Last week we had the honor of presenting the biography of Emilio de Villota, a work of Alfredo Filippone and published by Motorpress Iberica.
It is a book that, beyond narrating the adventures of a Spaniard trying to make a space in the then inaccessible world of Formula 1 at the end of the seventies, takes us back to a time when Spain tried to open up to the world and the difficulties that it entailed for athletes and sponsoring companies, to gain a foothold in the global concert.
Emilio laid the foundations for the talent of pilots such as Carlos Sainz -author of the book’s foreword- or Fernando Alonso to flourish later, and for companies in our country to believe in sports sponsorship as a marketing tool. Because Emilio, beyond his worth as a pilot, was one of the main pioneers of sports marketing in Spain. Many years before concepts such as ‘merchandising’, ‘branded content’, ‘promotional tours’ or sponsorship activations in the media were common currency, the man from Madrid was a pioneer in developing many of the fundamentals of sports sponsorship.
It must be borne in mind that at that time, there were only two television channels and of course no race was broadcast. Despite this, Emilio boldly and tenaciously managed to always offer a good return on investment to his sponsors, as well as creating the first Spanish Formula 1 team in history, as well as becoming the first professional racing driver of his time.
The book can be purchased at kiosks or through the motorpress ibérica online store. In the following link https://youtu.be/HkUZ3fc0IFs you can see a video of the event with statements by the book’s protagonist, as well as Alfredo Filippone the author and María Wandosell CEO of Motorpress Iberica as editor.