Publicity stunt? Hell yeah baby, bring it on! It’s good to know that healthy competition leads to some cute yet healthy bets, even in such a high profile corporate. Earlier this year, a few newcomers joined the lucrative Formula One championship, and among them are airline big boys Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines, and Tony Fernandes of AirAsia. It’s a battle of the newcomers, and to spice things up Richard Branson challenge Tony Fernandes into an F1 bet of cross-dressing for the loser, where the loser will don a stewardess outfit of the rival airline and serve passengers onboard.

In the just-concluded Abu Dhabi F1 race, Red Bull might be celebrating their double victory of constructor title and driver’s champion title, Lotus Racing was also celebrating their victory of getting into 10th place of the constructor title, ahead of Virgin Racing which finished 12th in the 12-teams championship.

In the midst of celebrations last night in Abu Dhabi, Lotus Racing chief Fernandes passed Branson an AirAsia uniform and pinned a stewardess’ badge on the Virgin Racing boss. The two men then agreed how the bet would be settled.

“There has been a fantastic spirit of competition between us and Virgin Racing all season and one of the first people to come and congratulate us on the pit wall was Richard. We have had this great bet running all season and now it’s time for Richard to start preparing himself for some hard work and the likely pain of a pair of high heels!”

“We agreed last night that we will run an online charity auction for the seats on our Kuala Lumpur – London route to raise money for a charity of Richard’s choice and give fans of both teams the chance to be on the flight. The date of the flight will be announced very soon and the aim is to raise as much money as we can for a good cause so the discomfort Richard will go through is worth as much as it possibly can be!” revealed Fernandes.

More details on the date of the flight and how to enter the charity auction to bid for a seat will be announced soon. So, is it worth your money to get a ticket onto this long-haul flight, just to see Sir Richard in his drag queen costume?
Congratulations to Lotus Racing and Datuk Tony Fernandes of Group CEO of Air Asia Bhd. for a very good beginning of a wonderful journey down the Formula One. A very competitive spirit and strong will for a team established just five months before the season’s premier, and to be able to get into the top ten’s list. With the new engines and transmissions sourced from Renault Racing and Red Bull Racing, the 2011 season will be bliss for Lotus Racing. Now, the only problem is the lawsuit.

SOURCE via The Stars