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By Riccardo Tafà| Posted January 31, 2017 | In MotoGP, MotoGP
The first of three official pre-season testing sessions came to a close at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia today, as the whole MotoGP field and a variety of test riders began to draw their conclusions from three days of hard work.
For the LCR Honda Team and their British rider Cal Crutchlow it was a chance to help Honda evaluate the 2017 version of the RC213V, with still seven weeks to go before the start of the world championship in Qatar.
The final day of testing was a busy one for the squad, with Crutchlow completing a mammoth 71 laps of the sweltering 5.543km circuit. He clocked a best lap time of 1’59.728, the eighth fastest lap of the day, and the ninth fastest time of the three-day test.
The LCR Honda Team now pack up their equipment in Malaysia to prepare for the next three-day official test at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia in two weeks’ time.
#35 Cal Crutchlow – 9th (1’59.728 lap 67 of 71)
“We had a positive day today with the bike, and we are still evaluating the different engine configurations for Honda. We worked hard and worked well as a team again. I do believe we could have picked up a little bit more in terms of lap time in some areas, but this was just a slight problem we had and we are happy enough with what has been a positive outcome during the test.”
“There is still a lot of work to be done, but we know that Honda will be going back to the factory with everything that has been fed back to them at this test. They work very hard for us all and when we get back onto the track hopefully that means will have another good test in Australia.”
2017 MotoGP Test Schedule
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Are you ready to explore the transformative power of athlete sponsorship for your brand? Click here to learn more about how sponsorship can help brands grow and thrive in the exciting world of motorsports.
Managing Director for RTR Sports, Riccardo graduated in law at the University of Bologna. He began his career in London in PR, then started working in two and four-wheelers. A brief move to Monaco followed before returning to Italy. There he founded RTR, first a consulting firm and then a sports marketing company which, eventually, he moved back to London.
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Read MoreIn an era where it is possible to get anywhere with a click, there is a strong temptation to approach teams and properties directly for sponsorship projects.
By doing so, we are convinced that we are shortening the value chain, saving time and money. However, these DYI methods are anything but risk-free and what initially appears to be a competitive advantage soon turns into a problem that is difficult to resolve. That’s why there are agencies. And this is why you should rely on us for your sponsorships.
When first approaching a motorsport sponsorship project, it is difficult to know immediately which stakeholders are correct, what the decision flow is, and what the right timelines are for each process. Motorsport is a very specialized field of action, and fitting effectively into its paths can take a lot of time and therefore money. We, on the other hand, know referents and spheres of action and know who to talk to, when and how. So you are also more effective.
Motorsport is an immense passion, and for our heart colors we would be willing to do anything. But business is a different business, and it is important to make the best possible strategic decisions based on independent research, statistics and reliable data. A motorsport sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which racing series, which athlete, which team. This is because we possess a great deal of data and information on ratings, segmentation and attitudes. Because the numbers don’t lie. Never.
Activations are the real heart of motorsport sponsorship. Without them, there remains only a blank sticker on a motorcycle, car or uniform and no contact with the public, no emotional connection, no impact on the bottom line. Then how do you do it? It certainly won’t be the teams or the athletes who will help you leverage sponsorship and enjoy the many marketing rights you have paid for. To bring out the best in a motorsport marketing project, you need an agency that knows how to use sponsorship to engage the fanbase online, to reach out to Shopping Centers, to organize hospitality, to develop B2B and B2C opportunities, and to get “your” athletes in front of millions of potential consumers.
Would you ever go to the dealer who sold you the car and ask if the competitor’s car is better? No, of course. So, how do you expect to get firm measurements of the effectiveness of your sponsorship if you do not rely on someone super partes? At RTR, we have always worked with independent third-party agencies that allow us to know the return on any exposure of your brand on TV and in the media. In addition, we believe in calculating ROI as the ultimate measure of your success-so we can tell you for every penny you spend how much you are making.
We have been involved in motorsport sponsorship and sports marketing for more than 15 years. We are consultants in the sense that our goal is to maximize your investment, but we are also an agency that manages the project from start to finish. We have been doing this since 1995 with passion and professionalism, following three principles that have become cornerstones of our business: independence, verticality and transparency.
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