The hidden threat to motorsport safety

Counterfeit products are a major problem in motorsport, but the industry is fighting back to keep competitors safe

James Newbold Nov 8, 2017, 10:38 AM

Performance

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The old saying 'if something sounds too good to be true, then it usually is' applies particularly well to motorsport. With perhaps the rare exception - Paul Stoddart tells a story that Brazilian journeyman Tarso Marques got his drive at Minardi in 2001 for just $15,000 - motorsport has a high barrier to entry, and for good reason. As a rule of thumb, you only get what you pay for and those who attempt to cut corners are often caught out.

In 1999, Team Penske passed up the chance to replace the injured Al Unser Jr with Le Mans winner JJ Lehto - dropped on the eve of the season by Hogan Racing - and settled upon rookie Marques instead, who unsurprisingly failed to turn around the team's flagging fortunes. Penske duly learned its lesson and hired Gil de Ferran, who promptly won back-to-back CART titles.

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Author James Newbold

James Newbold is Autosport's Plus Editor, responsible for coordinating website feature content.

In a sign of things to come, having completed his Politics and International Relations degree at the University of East Anglia in 2015, he left his graduation ceremony early to catch the last train to Brussels for the following day's Spa 24 Hours.

After a period as a freelancer, he joined the Autosport staff in 2018 and won the Motorsport UK young journalist of the year award. He initially edited Autosport magazine's Performance and Engineering supplements before joining the website team in his current role in 2020.

A keen enthusiast of anything that can be categorised unusual or niche, he enjoys unearthing little-known stories across all branches of motorsport, but has spent most of his career covering sportscars and is a regular part of the Le Mans 24 Hours reporting team.

He lives with his wife and children in Plymouth, England.