Honda goes way of Spice Girls

Honda is hoping British pop music impresario Simon Fuller can make a global sensation out of its Formula One racing team, the way he did for Pop Idol and the Spice Girls.

The Japanese car maker said yesterday that it had signed a five-year deal with Fuller's 19 Entertainment just as it and the racing circuit face the end of lucrative tobacco sponsorship after this season.

"These are very exciting times for our team, which also calls for an innovative new marketing direction," said Nick Fry, chief executive of the Honda Racing F1 team.

The Honda team is currently sponsored by Lucky Strike, but a new European Union directive bans tobacco companies from such deals.

It wants Fuller, who created Pop Idol - and spin-offs such as American Idol - and manages David and Victoria Beckham, to transform the team into a sports and entertainment brand in the same way the Manchester United soccer team has been developed into a worldwide phenomenon.

"Simon will develop platforms or properties that will take the concept of Formula One racing to a much wider audience," said Julian Henry, a spokesman for Fuller and 19 Entertainment.

"He looks at it from the standpoint that almost everyone has a car and is interested in driving, but there's a bit of a disconnect with Formula One, and he thinks he can build the link between everyday drivers on the roads and those who race the ultimate machines around the track."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Ferrari team, whose Michael Schumacher dominated Formula One until last season, generates a considerable amount of merchandising revenue, but ultimately relies on heavy funding from Philip Morris.

Formula One chief executive Bernie Ecclestone gave his support to Honda's efforts.

"This is exactly the direction the teams should be taking to broaden the entertainment and sporting appeal of Formula One to a global audience," Ecclestone said.

Honda bought its team last year and signed Briton Jenson Button and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello as drivers for the 2006 season. Fuller may seek to use 25-year-old Button as a way to lure more of the youth market to the sport.

Fuller sold his 19 Entertainment last year to CKX, the entertainment company founded by American show business mogul Robert Sillerman, for US$167 million ($245.5 million). Fuller still runs the firm.

- REUTERS