Faure intent on rival series

When Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC) recently confirmed its intention to go ahead with a new racing series in 2008, many people dismissed the idea as unlikely to happen. However, Renault chairman Patrick Faure claims that the manufacturer group will stick to its plan for a rival series, as there has been no resolution to financial disputes over F1's commercial rights.

"We have not reached an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone, and we are absolutely not ready to accept that there is not a better redistribution among the teams of the money generated by F1," Faure told Eurosport.

"We announced on Tuesday (October 26th) that we are working with ISE, a large affiliate of Dentsu and Publicis, to create a world championship that will take the place of Formula One from 2008, when the Concorde Accord expires."

The GPWC manufacturers -- Renault, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari -- want to "significantly improve the economic benefits for all participating teams", as it said in a statement released last week.

"The only unacceptable thing is that 75 or 80% of Formula One profits stay with the 'Bernie system', and that the teams, who do all the work and create the spectacle, receive just 20 or 25%," said Faure. "I don't know any other sport that has that kind of statistic."

GPWC previously signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ecclestone and F1 commercial holding company SLEC, but the deal fell apart when GPWC claimed SLEC did not adhere to the terms.