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Oct 13, 2006
Leading Queensland businessman Craig Gore has celebrated his team?s victory in last month?s Champ Car Atlantic Series in North America with the delivery of a new road car.
From now on, Gore will leave his Bentley Black Label Arnage T Mulliner at home in his Gold Coast garage and use a new black Chrysler 300C as his daily drive car.
Gore, is co-owner of Team Australia which campaigns two cars in the Atlantic Series as well as two cars in the Champ Car World Series, which has its next round at the Lexmark Indy 300 on the streets of the Gold Coast from October 19-21.
With the Atlantic title and a $US2 million winner?s purse already in the bag, Gore had to re-group for last weekend?s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama, where his WPS Racing team also fielded two cars.
Gore?s commitment to motorsport also includes naming rights of the WPS Porsche Carrera Cup, naming rights of Marcos Ambrose?s NASCAR truck in the US, naming rights of the Bathurst International Motor Festival at Bathurst at Easter, major sponsorship of the Lexmark Indy 300 and naming rights of the Chrysler?s V8 Supercar Safety Car program. It is through the Safety Car program that Gore and his racing operations have developed a tremendous relationship with Chrysler which has experienced a resurgence in Australia during the last couple of years.
Gore?s V8 Supercar team is the only truly ?independent? team in the V8 Supercar series with no manufacturer support from either Ford or Holden and that has encouraged the Chrysler relationship.
As with all the relationships built through Gore?s racing operations, plenty of business to business dealings have resulted.
The partnership with Chrysler has seen Gore?s Wright Patton Shakespeare Financial Services company order 50 retro-styled PT Cruisers which have been painted in his team?s racing colours.
These vehicles can now be seen on the streets of every capital city every day enabling WPS staff to service clients across the city and beyond.
A Chrysler 300C is also currently being given away through WOW Sight and Sound, another of WPS Racing?s sponsorship partners.
?Chrysler has been a terrific partner of ours and the 300C is just a fantastic thing, ? said Gore.
?It looks great, has plenty of power and rides just as good as the Bentley.
?Chrysler has done a terrific job with this car and I think the sales in Australia indicate that.
?Chrysler has been tremendous to deal with on all levels and deserves any success that comes its way. Products like the 300C will certainly increase that. ?
Gore has developed his US racing operations under the banner of Team Australia which is designed to encourage Australia-US business relationships.
That program has already encouraged the involvement of some iconic brands such as Qantas and RM Williams as well as Gore?s own Aussie Vineyards wine label which is now on sale in the US and which will be available in more than 10, 000 outlets across North America by early next year.
Back home, Gore has used V8 Supercars and its Safety Car program to rocket the growth of his WPS brand and business with the company just recording its sixth consecutive month of record growth.
A total of seven State offices have been opened in less than two years on the business created out of the V8 Supercar program and Gore expects a 10-fold return on his investment.
The efforts of Chrysler to leverage the Safety Car program means that Gore is even considering changing the branding of his V8 Supercar team in 2007 ? after all, he has more than 80 companies, which he owns, to choose from.
?Chrysler has certainly done a terrific job leveraging their involvement in V8 Supercar racing through the safety car program, ? said Gore.
?It is a pro-active company which has made use of all the benefits V8 Supercars can deliver.
?The Safety Car program is being worked so well that we may even replace our WPS race team branding with another of our companies next season. ?
WPS Racing will also field two Falcons in the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge at Indy, round 10 of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
