Vegas and Phoenix GPs get special trophies
“I met him a couple of months ago," explained Bradley Yonover, who with DDB Ventures partner Dale Jensen owns the Vegas Grand Prix and Grand Prix Arizona. “Bombay Sapphire brought up his name to me. We wanted someone who was hot, up-and-coming and understood the ideas we wanted to convey, which are very, very modern and progressive."
Bombay Sapphire is also the sponsor of the Vegas Grand Prix gala.
This is the first time that the highly-respected Benshetrit has designed trophies for auto racing, but it will not be the last. Yonover added that conversations with Pat Neal of Bombay Sapphire led to Benshetrit to create the trophies, which are “iconic" in nature.
The design he created for the trophies is based on the symbolic ring, representing value and commitment, while at the same time capturing the traditional sense of accomplishment that a trophy represents. Benshetrit embellished the pure form and geometry of the ring, bringing the familiar into an unfamiliar context and creating a unique experience for the winner. He also manipulated the ring to include an added rotation to serve as a playful reminder of an automobile’s founding principles.
“He is a top-end designer and we’re taking him out of the world of high-end design and putting him into the fast lane of motorsports," Yonover explained. “This is the beginning of a long-term relationship, I assure you. We couldn’t have found anyone better to design our trophies – Dror was able to create something that allows a sense of motion in going forward. These trophies are works of art and they’re worthy of the champions of our races."
A multidisciplinary design studio, Benshetrit’s company, Studio Dror, specializes in product design, architecture and graphic design. Dror’s client list includes Puma, Rosenthal (Germany), Boffi (Italy), BBBemmebonacina (Italy), Levi’s, Yigal Azrouël, Material Connexion, Bombay Sapphire, Maya Romanoff, Surface Magazine, Kiehl’s, Bourjois (France), Marithe + Francois Girbaud (France) and Swarovski.
Yonover said Benshetrit’s work is “about setting a standard. With him, we’re providing something worthy of the accomplishments of the champions of our races. These competitors are risking it all in the world of motorsports, and when you put high-tech with true art, this is what you get. We feel like we are setting a new standard."
The Vegas Grand Prix is scheduled April 6-8 in downtown Las Vegas, while the Grand Prix Arizona is slated for Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in downtown Phoenix.