WILMETTE, Ill. — The motorsports industry continues to be a commercial engine. This month, we will examine that influence from a global perspective.
Founded in 1914, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile represents the interests of motoring organizations, governs racing events and supports road safety.
The FIA has approximately 245 member organizations from 146 countries representing 80 million road users.
The Automobile Competition Committee for the United States is a National Sporting Federations Authorities, also known as ASNs, and is the U.S. representative to the FIA. Its member clubs include IMSA, IndyCar, NASCAR, NHRA, SCCA and USAC.
Former NASCAR vice president George Silberman is currently president of ACCUS and works as a liaison between the sanctioning bodies and the FIA.
The FIA recently released a report at the World Motor Sport Council on the contribution of motorsports to the economy and community development throughout the world. It is the first study of its kind on a worldwide basis.
This analysis was prepared by the consulting firm EY Parthenon and centered on the 2019 calendar year. It did not estimate the impact of the shutdown during the pandemic.
Extensive research included surveys, utilization of existing data sources and discussions with key industry stakeholders.
The key findings underscored the significance of motorsports to the world economy.
Motorsports generates almost 160 billion euros in total gross output annually and 1.5 million paid jobs were directly supported by the industry in 2019.
There has been a growth of 90 percent since the last industry estimate in 2007.
The euro exchange rate was about $1.15 during the 2019 study period.
This activity is supported by the breadth of motorsports. There are more than 2.7 million participants active at more than 60,000 events utilizing more than 7,200 venues.
The direct impact of motorsports represents actions generated by participants, governing bodies, local clubs, facilities, events, teams and auto-related businesses.
There was 59.2 billion euros in gross output each year and another 25.0 billion euros in value added goods and services.
The total output of the motorsports industry includes both direct and indirect impacts.
Direct reflects spending on services (51%), advanced manufacturing and services (36%) and other types of manufacturing (13%). Indirect includes the “multiplier effect” of additional consumption and spending on hotels, meals, wages and non-related items.
The study reflected both the paid and unpaid nature of motorsports employment.
There are about 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs that receive a paycheck from the industry.
A special and unique characteristic of racing involves almost 302,000 officials, marshals and volunteers that assist in running events. Their contribution is valued and critical to the successful operation of the industry.
There are almost 2.7 million participants in motorsports on a worldwide basis. This is broken down into — competitors (34%), officials and those who compete (12%) and non-competing club members (55%).
This analysis emphasizes the importance of motorsports and its contribution to the global economy through business and employment opportunities.