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Tuesday, 11 February 2014 00:45 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By David Ebert
Advent Global Sports Management announced the signing up of three of Sri Lanka’s brightest racing stars on 5 February; namely, 19-time champion Ashan Silva, veteran Nadeera Jinasena and Formula 1300 champ Clement Senaratne for a period of two years. The agreements were inked at a ceremony held at the Speedrome Battaramulla.
With motor racing seeing a rise in popularity and a post war increase in racing events in the island, Advent aims to add professionalism to a sport in which they claim its stars lack both opportunities and the adequate exposure that they deserve. For Advent, this plus what they see as moves by the Government to create a “sports-based economy,” is the right time to properly showcase and manage the sport’s brightest prospects and possibly take them to the next level of international competition.
Speaking at the launch, Advent Global CEO Sajith De Mel outlined his vision for the sport and the company in his address: “Advent means beginning and our brand is dedicated to nurturing and creating a path for identified talent. We decided to take on these three racers as we have not only identified their potential but also see the potential motor racing has in this country. We believe that more organisations would come forward to help us take motor racing to the next generation and make it a sport loved by all. We envision great success for our three racers and take this opportunity to thank them for putting their faith in us.”
De Mel told the Daily FT that the company has set itself a target of Rs. 20 million in sponsorship revenue, which he said would be sufficient for Advent to promote the trio overseas and locally and eventually help them make the leap into the big leagues internationally.
From a racer like 19-times champ Ashan Silva it is a relief, with motor racers previously having to bear most of the work load involved in running after sponsors and publicising themselves, while also having to get their cars prepped and ready for each competition.
“As the interest in the sport grows and newcomers take the wheel, it is more and more important for racers to stamp their presence on the tracks. 
In the early days, apart from putting our best on the track, we also had to find our own sponsors and search for publicity on our own. But the tides are changing and we have to focus more on the sport and we have to dedicate more time for practicing. We should be qualified enough to get highlighted in the global racing arena as well. So we need professionals to manage us.”
Racing veteran Nadeera Jinasena said: “We chose Advent Global, which is run by a few young people who understand whims and fancies. We also took notice of their enthusiasm, innovative ideas, their courage and integrity. The racers and management company in this partnership are both emerging parties that strive for success. So it is a win-win situation. We are thankful that they have come forward to help us out.”
Clement Senaratne, the third of the trio to be signed up, said: “You see, basically all this time racing in Sri Lanka has been known to be a very expensive hobby and people do it out of the passion they have for the sport and mostly what happens is that the guys who can actually afford it are the guys who win. But over the past few years, because of the Colombo Night Races, our corporates are more interested. For the Night Races especially, they are really fighting to get their names out there. So this is actually opening the way for talented drivers to come out, not just the person who can afford it. With Advent, what is happening is that now that there are grounds, there is potential to market them and get sponsorships, which is not a driver’s core competency. This is a normal thing overseas and it’s just that it doesn’t happen here.”
Senaratne also believes that tying up with a management company will make his own life easier as well, which would give him more time for the more important things in a racer’s life. “How it makes my life easier is that I know there is a team whose desk job nine to five is to go and pitch me and bring in sponsorships. That is a huge relief, otherwise we can only do it when we can find the spare time to do it in the way we can. They will be going and tying us up with the companies so this allows the racing driver to focus more on actually racing and not really worry about anything else.”
In addition, monetary gain has never been regarded as a motivating factor in for a racer in Sri Lanka, with the most they can expect to win on a podium being a mere Rs. 10,000, barely the cost of a new tyre.
“There is nothing like having some kind of income by doing something you love. That satisfaction you cannot beat. Now this is actually happening. I am very confident especially in the change in trends in the last three years. How I judged this is by keeping an eye on everybody’s cars and I noticed an increasing amount of branding on the race cars and now we see on the boards it’s all about cricket and the only talent management out there only handles cricketers. We are hoping that from racing we’ll get a spot too and then it will allow us to grow and the money we earn from this can be used by us to upgrade our vehicles and in turn develop the sport,” Senaratne concluded. Pix by Krishan Shashika
