Grapevine: Car Makers May Set Up Own GP Series

Car makers may set up their own motor racing championship if talks with German media group Kirch, which owns 75 percent of the Formula One broadcast rights company SLEC, fail to lead to deal, German media reported.

Ford Motor Co management board member Wolfgang Reitzle told German news magazine Focus that the current Formula One racing teams could set up their own race by 2007, if Kirch were to move broadcasting Formula One racing from free to pay television.

Kirch has also said it has no intention to make dramatic changes to the way the sport is run or broadcast.

SLEC controls the Formula One broadcast and merchandising rights.

"As we are the main financiers we want to continue using the valuable platform Formula One as it is organised now," Reitzle said.

Separately, German daily Handelsblatt, citing unnamed sources at DaimlerChrysler AG, also said car makers could set up their own racing championship within one year if necessary.

But the event could not start until 2004 at the earliest because of contractual obligations, the newspaper reported.

The report, due to be published on Monday, said carmakers were unlikely to hold quick talks with Kirch and EM.TV.

Formula One teams, car manufacturers and sponsors last week said they would resist any move to shift the sport to pay television.

Kirch said on Thursday it was ready to talk to the European carmakers involved in the sport about a possible participation in SLEC. Racing mogul Bernie Ecclestone's stake in SLEC halved to 25 percent after Kirch and EM.TV exercised their option.