In the latest episode of the China Sports Insider Podcast, we talk to Italian race engineer and team manager turned series promoter Davide de Gobbi, arguably one of the most influential people in Asian motorsports. Chances are that if you attended or watched a China-based racing series over the past 15 years, de Gobbi had something to do with it. I’ve been commentating on motorsports events that he’s put on since 2013, including the 2021 Asian F3 Championship, won by none other than new F1 star Zhou Guanyu.
Zhou’s past, present and future fills much of the show, as well as the compelling argument that his stunning start to his F1 career – in the points on his debut in Bahrain last weekend – lends weight to rescheduling the Shanghai Grand Prix (cancelled in 2020-22 due to COVID-19) for late September this year, now that there is an empty spot on the calendar, due to the removal of the Russian GP. Full show blurb below.
On the show this week, Mark and Haig discuss Chinese motorsports driver Zhou Guanyu’s stunning F1 debut and the huge number of people in China who have been following him (2:13). Zhou’s likability will endear him to audiences both in China and abroad (2:56), but international commentators have had a hard time understanding that, in China, the family name comes first — something Zhou himself has requested (3:44). Elsewhere, there’s been a shake-up among the KRS Vanke Rays women’s ice hockey team in Russia, with several ins and out, plus an incredible winning streak despite a decimated team (5:04).
Next, we’re joined by Davide De Gobbi, an Italian who’s been a central figure in the world of Chinese motorsports for 15 years. What did he make of Zhou Guanyu’s debut F1 race (8:21)? And when did Zhou first come onto his radar (9:25)? Davide discusses how far Zhou can go and why he thinks the Shanghai native has the potential to be a top driver (11:15). Zhou Guanyu signed with Alfa Romeo last year – is that a good fit (15:15)? Lots of critics said Zhou bought his seat on the F1 grid — but that’s not really true (16:07).
De Gobbi talks about the impact Zhou Guanyu’s success could have on motorsports in China, despite the country still missing a base of young drivers (18:50), before making a strong case for the Shanghai Grand Prix returning to the F1 calendar as soon as this year, given the removal of the Russian race (22:14). F1 execs have previously explored the possibility of a second GP in China — where might it be held and when (24:56)? De Gobbi discusses China’s current position on the motorsports development curve (27:28), explains why it might be a while before the next top driver comes along (32:10), describes how China’s esports culture could help discover a new generation of drivers (34:00), and tells us why he’s still optimistic about the future of motorsports in China, despite the challenges of the past few years (36:15).
About Davide De Gobbi
(From Topspeed website) Davide De Gobbi comes from Italy, with over 20 years experience in motorsports management. He was voted “Promoter of the year” by Auto News in 2012 and was featured as the cover story for the Auto News 2013 April issue.
In Italy, Davide has worked in the Top F3 team Prema Power for nearly 10 years, as team engineer, technical director and team manager, and he has accumulated rich experience of racing and management. At the same time, he served as driver coach and driver headhunter in the Toyota F1 Academy, as the coach of Robert Kubica, Kamui Kobayashi and Kazuki Nakajima. He could have landed a more senior position in F1, but he chose to come to China, developing China’s motorsport business.
Davide started to have contact with China’s motorsport market in 2004, then later came to China as technical director, lead a Chinese team in the Asian Formula Renault series and winning the driver and team championships many times. Founding Topspeed Limited Shanghai, Davide started working on motorsport events and culture promotion. He helped VW Scirocco, Ferrari and Lamborghini to import their one-make event brands and developed them as the models of China racing. Davide also worked on the top driving courses, like Ferrari Corso Pilota, Lamborghini Driving Academia, Pure McLaren etc.
Davide’s biggest hope is one day to send a Chinese driver to the F1 podium.
Further Reading
Given that motorsports is one of the sporting areas in which I’ve worked most closely since first coming to China in 2007, there’s plenty of relevant stories in my book “Sporting Superpower“, including more on Zhou Guanyu and his (then) impending F1 debut, some incredible race series over the years, going to the ghost city of Ordos and then this from Zhuhai – where I first worked with Mika Hakkinen – which was just bizarre:
Buy it now on Amazon here!
