By Phil Huff (18/12/2003
December 18 2003

As Formula One looks to Asia for new fans and future growth, the Lucky Strike BAR Honda team is leading the race for Chinese backers. BAR has already landed the first Chinese sponsorship from Internet portal Sina.com as it prepares for China's debut F1 event — the Shanghai Grand Prix in September. While not a multi-million dollar deal, it represents an important breakthrough for the team.

Now the team is courting major Chinese state companies, said Andrew Couper, the team's director of new business. "It's a question of who will be first," Couper said Wednesday, speaking before the Shanghai Automobile Race and Sports Utility Vehicle Expo.

"At the beginning of the year, we identified that the Asian market, especially China and Japan, was most important to us," said Couper. "There is a definite trend to migrate." Couper was making his fourth visit to China to meet potential sponsors.

"We came here to China because we need very much to make our relationship better ahead of the race," said Sato, who was a test driver for BAR during 2003 and has been named to replace Canadian Jacques Villeneuve for 2004.

Source: The Hindustan Times