Schumacher slaps $7.7 mln price on his head
FRANKFURT, Nov 10 - Michael Schumacher has sold the rights to
his forehead for 14.6 million marks ($7.78 million). Schumacher's flame-red
Ferrari cap will for the next three years be emblazoned with the logo of
Deutsche Vermoegensberatung (DVAG) but, with a space just 10 cm by eight
to play with, the firm's name will face a tight squeeze to fit in. "There's
nothing to worry about there,'' a spokeswoman for DVAG, a German asset
management firm, said."We're quite sure everyone will be able to read it.''
The battle for a slot on the ex-Formula One world champion's racing
overalls has already brought in contracts worth around $90 million, of
which the German driver pockets around $7 million as part of his estimated
annual earnings of $38 million. The DVAG logo, which also adorns the shirts
of first division club soccer Kaiserslautern, will fight those of Marlboro,
Shell, Bridgestone and Federal Express for the attention of the world's
cameras, which are trained on Schumacher more than any other driver."We
share his aim of being number one,'' the DVAG website said.
Dubai in talks to host Formula One race
DUBAI, Nov 10 - Dubai is negotiating with Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone
to host a grand prix race, one of the Arab world's top motor sports figures
said on Wednesday."The goverment is taking care of it and a lot of meetings
are going on,'' Mohammed Bin Sulayem, the United Arab Emirates rally driver
who has won 49 international rallies, told Reuters following the UAE Desert
Challenge cross country rally. He said talks between Ecclestone and officials
from Dubai, the Gulf's thriving commercial hub, were being taken "very
seriously.'' An FIA spokesman said last month that Ecclestone was talking
to the Egyptian government about a possible race there and"another Middle
East country for the same reasons.'' Bin Sulayem said his own discussions
with Ecclestone had shown that there would be no obstacle to the emirate
staging an annual fixture if it could raise the money. "They (the government)
are studying it to do it right,'' he said, adding that they wanted to make
sure a race circuit would benefit the local economy and not just Formula
One.
They were also mindful of a costly aborted attempt in the early 1980s
to build an international circuit in Dubai.
The glamorous image of Formula One would suit the oil-rich emirate
which already hosts international power boat, golf, polo and tennis competitions
and the world's richest horse race.
Arrows boss denies takeover rumours
LONDON, Nov 10 - The Arrows Formula One team on Wednesday denied
it was considering a takeover bid from former Benetton team chief David
Richards."Arrows Team principal, Tom Walkinshaw, wishes to deny any talks
now or in the past with David Richards of Prodrive regarding a bid to take
over the Formula One team,'' Arrows declared in a statement. "Mr Walkinshaw
strongly objects to what he considers frivolous and unfounded rumours.''
Britain's Motoring News had reported earlier that Walkinshaw was considering
a bid for Arrows by race preparation company Prodrive, which runs Subaru's
world rally championship team and Ford's British Touring Car championship
cars. Arrows' major shareholder is Morgan Grenfell Private Equity, a division
of Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE).
The team scored just one point in 1999 and have been repeatedly identified
in the past as takeover targets
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