Inside Formula 1: Business. Lifestyle. Power.
Brian Sims
Brian Sims is one of international sports most experienced and successful sponsorship acquisition exponents, originally for his own professional racing career, before acquiring the ground-breaking multi-million-pound deals that brought FedEx, Marconi and Gillette into F1 for the first time. He then became the Commercial Director of the Benetton F1 Team, until its sale in 2001 to Renault.
Brian was s the Founder in 1994 of the prestigious Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) and is now one of just 4 Honorary Life Members of the Association. In 2018 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Birmingham City University, recognising his outstanding contribution to the UK motorsport industry.
On behalf of the World Academy of Sport, Brian has run many training courses on sponsorship acquisition for World Rugby, the International Cricket Council, Bahrain Olympic Committee and other global sports associations, as well as for the BRDC, Porsche and Ford.
In recent years, Brian has been in high demand as a Guest Speaker, talking about his fascinating 47-year career in motorsport, whilst his current on-line mentoring services on the topic of sponsorship acquisition are proving extremely popular.
His highly acclaimed autobiography entitled “You Don’t Have To be a Champion to be a Winner!” was recently published in paperback.
His website is: www.brian-sims.com
A sign of things to come?
When the South African F1 driver, Jody Scheckter, became World Champion way back in 1979, a lot of people predicted that it would be just the start of a procession of young South African drivers into Grand Prix racing. After…
Now you see it, now you don’t!
I was recently talking to a couple of former Grand Prix team colleagues and remarked how lucky we had all been to have worked in the sport during the era of spectacular sponsorship and new car launches, probably the mid…
Different angle for a change
I was asked recently by one of my young mentoring clients what was the first race car that I had driven on a race circuit, where it had been, and when. Click here to subscribe to our print edition! He was…
A call from Lola
Hearing that Lola Cars has a new buyer, Till Bechtolsheimer, my mind went back to a surprising phone call I received from this famous company late in 1990. It had been a busy summer’s day at my Kyalami Speed International…
One thing never changes in the business world
When Covid brought lockdown to the UK early in 2020, it introduced me to a new world of digital technology in the business world, as it did for people worldwide. I’d never imagined that one day I’d be delivering my…
A South African legacy?
With the possible return of a South African Grand Prix in 2023, it seems a good time to focus on the potential legacy that such an event might provide for its 60 million population, 80% of whom are non-white. After all, the…
Drivers’ strike! Blast from the past
I was recently invited by Chris Browning, F1’s Podcast producer, to take part in the recent “F1 on The Edge” series of podcasts, looking back at some of the most significant events during the sports’ history. Click here to subscribe to…
Kyalami memories
Thanks to a chance meeting with Max Mosley on an international flight to the South African GP in 1975, I became the circuit manager some five years later. Kyalami was, without doubt, one of the most popular tracks on the…
Nothing is forever!
Resisting the temptation to talk about the immediate effects on motorsport of the dreaded virus, I want to talk about the longer-term situation. No one actually knows what changes this pandemic will bring. One thing is certain, however, and that…
Why “motorsport has always been expensive” is a worn out response
I was delighted to be invited by BMW British Touring Car driver Tom Oliphant to talk at his recent innovative Sponsorship Summit, which was held recently at the BRDC HQ at Silverstone. The event was hosted by Tom’s Next Level…
