At the end of August Jim Wright was working as a motorsport commercial consultant on several accounts, looking forward to continuing to share his expertise, keep sharp in one of industry’s most cut-throat areas.
Then, Gary Ekerold, the General Manager of the Jaguar TCS Racing team via his wider employment at Fortescue, called.
An old friend and acquaintance via the Formula E paddock where Wright was an intricate part of the Formula E Teams and Manufacturers Association (FETAMA). Gary liked and admired Jim, and vice versa.
“Gary said, ‘I want you to come in to the team’ and I thought ‘great a commercial role’ but he said ‘no, as our team principal,’ Wright told Formula E Notebook this week.
“He said, ‘I’ve got a bigger role within Fortescue’ and I’ve got to manage the overall program, the relationship with Jaguar, the relationship with Envision, and obviously now the relationship with Fortescue Zero Racing.’
“Ultimately he asked I wanted to do it, and I obviously I did not hesitate and jumped at it, so I’m really, really pleased.”
Wright then met Travis Hester (Chief Technology Officer) two days later, and started a week after that (September 7).
Fortescue Zero has acquired certain assets of the Penske team, and one of the things it now owns is the lease of their premises in Witney, Oxfordshire.
“The team will be based in Witney,” confirmed Wright. “The driver-in-the loop simulator is there as well, and 20 minutes up a road is Fortescue Zero’s headquarters in Kidlington, and that’s where the Jaguar TCS team is based, as well as Fortescue Zero.
“I’m based spread between Kidlington and Witney, and gradually I’ll spend more time in Witney and less in Kidlington.”
Wright’s baptism of fire includes now the slightly daunting prospect of readying the team for the test sessions at Valencia and Jarama in November. The team is massively up against it but Wright’s racing sensibility and positive view of getting the job done has been informed by some powerful and legendary figures in racing, so the high likelihood is that FZ will be in Jarama ready and raring to go.
Why Williams and Berger are inspirations
Wright’s former incarnations as commercial guru to Williams and Toro Rosso in F1 for over 14 years combined will be keys strata of bedrock in his management of the Fortescue Zero squad from the outset.
Those periods in wright’s career were fundamental to his outlook on the business and indeed just the functioning of teams. He will no doubt occasional take inspiration from each along his new journey as Team Principal of Fortescue Zero Racing.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to learn from people like Frank (Williams) and Gehard (Berger),” said Wright.
“As well was an enormous influence, they were very clever guys. Let’s not forget he (Berger) took Minardi from back of a grid ‘no hopers’ into winning a Grand Prix on merit for the first time (Monza 2008) in less than three years, so that takes a lot of talent, and I learned from him and Franz Tost at Toro Rosso.
“Frank has always been a huge inspiration and a mentor, and if you ask me, ‘what’s my style going to be?’ I think it would be a considered, balanced approach to every big decision. And maybe to say occasionally, ‘what might Frank do here?’
Anthony Rowlinson contributed to this story
