F1 Racing - UK (2019-12)

F1Racing:How did you and the companyget involved inthe car auctioneering business? MaartentenHolder:I originally started out in Amsterdam as an art auctioneerwith S otheby’s, as my father ran a small contemporary art museum. I really enjoy the role as it’s theatrical,transactional and if you get it rightthere is a lot of positive energy. WhenI first walked through the doorsof an auction house I was instantly hooked and knew this waswhere Iwanted to work. Five years ago Sotheby’s entered a merger with RM Auctions – a specialist in selling automobiles – which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Now we go under the name RM Sotheby’s and this year we have held 15 auctions across North America and Europe.

F1R:Why have you reached a partnership with Formula 1 to host this auction at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix? MtH:For the past 40 years mostof our auctions have taken place at large car events, Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach, Monterey and the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. These events always feature a lot of like-minded people who love cars and supercars. So why F1? Obviously it’s an important brand and often we see a lot of our customers in the paddock at races. It madesense for usto come together.

F1R:What are you expecting from the event? MtH:It will take place on the circuit after qualifying on 30th November, at around 9pm localtime. Paddock Club guests andticket holders will be able to watch the auction taking place on the grid. We are expecting about 40-50 cars

in total, some memorabilia and a 2002 world- championship winning Ferrari. It is the chassis that Michael Schumacher took three wins with that year at Imola, Austria and Magny-Cours. We’re valuing that car at $5.5-7.5 million and for the total auction we’re expecting a value between $30-50 million. We also have a Pagani Zonda which we’re valuing at $4-6 million, and entry-level cars for about $100,000 too. There is a McLaren P1 which is about £1-1.3 million, but it’s being sold without a reserve, so if you bid $500 and no one else bids – I’ll haveto sell you the car...

F1R:How do rare classics and supercars make their way on to the auction market? MtH:It’s known in the art auction business as thethree ‘Ds’

debt, death and divorce. It caneven be de-accession,
which is when a museum decides something is no longer
part of a collection. Alternatively collectors might buya
car at one price and they sell to make money. There are
collectors who upgrade by purchasing something that
wasn’t previously on the market. There are actually lots of
different reasons, but we also have specialists who contact
clients who are interested in a particular marque.

F1R:Have youever found yourself in an auction andcaught out someone waving who doesn’t realise they are bidding? MtH:I find with car auctionsthere’s a lot of vibrancy in the room and they typically take a littlelonger than artauctions. We findpeople might come inand order adrink, or wave at theirfriends, and fo r amusement I engagewith them an d tell them they are bidding right now. When they realise they’re aboutto hand over five milliondollarsthey suddenly look petrified.

F1R:What other plans do you have? MtH:Well, Abu Dhabi is an interesting territory for us and our plan is to expand geographically into both the Middle and Far East. At the Abu Dhabi GP we plan to display the cars for the entire race weekend for fans to get close to, and they will still be there on theMon day for peopleto v isit, as there’s a national holiday in theUAE. Then, next year, we might look at a second grand prix to auction at.

PRO RACING

02 Businessprofile

THIS MONTH

Maarten

tenHolder

Followingqualifyingat the Abu Dhabi Grand Prixthis yeara prestigious

car auction,featuring aMichaelSchumacher 2002 race-winningFerrari,

a hostofsupercars and someF1memorabilia,will take placeonthe start/finishstraight. The headofRMSotheby’s,the company responsible

for conductingthe auction,explainshowit cameto the car auctioneering businessand its newpartnershipwithFormula 1...

INTERVIEW

JAMES

CV ROBERTS 2018-19 Executivevice-president, headofEurope&chief auctioneerfor RMSotheby’s 2017-18 Globalmanagingdirector, Luxury&Lifestyledivision, forSotheby’s 2015-16 Managingdirector,Europe &MiddleEastandNorth Africa,forSotheby’s 2007-15 Managingdirector,North andSouthAmerica forSotheby’s) 2002-07 Deputymanagingdirector, Italy. forSotheby’s) 1999-02 Headofdepartment, ArcadeAuctionsfor Sotheby’s(Netherlands) 1996-99 Operationsmanager forSotheby’s(Netherlands)

PORTRAITS

:STEVENTEE

28 F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019

Executive vice-president, headofEurope &chiefauctioneer RMSotheby’s