really want to win Macau. We have been close to winning many times, so we really want to go to Macao and will definitely go.
Reporter: So you are sure that Porsche Carrera Cup Asia will not go to Macau? ?
Gibeon: The Porsche Carrera Cup in Asia will not go to Macau, but we will have 9 1 1 GT3 R, and the specific plan will be announced later this year. I think there will be some interesting combinations of drivers. We will go to Macau, but not the World Cup. We remain open to the future.