Tavares: “Alfa and Lancia in Motorsport? Marketing operations”

Carlos Tavares is certainly not one to tell them. The number one of Stellantis took part in a round table with some media yesterday in Misano. The Portuguese manager, guest of the Italian Formula E event, wanted to talk about Motorsport and e-fuel even in an area where electric was the main subject.

There are proclamations regarding the return to racing of Alfa Romeo and Lancia, but few clear ideas that are still very diluted over time. The current feeling is that we want to keep the expectation of a return to Motorsport high, in the full awareness that now is not the time to do so. Yet participation in any championship is conditioned by long preparation and the construction of a racing staff that does not exist today in the two Italian brands. History and lore were erased over time, well before the arrival of Stellantis.

And rebuilding something that takes Alfa Romeo and Lancia back to their roots is simply unrealistic, because they don't have (or don't want to) invest the necessary resources, because Tavares, someone who appreciates racing and has practiced it (is certainly a good handler ) has a very clear vision of Motorsport: racing is pure marketing. Evidently, technological research to increase the value of brands through innovation is of little or no interest: there are manufacturers that invest huge budgets in their research and development departments to finance sports programs.

“It's clear that at some point Alfa Romeo will return to motorsport, because it's part of the brand's DNA, it's part of its history. And we feel we have a responsibility to keep the value of the brand alive in racing. Discussions about this are ongoing. already underway between Jean-Marc Finot (Head of Motorsport at Stellantis) and Jean-Philippe Learned (CEO of Alfa Romeo). But the decision will most likely not be made before the end of the year and therefore I cannot answer the question yet question about what kind of participation we will have, because it is not yet decided.”

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale

Picture of: Motor1

What does the choice depend on? And the topic becomes very interesting because it opens a Pandora's box…

“You have to consider the fact that in all Motorsport disciplines the repeating cycle is always the same. It starts slowly, grows, explodes and then goes down. Again and again. The moment you enter this cycle, obviously, it is strategically important for what we want to do. There are times when it is not convenient to enter racing, such as when a championship starts to decline in interest, because we will find ourselves alone without competitors. The ideal is to enter when the costs are reasonable then grow together with the discipline, becoming more competitive. We need to find the right moment for us, in which the return on investment from a marketing point of view is acceptable. And that is what we are trying to do. So it is very strategic and delicate to define or decide the moment in which we enter this cyclicality and volatility that we all know. So yes, Alpha will return, I don't know yet where or when.”

The same applies, even more so, to Lancia, a legendary brand in the world of rallying. Luca Napolitano, CEO of Lancia, immediately after the release of the film “Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia” unveiled the new HF logo that will accompany the sports versions of the new Ypsilon and Delta which perhaps will return in an apparently integral version…

“Lancia also deserves to return to motorsport, rally or no rally – continues Tavares -. One of the things that, however, we must understand is that motorsport exists only as an automotive marketing tool. It is something that, obviously, we all know. So we have to do things in the right sequence. Now we are revitalizing the brand. Because if we can't make profits, there will be no money to pay for the races business will grow and, of course, it will be in our interest to sustain the value of the brand and make it grow. Lancia is a fantastic brand.”

Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8

Photo by: Peugeot Sport

The scenario outlined by Tavares is clear, very clear. Make a wedding with dried figs. For Stellantis it is easy to take the Peugeot 9X8 participating in the WEC and, by changing the aerodynamic appearance, make it become the Alfa Romeo Hypercar. All we need is a racing team to run the car in the Biscione colours.

New Lancia Ypsilon

Picture of: Motor1

And in the world of dirt roads it shouldn't be difficult to take the base of the Peugeot 208 Rally 4 and transform it into a Ypsilon HF: to create a single-make championship it could be more than enough. And the idea could be interesting to promote a new generation of Italian pilots. But we can't go far enough to say that we're working on a return to rallies. For the moment it's better to fuel dreams… Too bad because motor racing, on the other hand, needs it…