Lotus Renault GP is pleased to announce that it has concluded global partnerships with four new partners until the end of the 2011 Formula 1 season. The deals all begin with immediate effect just three days ahead of the eagerly-awaited Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
The agreements finalised with telecommunications giant Embratel, leading safety razor and personal care product brand Gillette, Brazilian oil and natural gas company OGX and pharmaceutical company Auden McKenzie offer global platforms through which all new partners will promote their brands.
Eric Boullier, Lotus Renault GP Team Principal & MD: "We are delighted to welcome no fewer than four new partners to our commercial portfolio, and to what is proving to be a very exciting season of Formula 1. Lotus Renault GP share a common ethos with all the brands, in that we want to achieve at the very highest level through world-class professional practices. We are looking forward to prosperous relationships with all four partners in the coming months."
EMBRATEL – A good call
Embratel is already a personal sponsor of the team’s new race driver Bruno Senna and, following on from the 27-year-old’s successful debut for the team in Spa-Francorchamps recently, the Rio de Janeiro-based company decided to partner with LRGP for the remainder of the 2011 Formula 1 season. Embratel, which has been owned by Telmex the Mexican telecommunications giant since 2003, is a major player in both voice and data communication in Brazil. The company owns fully digitised microwave communications and fibre optic networks in addition to five domestic communication satellites. It is a member of the Intelsat and Inmarsat organisations and currently owns four fibre optics submarine cable systems - Unisur, Americas II Atlantis-2 and Columbus III.
Starting at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Embratel’s logo will be clearly visible on the rear sidepod of both R31 cars. It will also be on display on the side of Bruno’s striking green, yellow and blue helmet and on the chest of his driver overalls.
Embratel President, José Formoso: “We at Embratel are proud to be with Lotus Renault GP and Bruno Senna in the Formula 1 world. In addition to Embratel’s brand, the Brazilians are taking the Senna name back to a Formula 1 race and, clearly, it is a special emotion for all the Brazilians that are passionate about F1.”
GILLETTE – Shaving seconds off
The agreement currently lasts until the end of the 2011 Formula 1 season and will offer Procter and Gamble-owned Gillette a global platform through which to promote its brand.
From the starting grid at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, the Gillette logo will be visible on the front wing flaps of the team’s two R31 cars as they take to the grid in Italy. The famous brand name will also appear on the side chin area of both drivers’ helmets and on the throat position of the drivers’ overalls.
Gillette MD, José Cirilo: “We decided to establish a partnership with Lotus-Renault GP because it is a traditional, respectable and efficient team, just like Gillette. We seek to give men the best they can get with products that offer precision, so we build our reputation through association with high performance sports and teams, such as Lotus-Renault.”
OGX – A slick operation
OGX is the largest privately owned Brazilian oil and natural gas company, and the second largest Brazilian company in its sector. A natural ally for Lotus Renault GP, the EBX-owned company has secured a leading position in Brazilian exploration and the production of oil and natural gas through the acquisition of a diversified portfolio of blocks and high exploration potential. This is a portfolio comprised of 34 exploratory blocks – 22 offshore and 12 onshore – with prospective resources estimated at 10.8 billion barrels.
Through its involvement with the team, the OGX brand name will feature prominently on the chassis in front of the cockpit on both the R31 cars, in addition to Bruno’s helmet and racing overalls.
OGX CEO, Eike Batista: “Following on from our historical sponsorship of Bruno Senna, we’re proud to be partnering with Lotus Renault GP, a team that will be heavily-supported in our home market of Brazil. Passion, the spirit of leadership and discipline are all part of the values of the EBX Group. It is these values, along with Lotus Renault GP’s knowledge of and drive for success that leads us to believe this partnership will be a prosperous one.”
THE AUDEN McKENZIE GROUP – In good health
The Auden McKenzie Group has come a long way since it was founded by Amit Patel in 2001. Launched with a small pharmaceutical manufacturing unit employing three people and marketing only one injectable product, Auden McKenzie now employs over 70 people through whom the Pharmaceutical Division holds over 60 Product Licences in the UK and eight licenses in European countries. The company has also recently been granted its first authorisation in the United States. Its products are marketed in over 30 countries internationally and are present in all hospitals, pharmacies and wholesalers in the UK.
The Auden McKenzie brand name will feature prominently on the eye-catching R31 car liveries from this weekend in Monza, in addition to both Lotus Renault GP physios’ shirts.
Auden McKenzie CEO, Amit Patel: “At Auden McKenzie, we are fully aware of the power of promoting a brand by sports. For the first time we are partnering with a Formula 1 team, and we are very pleased to be offering our support to Lotus Renault GP’s ambition to return to the very top of the sport. For the brand, being associated with a high level team in such a global sport is of great importance to us, and we are confident that the collaboration will be a prosperous one. We are very pleased to be onboard, and look forward to successful times both on and off the track in the coming months”