• The Inside Line

Porsche Supercup: Striking a balance

It's the other category that runs on most F1 weekends, the category unrelated to both Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA yet which shares their track space. What does the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup get out of its F1 relationship? Jonas Krauss, series manager, explains in the final part of his interview with The Inside Line. Part one can be read here

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"Formula One, for us it's a great place," Krauss says. "Obviously for the Supercup it's a good place for our teams and our sponsors to present themselves. There's a very good television package. Marketing-wise, it's very good. And for the drivers it's a very good place because they can present their sponsors a very good environment with Formula One.

"It's a long-term partnership - a very good partnership - and we're happy to be with Formula One. This is the place to be for us - it's great for promotion. It's a very professional environment, and we also believe that the Supercup is a very professional racing series. It's a very good partnership. … You get a lot of media return if you run with Formula One."

But it's not simply about presenting the Supercup within the F1 world - as a marketing platform for Porsche, the Supercup is vital in connecting with customers both old and new, improving brand awareness in key markets.

"The Porsche Supercup is a good marketing platform for us - we try to involve the dealers, we try to involve the local market organisations. That's one key point we always try to achieve. Obviously it's a good platform to present our 911. The Porsche Supercup is a one-make series, and they're all racing 911s. It shows the potential of the car, because it's based on a real road car - the GT3.

"Germany is a very important market for us. Our main partner, Eurosport, covers the pan-European market. Germany is highly covered. Where we really need to work on our market is America - that's still tough for us. This season [2014] we have two drivers from the US, we have an American team, so we really need to work on that side together with FOM to improve coverage in the American market. Worldwide, it's a big market for Porsche."

As the F1 calendar expands into potential new markets for Porsche, does the Supercup have any plans to carry on supporting the single-seater series overseas?

"To be honest, it was always the case that we would run at all European events, which we do. To do one overseas event, I think that's okay. We don't want to be a global, worldwide racing series, because you always have to consider the cost, the budget. If we start to do more races outside of Europe, with the added logistical costs for teams and drivers it's just not affordable any more. On the cost side - because we think that cost efficiency is very important - I think that right now we have the right balance."

Will Porsche follow Formula One to Azerbaijan if Baku joins the calendar as a European round?

"We're looking at all the options. Obviously it's very important for us that we don't have such a big gap between Monza - which is usually September - and the last race. Right now it's fine, but we can't do a race at the end of November; the gap is too long. Azerbaijan? If it fits into our calendar, sure. Why not?"

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