Meet the Team: James Robinson, Co-Founder & Director

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Who would you say gave you your start in motorsport, and how did that come about?

I was very lucky. I had several people in motorsport that gave me a leg up and some great opportunities in my formative years between the ages of 16 and 21.

The first is Martin Whittaker, who gave me my first job in motorsport. He let me shadow him at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2006 when I was 16. He was the CEO of the circuit at the time and introduced me to some brilliant people. He let me do that for three years on the trot, which really helped me to build my network and gave me some fantastic experience.

The second person was Rossella Potter, who at the time was, and, funnily enough, is now again, the PA to Flavio Briatore. She got me a week's work experience in the production department at Renault F1 team in 2006. That team ultimately ended up being my employer for the following 12 years.  

The third was Sue Scarf. She got me a couple of weeks’ work experience at Aston Martin Racing, which was a big GT team at the time run by Prodrive, where she was Head of HR. The Commercial Director there, James Turner, would become probably my biggest career mentor. Those are really the people who really gave me the leg up.  

I then did an internship at JMI [Just Marketing Incorporated] and met some great people like Phil Kennard, who ultimately brought me back to Renault, which then had become Lotus, to work with him there. That ended up being my first proper full-time job in the motorsport industry, as part of the commercial team at Lotus. So, lots and lots of people.  

As a result, I'm always happy to give time to people – especially young people who really want a career in motorsport and reach out to me for advice – to pay forward the opportunities I received myself along the way.

Why did you decide to start Pace Group?

I left Formula 1, the commercial rights holder, in 2020. At the time, the sport was entering the cost cap / Drive to Survive era, and it was really starting to explode. I was asked to work on a couple of really exciting projects, at least one of which was a big conflict of interest with my previous role. I wasn't being paid a retainer to do it; it was a question of, if the deal comes off, there'll be a role for you, and you'll be remunerated on the upside, but if not, we're not going to pay you.

So, I started Pace as a vehicle for me to do that kind of consultancy work and it snowballed from there. Although the original deal I’d started the business to be a part of didn't happen, by that time Pace had become a proper company with two or three fantastic clients. Obviously, it then grew even more, and then we merged with 64^th & Social to create Pace Six Four.

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What was the reasoning behind the merger with 64^th & Social and what benefits have you seen from it?

Ben Cowley has been my closest friend in the motorsport industry for the entire time I've been in it. I’ve known him for 15 years. I think those who know both of us will tell you we're very different people, but we complement each other well, as do our skillsets.  

Ben is a creative genius and a brilliant storyteller. His expertise, of course, is in the content and social media side of the sport, whereas mine is more in the commercial side. So, it was a natural fit to merge our businesses. We were always going to be beneficial to each other, rather than have any conflict.  

In terms of the wider benefits we've seen from the merger, one, of course, is economies of scale: we are bigger together than we are separately. For the people who work for us, it also gives us a greater sense of collective purpose. I think people enjoy being part of something bigger than an agency that just does one thing or the other. It gives them other areas to explore and greater insights into the wider motorsport industry. In essence, it's just more strings to our bow.

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“People enjoy being part of something bigger than an agency that just does one thing or the other.”

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What excites you the most about Christian Dixon joining with his new department?

Christian's experience speaks for itself. What he's accomplished in the industry is incredibly impressive and he is somebody who brings a huge amount of value to our business. He gives us a window into something that we've not really done before, which is brand consultancy.

From a commercial point of view, we are always trying to connect brands to teams and Christian’s department gives us an ability to talk to brands in their language. From a from a wider company perspective, he allows us to do more; to cast that net wider, giving us more touch points in the industry.

What are you hoping for the future of Pace Six Four?

I would like us to be the biggest agency operating in in motorsport, whether that be across marketing, communications, commercial, content – everything we do. At the moment, we are the biggest agency that specialises solely in motorsport, but obviously there are lots of other companies out there who engage with other sports.

We’re certainly not the biggest agency in the paddock right now. In the last two years, we’ve made some brilliant progress; we've really established ourselves at the top table of agencies in motorsport, which makes me prouder than probably anything else I've done in my life professionally. I think Christian joining gives us the springboard to achieve that ultimate goal.

How would you describe what your department does, in a nutshell?

My department is focused on how motorsport operates as a business. How does the sport make money? How does all of this actually get paid for? How does it run as a professional sport, rather than just a hobby for people?

Predominantly, that takes shape in the form of sponsorship; brands that pay to be associated with, and have a relationship with, the sport. It does extend into other areas as well, like licensing, ticketing and events. We also do a fair bit of work on mergers and acquisitions within the sport; people who are looking to invest in teams or drivers, for example. We help to make connections for them.

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You've just taken up a new role as Team Principal & CEO of Invicta Racing. How are you balancing your new responsibilities with the ones that you currently have at Pace Six Four?

Invicta Racing is something that I'm getting my teeth into at the moment, while Pace Six Four is something that I've now been running alongside Ben for two years, and Pace for several more before that.

I'm very lucky that, a couple of years ago, we expanded our team quite significantly and brought in some new faces who all still here. Two years later, they don't really need me anymore; their skills are so far developed and they're so knowledgeable about what they do, that I can really let them get on with it. I'm always around if they need anything, but they're very self-sufficient, so that really allows me, at least in the short term, to really focus on the Invicta side of things.

It's still going to be a balancing act that will fluctuate from time to time, depending on where the Formula 2 season is compared to where we are as an agency and what we're working on. So, it's certainly not going to be linear – my focus is going to have to move and adapt.  

Do you have any career regrets?

I sometimes wish I'd started doing this side of things earlier. I always fancied myself as an entrepreneur and always liked the idea of running my own business, even as a kid. I think a lot of people are hesitant to do that because of the fear of failure, and I totally get that; it took me until I was 30 to make the jump.

Would I have been able to be as successful with Pace, and then Pace Six Four, if I hadn’t spent years working for teams like Renault or for Formula 1 themselves? Maybe, maybe not – I don’t know; but I sometimes think I could have made the jump sooner. I feel incredibly liberated and get a much deeper sense of fulfilment running my own business than I ever did as an employee.

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What are the most important lessons you’ve learned during your career so far?

To always have friends. I think Hollywood does a really good job of making people think that business is about screwing people over, or hostile takeovers, but that's not how it really works. You need friends in this world, and as few enemies as possible. It's important to be nice to people in all walks of life. Also, to stay really humble, don't think you're better than anybody and really appreciate the people who put the hard work in.

What advice would you give to someone looking to break into the commercial side of motorsport?

Perseverance is so important, and not just on the commercial side. It's the people who take the time to write to me or approach me in person – the people who just don't give up – that impress me most. We had an intern last year who had been trying for years to get into the sport. I really did try and help him initially, but I just couldn't think of a way and, with a business to run, it wasn’t going to be the only thing on my mind.

He didn’t give up and eventually did end up working with us. Now, he has a full-time job in the industry. I see so many people giving up too early – not being patient enough. Be the one that sticks it out. You just have to never stop pushing – although it’s also important to read the room in terms of not annoying people!

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"Perseverance is so important. I see so many people giving up too early; be the one that sticks it out. Never stop pushing."

As a manager, how do you get the best from your team?

I've always enjoyed working for people who empower me – who give me the freedom to do my job as I feel like I can. I've never enjoyed working for people who feel like they can do their job better than me – even if I know they can. I'd much rather be in a place where I can come to them for advice when I need it, rather than feeling like they're going just try and do the job for me.

I think it's important to let people take the credit for the work they've done, to celebrate people's successes. But I also think letting people fail, in a supportive environment, is essential, because you learn so much more from your failures than from your successes.  

It helps that I’ve been able to find some incredibly smart people with good core skills. I really try and let them do their job, because it frees me up to have a more long-term, strategic view on things when I'm not bogged down in the in the everyday.

This is especially true when you've got multiple people reporting to you; if you try and do everybody's job, firstly, they don't feel empowered. Secondly, there can be communication breakdowns, because there are too many cooks in the kitchen. And thirdly, they aren't able to grow and develop.

What are the qualities that make you good at your job?

I always try to keep things as simple as possible and to not overthink. Some people might say I can look at things too transactionally, but I think it’s important to boil things down to their fundamentals. I tend to keep a very top-line view on things and not get too detail focused unless it’s necessary.

The other thing is that I absolutely love what I do. I find myself coming into the office on a Monday morning and thinking ‘I really can't wait to get started today’. Sometimes I find myself dreading Friday nights and looking forward to Monday mornings, because I love the structure and the rollercoaster that every day can bring.

I’m always on and always off at the same time. You can call me at any time, as I'm always keeping a view on what's going on. But equally, if I’ve got something personal I need to handle during a work day, I will go and do that.  

As a result, I don't feel like I ever get burnt out or need to take a break and switch everything off, because I'm never completely stationary and I'm never running flat out. I try not to go to extremes, and I think that really helps me look forward to every day; to get up every morning with enthusiasm.

I just live and breathe this industry, this job, and what I do.

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What do you think are the most common misconceptions about the commercial side of motorsport?

The biggest misconception about the commercial side of motorsport is that there's a big money tree growing somewhere that we shake and the deals just fall out. Many people think that all we do is attend long lunches and boozy drinks receptions. While there is a role for that sort of thing, the vast majority of our time is spent knocking on doors, over and over.

To do this job, you have to be really, really comfortable with rejection. I'm not sure people understand how thick-skinned you have to be and how much perseverance you need. Ultimately, 99% of the work you’re doing will have no tangible end product, so you need to have resilience. You have to learn quickly and get comfortable with rejection to survive in any sales job and motorsport is no different.

What is your favourite thing about motorsport? And what do you like least?

I love how multifaceted motorsport is; how you meet people who are fans of motorsport, and they're fans for all kinds of different reasons. There are people who love the technology, there are people who love the sporting aspect, the competition. There are people who love the glamourous side of the sport, the culture, the lifestyle; people who love the travel. There are so many different threads you can pull on, that it really offers something for everyone. I feel very privileged to have worked in this industry for nearly 20 years, and I always try not to take that for granted.  

On the flip side, I really don't like the football-style tribalism and national bias that seems to be infiltrating the sport at the moment. For example, there’s a lot of negativity towards Max Verstappen and Red Bull in this country, just because they’re major competition for the British drivers. I don't think many people in the industry like the sensationalism that’s crept in – especially from the keyboard warriors you see on social media.  

In 10 years’ time, if you look back, what do you want to have achieved both professionally and personally?

I'd love Pace Six Four to become the biggest and most successful agency in motorsport. I think that's very much a realistic objective. Obviously, I'd also like Invicta Racing to win many more Formula 2 Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships. If we could have 10 of each in the next 10 years, that would be great.

Personally, my wife and I are expecting our first child, and I just want to have a healthy and happy family. In a decade’s time, I'll have a 10-year-old son, and if he's got one or two brothers and sisters that are also healthy and happy, and I've got a healthy and happy wife at home, then I'll be as happy as a pig in shit.