RED BULL TAKES A STAKE IN BERGER'S SHIPPING COMPANY
Scuderia Toro Rosso has a new 50% partner, effective immediately: half the shares of theItalian Formula 1 team have been taken over by Gerhard Berger's motorsport company.
The 46-year-old Tyrolean is contributing his entire personal knowledge and experience ofFormula 1, accumulated over two decades, to the fledgling racing team: between 1984 and1997 he competed in 210 Formula 1 races, finishing among the top three in 48 races andwinning ten times. From 1998 to 2003 Berger was Motorsport Director at BMW, where hissuccesses included winning the Le Mans 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours and leading BMW tothe front of the Formula 1 premier class in 2000, the year of its comeback.
50% of the shares of Berger's shipping company are also changing hands: they will betransferred to Red Bull. The new joint shipping company will be involved as appropriate whenassigning worldwide logistics contracts for freight and transport.
Gerhard Berger will be personally involved in the activities of Scuderia Toro Rosso and beavailable in an advisory capacity with regard to Red Bull's overall Formula 1 engagement.These mutual partnerships are based on the strong longstanding relationship betweenGerhard Berger and Dietrich Mateschitz.
Gerhard Berger: "Three birds with one stone! The involvement of a company like Red Bull isan important milestone for the Berger shipping company and for its successful futuredevelopment. On the other hand, I am aware that my Formula 1 know-how is very muchvalued by Red Bull in general and by the Italian Toro Rosso team in particular. Last but notleast I'm looking forward to not only continuing to have a great time with Dietrich Mateschitz,but also to being able to implement serious and visionary business developments together inthe future."
Dietrich Mateschitz: "I have known and admired Gerhard for twenty years. 18 years ago, hewas the first top athlete to drink Red Bull and therefore to make a significant contribution toour growth and to the brand in Austria. I am particularly pleased that we will now be able totake advantage of the synergies that undoubtedly exist between us also for joint businessactivities."
