The story of Red Bull is one that should be acknowledged as a phenomenon in the history of Motorsports. The Austrian firm has become the most dominant figure in Motorsport branding all over the world. In a period of 10 years, Red Bull have won all the major Motorsport titles, either as a team or as a sponsor, and moved on to create its own motorsport events that have shadowed the original conventional sporting activities. Red Bull moved from being a company involved in the sport to one dictating the rythem of the sport and creating its new culture.
F1 the key
The management at Red Bull made the big step into world dominance at the end of the year 2004. They reached the conclusion that to dominate motorsports, you should dominate F1, the pinnacle brand in engine sports. At the Australian GP 2005 Red Bull Racing replaced Jaguar to become an official Formula 1 team and started a long cycle and a lot of hard work in order to become world champions 2 times in a row by the end of 2011. The period in between saw a lot of struggles but also a lot of successes, starting by taking their first pole position then winning their first race, and many other accomplishments. In the process the team created a driver development program in addition to a support team (Torro Rosso) and also gets involved in all the feeder categories that supply talent to F1. The Result: Sebastian Vettel + 2 driver and Manufacturer championships, in unique fashion.
Although F1 is the key to the largest number of motorsport fans in the world due to its unbelievable PR reach and marketing brilliance, Red Bull went on to tackle all the other Key and Prime motorsports in the world.
Spreading Dominance
Red Bull Joined Citroen in 2008 to dominate the world of WRC starting from the middle of 2008 until 2011. With this domination Red Bull added multiple WRC constructors and drivers championships.
Red Bull Joined forced with KTM, VW and Kamaz in Dakar and went on to win and dominate Dakar from 2008 until 2011 and most lately with Marc Coma and Nasser Al Attiyah.
Early on starting from the year 2004 Red Bull started sponsoring teams and drivers in Moto GP and in the same year they won the 125cc Championship with KTM and Casey Stoner, the 2011 Moto GP reigning champion. Red Bull has also sponsored many Moto GP races, most notably the US GP and the Indianapolis GP. The year 2012 will witness Red Bull’s 5th year with KTM in the so called Rookie cup which is a feeder Moto GP series.
Their Dominance didn’t stay on ground and gravel; it also went up to the sky with the X-fighters, the nitro series and many more.
Red Bull Athletes
The work didn’t stop at the point of participating and winning it went on to higher levels by creating the concept of Red Bull Athletes. Red Bull Athletes are talented driver, rider or other figures which are fully sponsored by the energy drink brand and are ambassadors of the brand all over the world. It is very similar to what is known in the UN, by peace ambassador but with a sports twist. Red Bull has over 50 athletes now a day, and they are spread over the world. Most notable in the Middle East Red Bull sponsor Abdo Feghali the Lebanese Rally driver and have done so for over 7 years now and won with Abdo numerous rally, Hill climb and Speed test championships. Other Red Bull athletes over the world can include Vettel, Webber, Kimi, Mad Mike, Andrea Dovizioso and many others. It has become a target for athletes around the world to work with Red Bull because future is guaranteed.
Red Bull events
Moving to one of the most notable Red Bull Motorsport accomplishments is creating their own Motor sporting events. Counting the events that Red Bull organizes annually has become a difficult task but what has become huge success in the Middle East can’t go unnoticed. It’s definitively the Red Bull car park drift. The name explains it all and it has spread to over 10 Middle Eastern countries, organizing over 20 rounds of qualification ahead of a final round organized usually in Beirut. The competition has attracted a huge number of fans and all the qualifying rounds over the Middle East witness record number of fans which has paved the way into shadowing old Middle East championships such as the MERC.
Shifting the momentum and creating the difference
Red Bull has accompanied all this success with a Media Package that is Literally Unmatched. Websites, Magazines (Red Bulletin), A TV and a presence in absolutely every part of the world. The Media helped in increasing brand awareness and launched Red Bull into Dominance early on and on the most professional levels.
Some believe that Red Bull’s dominance is somehow close and similar to that of Marlboro where the American Cigarette brand dominated Motorsports, but never was Marlboro that involved in the roots of the sport, as is Red Bull now a days. When will this domination end, or has Red Bull became the sport itself.
Khaled Karam
