Finding a title sponsor is Tim Ramsberger's priority.
By MIKE STEPHENSON
Published June 20, 2003
TAMPA - Tim Ramsberger is calling on a lot of companies these days.
The new general manager of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, who started his job Monday, is in active pursuit of a title sponsor for the event, which debuted in February on the city's waterfront. He said he started his pursuit even before his job officially began.
"It is a priority," said Ramsberger, 41, at a media event Thursday. "Sponsorship is the key for success. ... I think I am now here to push that effort."
Ramsberger, a local attorney with experience in sports marketing that includes the 1996 Olympic soccer events in Orlando, hopes to put the name of an area business on the Grand Prix. He and Dover Motorsports, the company that hired him and promotes the race, have contacted many area businesses, including the St. Petersburg Times, which was among the race sponsors in February.
Times promotions manager Dale L. Kleine said the company was happy with the first year of its two-year sponsorship agreement but declined to expand its role to include title sponsorship.
The price for naming rights for a CART race varies by location but might fall between $500,000 and $1-million.
Ramsberger's background includes a stint as vice president of Outback Sports, an arm of the steakhouse chain that sponsors events such as the Outback Bowl in Tampa. He declined to say whether Outback might be interested in sponsoring the race.
"I can't name names, but we're not limiting ourselves," he said.
CART, the series that sanctions the Grand Prix, announced this week that it was exploring options that might include selling the company, but Ramsberger said he has little doubt the series will be viable for next year's race, scheduled for Feb. 20-22.
"Right now we're comfortable that CART is going to be there and we'll be there with CART," he said.
MORE GRAND PRIX: Former general manager Tom Begley, who hired an attorney when he was removed from the post, still is with the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Foundation, and negotiations are continuing over his future involvement, Dover Motorsports spokesman John Dunlap said. ... Race officials are considering minor tweaks to the 1.8-mile course in the areas of Turn 10, where many cars spun in the inaugural race, the S-turn sequence that follows shortly after and the exit from pit road. ... The planned demolition of the Bayfront Center Arena should not have negative consequences for the race, which circles the arena and uses the facilities, said Ramsberger, who graduated from Gibbs High in the arena.
PAPIS RETURNS: Max Papis came to Portland International Raceway last year to defend his title in the G.I. Joe's 200. He never got the chance.
Before he got on the track for qualifying, his Sigma Racing team folded, forcing Papis out of CART. With the exception of one fill-in ride late last season, he has been absent since.
Now Papis is back, this time with PK Racing, and at the site of what he calls his greatest disappointment as a driver.
"Last year was a very difficult one," Papis said Thursday. "The thing that really created a lot of problems for me last year was I came here with a lot of fire, I came here with a lot of will to succeed.
"The team had only one car, but we were still keeping our heads up. We were proud of what we were doing."
Then came the bad news.
"Coming over here, they told me, "You haven't got a car, we can't pay the bills, you can't run,"' Papis recalled. "That was something that I couldn't accept."
With 2002 Portland champion Cristiano da Matta now in Formula 1, Papis will be the only previous winner in the field Sunday.
"Being able to be back here with PK Racing - I believe a lot in faith, and I think this is a present from God," Papis said. "I will never forget when I walked in today and I saw the pit wall where we were all standing last year watching all the other guys run the track. It was very tough."
FRANCHITTI OUT FOR SEASON: Dario Franchitti will have surgery and miss the rest of the Indy Racing League season after breaking a bone in his back in a motorcycle accident in April.
"By having the surgery, I can be back to 100 percent fitness" for the 2004 season, he said.
Franchitti missed three races, including the Indianapolis 500. He returned for the Honda Indy 225 last week at Pikes Peak, where he finished a season-best fourth.
Andretti Green Racing has not named a replacement driver for the final 10 races of the IRL's schedule. Robby Gordon subbed for Franchitti at Indianapolis last month, and Bryan Herta filled in at the Bombardier 500 at Texas Motor Speedway two weeks ago.
Franchitti injured his lower back when he crashed a motorcycle during a visit to his home in Scotland on April 4.
- Information from Times wires was used in this report.
