Aspiring F1 disruptor has secured significant investment ahead of its formal application to the FIA
LKY SUNZ, a new entertainment and youth culture-focused motorsports team, has secured significant investment from Legends Advocates Sports Group, a US-based sports fund, alongside investment from Asian private individuals and corporates in support of their bid to join the FIA Formula One World Championship. The racing team will submit its application before the FIA’s deadline in May and aims to be on the grid for the 2025/2026 season. LKY SUNZ will become wholly operational outside of Europe, with its base in South East Asia, whilst forging close links to inner city communities across North America, Asia and Africa. This demonstrates the team’s commitment to providing underrepresented communities opportunities in motorsports.
The founding members are experienced in operating across multiple territories and have a track record of building businesses in sports, including racing and Formula One. LKY SUNZ will be led by Co-founder Benjamin Durand, a motorsports veteran who will take up the role of Chief Executive Officer. The other founders include Chairman, Paul Fleming, who brings over two decades of business experience across professional motorsport, real estate and financial services. In addition, Co-founder Andrew Pyrah takes the role of Chief Commercial Officer, adding a wealth of expertise across sports, events and entertainment.
Benjamin Durand, CEO of LKY SUNZ, commented: “We are excited to see our investors share our vision of fusing youth culture and racing to create a team that will disrupt Formula One. The sport’s popularity has grown exponentially and every current stakeholder in the sport has been responsible for that, but our guiding principle is to bring something different into the sport to appeal to new audiences. By being the only team operating outside the traditional F1 corridors and developing bespoke programmes to attract talent from underrepresented communities, we can bring a diversity of thought yet to be seen in Formula One.
“We of course aim to be competitive on the track, but we also commit to entertaining fans off the track. To support our plans, we have already onboarded an impressive team of motorsport executives, music and entertainment industry experts and creatives who will help bring this vision to life.”
LKY SUNZ will build a state-of-the-art net zero green energy-powered factory complex in South East Asia by 2025/2026. Initially, their race cars will be built and assembled at a European base. Chris Miles, Founder of Starting Grid, Inc. and Global Motorsports Marketing Advisor to the African Renaissance and Diaspora Network (ARDN), an advocacy mechanism to amplify the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, will assist LKY SUNZ to forge pathways for underrepresented communities within the many facets of motorsports industry through its academies and educational programmes.
ABOUT LKY SUNZ
The LKY SUNZ is a business focussed on being awarded a new Formula 1 team franchise to participate in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The LKY SUNZ will bring a disruptive approach to the sport, merging today’s popular youth culture with the pinnacle of world motorsport. From music to fashion, street art to the creator economy, the LKY SUNZ doesn’t exist just to go racing and win on the track, the team will entertain fans, attract underrepresented communities to the sport, and partner with communities to create a more diverse environment in motorsports.
LKY is short for “Lucky”, which nods to the Asian heritage of the team, and SUNZ represents the sun, which rises from the east making its way westward and is a symbol used in many Asian flags.
The post PRESS ROOM: LKY SUNZ announces bid to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship by the 2025/2026 season first appeared on BlackPressUSA.
