John Booth – founder of Manor has taken over the role as team principal at the new Virgin Racing team from the departing Alex Tai, who is leaving the team citing  wanting ‘to accept new challenges in new ventures’.  However, Tai who has been a key right-hand-man to the Virgin founder Richard Branson, working on projects such as Virgin Galactic will keep working for the Virgin Group as the Director of Special Projects.

Despite the team putting out a press release saying the change was planned, surely I am not the only one thinking that a team principal leaving a team ‘to accept new challenges in new ventures’ before the team has raced a single Grand Prix is a bit strange. When appointed, observers questioned his suitability for the role, given his total lack of experience in motorsports.

Etienne de Villiers, chairman of Virgin Racing, said:

“John’s impressive racing pedigree and reputation is beyond question in the critical role of team principal. John will be joined by Graeme Lowdon as CEO, who previously held the position of director of racing. He was one of the founders of the original Manor Grand Prix team and a key architect of its successful formation last year. Graeme has a proven track record with Manor Grand Prix and is a formidable operator with an excellent reputation in the sport. Their combined experience and expertise make them the ideal candidates to lead the Virgin Racing team as we head into an exciting first season.

“These appointments reflect our long-term commitment to fully addressing the complexity and challenges of the new business and to creating a team with the appropriate skills and experience to ensure its sustainable success.

“We knew this day was coming but we are still sorry to see Alex move on from his executive duties. He will continue in his role as director of special projects for Virgin and will retain a close relationship with the team. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Alex for his support, energy and commitment from the outset and we look forward to his continued contribution to the business.”