driver, not only have we risen close to the top of the Constructors’ Championship, but in Sabatino we have a phenomenal communicator and media personality to front the team – widely acknowledged as a major benefit to the sport as a whole.’
Quartano waited until he met the visitor’s eye directly. ‘Dr Chen,’ he continued authoritatively, almost sternly: ‘Ptarmigan is going to win this year – because of Quartech. Our backing – technical and financial – sets Ptarmigan apart. We’re ready to offer Mandarin Telecom a unique opportunity to be part of this turnaround story – and to help you grow your business around the world on the back of the ground-breaking publicity we are going to generate.’
Quartano, the master negotiator, chose this moment to stop talking.
The yacht’s saloon fell silent.
The Melita gave the slightest hint of movement in the wash of a passing boat.
Dr Chen looked straight back at Quartano for several seconds. For all his intended Chinese inscrutability it was obvious the power of the message had struck a chord. ‘I would be interested to hear more of what you propose,’ he said.
Quartano smiled genuinely but with restraint – realizing they had just moved the relationship significantly on. ‘Excellent. I’ll ask Mr Callom, now, to go through his joint marketing proposal with you.’
‘Thank you,’ said Dr Chen. ‘However, we will want our own marketing department to do an assessment of the television impact of this potential relationship. We have brought a freelance journalist with us. We would ask that he film a test interview with your star driver – and we, ourselves, would like to meet Remy Sabatino.’
THREE
M att Straker was looking forward to that meeting too. While only a casual motor racing fan, he was well aware – through mainstream press and television coverage – of its more prominent figures. Getting to meet someone he had only known through the media was an intriguing prospect. What would Sabatino be like in real life? he wondered.
Within the hour, Straker and Quartano were walking the Mandarin Telecom directors along the Monaco pit lane towards the Ptarmigan garage. Bernie Callom’s presentation seemed to have gone down well; the Chinese businessmen had not flinched when – at the end of it – Quartano put a price tag of $750 million on their proposed three-year deal.
For Quartech, given the capital it was risking to back Ptarmigan, the Mandarin Telecom sponsorship would be a sizeable payback and represent a substantial – and rapid – return. But that wasn’t Quartano’s “deal”.
Quartano had been trying to break the Chinese defence market for years. Commercially, of far more value to him was the access this relationship could afford his company to the highest level of the Chinese business community: Mandarin Telecom’s client list included every organization that meant anything in China. And of those, Quartano’s holy grail was the PRC’s Ministry of National Defense. Through the Mandarin relationship, and Ptarmigan’s corporate hospitality, he expected to find himself in a unique position to promote the full range of Quartech’s defence equipment and satellite services to the largest military organization on the planet.
Quartano would not have been able to capitalize on any opportunity Ptarmigan might create had the car and team not been competitive. That made the biggest decision he had taken even more rewarding.
His choice of leading driver.
A few moments later, even at the modest limiter-speed of eighty kilometres per hour, the bright turquoise Ptarmigan Formula One car seemed to hurtle down the pit lane towards them. Its noise was overwhelming. Sabatino swerved deftly into the bay – as in a racing pit stop – but instead of the crew diving in around the car, the engine was soon cut. The driver unfastened the steering wheel, and started to climb out.
Sabatino released the elastic straps of the HANS device on either side
Quartano waited until he met the visitor’s eye directly. ‘Dr Chen,’ he continued authoritatively, almost sternly: ‘Ptarmigan is going to win this year – because of Quartech. Our backing – technical and financial – sets Ptarmigan apart. We’re ready to offer Mandarin Telecom a unique opportunity to be part of this turnaround story – and to help you grow your business around the world on the back of the ground-breaking publicity we are going to generate.’
Quartano, the master negotiator, chose this moment to stop talking.
The yacht’s saloon fell silent.
The Melita gave the slightest hint of movement in the wash of a passing boat.
Dr Chen looked straight back at Quartano for several seconds. For all his intended Chinese inscrutability it was obvious the power of the message had struck a chord. ‘I would be interested to hear more of what you propose,’ he said.
Quartano smiled genuinely but with restraint – realizing they had just moved the relationship significantly on. ‘Excellent. I’ll ask Mr Callom, now, to go through his joint marketing proposal with you.’
‘Thank you,’ said Dr Chen. ‘However, we will want our own marketing department to do an assessment of the television impact of this potential relationship. We have brought a freelance journalist with us. We would ask that he film a test interview with your star driver – and we, ourselves, would like to meet Remy Sabatino.’
THREE
M att Straker was looking forward to that meeting too. While only a casual motor racing fan, he was well aware – through mainstream press and television coverage – of its more prominent figures. Getting to meet someone he had only known through the media was an intriguing prospect. What would Sabatino be like in real life? he wondered.
Within the hour, Straker and Quartano were walking the Mandarin Telecom directors along the Monaco pit lane towards the Ptarmigan garage. Bernie Callom’s presentation seemed to have gone down well; the Chinese businessmen had not flinched when – at the end of it – Quartano put a price tag of $750 million on their proposed three-year deal.
For Quartech, given the capital it was risking to back Ptarmigan, the Mandarin Telecom sponsorship would be a sizeable payback and represent a substantial – and rapid – return. But that wasn’t Quartano’s “deal”.
Quartano had been trying to break the Chinese defence market for years. Commercially, of far more value to him was the access this relationship could afford his company to the highest level of the Chinese business community: Mandarin Telecom’s client list included every organization that meant anything in China. And of those, Quartano’s holy grail was the PRC’s Ministry of National Defense. Through the Mandarin relationship, and Ptarmigan’s corporate hospitality, he expected to find himself in a unique position to promote the full range of Quartech’s defence equipment and satellite services to the largest military organization on the planet.
Quartano would not have been able to capitalize on any opportunity Ptarmigan might create had the car and team not been competitive. That made the biggest decision he had taken even more rewarding.
His choice of leading driver.
A few moments later, even at the modest limiter-speed of eighty kilometres per hour, the bright turquoise Ptarmigan Formula One car seemed to hurtle down the pit lane towards them. Its noise was overwhelming. Sabatino swerved deftly into the bay – as in a racing pit stop – but instead of the crew diving in around the car, the engine was soon cut. The driver unfastened the steering wheel, and started to climb out.
Sabatino released the elastic straps of the HANS device on either side
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