When all competitors have access to the same tools, what decides the winner? This is a key question in business as much as in sport, and this year’s Formula E electric vehicle motor racing world championship offered a powerful answer.
It came from a South African, James Barclay, team principal of Jaguar TCS Racing, which last month won the ABB FIA Formula E Teams’ World Championship title. The team also won the Manufacturer’s Cup for Jaguar, making Barclay a double world champion.
This is all the more remarkable in that every car in Formula E is required to use the same electric battery and the same tyres. That means the differentiators lie in the engineering of the car itself and, well, the people.
With typical humility, Barclay hesitates to take any credit.
“There is no silver bullet in top level sports or motorsport,” he told us. “We started this team with a blank sheet of paper 2016, so it’s been about building the group into what it is today. In the last two years we have had more wins, more pole positions, more podiums, than any other Formula E car.
“That’s a testament to the Jaguar I-Type 6 car, because it starts there with that design, research and development. Then the racing operations team, the team that are on the ground running the strategy, the mechanics, the engineers responsible for delivering performance on the track and, of course the drivers. We have two of the world’s best racing drivers in Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy.”
New Zealanders Evans and Cassidy came second and third, respectively, in the Formula E driver’s championships, with Evans narrowly missing out on the title in the final race of the season in London.
“It’s a combination of factors. And everyone on the team plays a role in making this result possible. It is a huge team effort and we have a great team behind us, making this possible.”
Of course, every other team would say the same. What makes the ultimate difference? Barclay uses the Olympic Games currently under way to make his point.
“World records are normally set in an Olympics or World Championships. It’s because, when you have world-class competition, coming to a crescendo, you find another gear, you find more performance, you innovate. And motor racing is great for that. Quite simply, we’ve innovated in a way which is ahead of the competition.”
The innovation does begin with the design of the car, but it goes much further.
“We’ve developed a car which has greater efficiency, great drivability, has the system’s capabilities. That’s the first differentiator. But then, as a team, we have a huge passion for this team. Jaguar has an amazing history of motorsports, and we wanted to bring that into the present day. We wanted to write a current chapter and a future chapter. That’s been a driving force for us all: to win a world championship for Jaguar, the first one since 1991. We represent an incredible brand, which is what motivates us every day in a way that maybe not everyone has.”
Finally, there is the magic ingredient which many great organisations have discovered over the years.
“The team has a fantastic culture. We have a great group of people that I can honestly call great colleagues – but great friends. While the championship is stressful at times, we do really enjoy, and we find it really rewarding to go out and race for championships.”
A last possible secret is unique to Barclay. He shows a photo of himself as a child sitting in a Jaguar D type racing car at Zwartkops raceway near Pretoria in around 1991.
“The seed started there.”
* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on social media on @art2gee
