Fuel for fans

No, this isn’t a usual article about a car or a bike and its innards. This is actually about a part of the automotive industry that is often ignored – Merchandise. The year was 2006 and I had been deputed to head for my first ever international assignment. It was a plum assignment too, especially for a dyed in the wool motorsport enthusiast. My job was to cover the F1 race in Bahrain and as a guest of Gulf Air, the title sponsor of the Bahrain GP, I had a free pass into the paddock club and the F1 village. The report was of course published subsequently and remains one of my most cherished features till date. However, I didn’t just come back with the 1,500 words that I put into the report and the photos, I also brought back a bagful of Scuderia Ferrari and Michael Schumacher merchandise. Years later, when I headed to the Catalan GP to catch a glimpse of The Doctor (Valentino Rossi) take the chequered flag it was the same story. I came back with an armful of VR46 merchandise. Turns out, I’m not the only one who shows his brand allegiance by purchasing merchandise.  According to