Are you willing to sponsor?
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.
MotoGP: Marc VDS to move up to MotoGP class in 2015 with Scott Redding
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted September 15, 2014 | In Bikes, MotoGP, Motor Racing, Motorsports
By Riccardo Tafà| Posted September 15, 2014 | In Bikes, MotoGP, Motor Racing, Motorsports
MotoGP: Marc VDS to move up to MotoGP class in 2015 with Scott Redding
The Marc VDS Racing Team confirmed their rise into the premiere class of motorcycle racing for the upcoming season at the Misano Grand Prix last weekend. With their participation in MotoGP, the belgian team is competing in all three classes of the championship.
The team is most successful in the Moto2 class, since the battle for the championship is more or less discharged between both Marc VDS riders, Esteve „Tito“ Rabat and Mika Kallio. The veteran Kallio will be replaced by current Moto3 rider Álex Márquez, whereas Rabat stays with the team for one more year.
Little less success is granted for the team in Moto3. They started the season with Livio Loi as their only rider. Loi is a belgian rider and teaming him up with a team situated in Belgium, seemed like a fitting choice. Unfortunately the collaboration between rider and team wasn’t as successful as expected.
The young rider had his issues with the bike, but despite many attempts of his team to fix any of his problems, the expected results were slow in coming. So the Marc VDS team decided to replace their fellow countrymen with the young spaniard Jorge Navarro from the Indianapolis Grand Prix on. A win bringing choice, since Navarro has hardly any world championship-experience, and rides a satisfying season, considering his greenness.
With their MotoGP participation the team hopes for an even better performance. Along with the release of their team, Marc VDS made public which rider will move the factory supported Honda RC213V, they’ll receive. The choice fell on brit Scott Redding, who was part of the Marc VDS family once, riding the Moto2 bike last year. Both sides seems quite happy about the collaboration, that lasts for three years. If Redding will have a teammate is not decided yet.
Riccardo Tafà
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.
Similar category
The online platform where you can discover the latest trends, strategies and insights from the exciting world of sports marketing.
View our blog
October 14, 2018
Women and two wheels: a love story in progress
In some ways, we could call the victory of Ana Carrasco in the 2018 Supersport 300 Championship a revolutionary one. As the first time a woman has won an official two-wheel international cham[...]
Read More
May 15, 2016
MotoGP: Honda HRC renew with Pedrosa until end of 2018
Honda Racing Corporation is pleased to announce the renewal of its contract with Dani Pedrosa for an additional two years. Both parties are pleased to reach the agreement ahead of this weeken[...]
Read More
January 26, 2016
MotoGP: Valentino Rossi visits Indonesia for Yamaha Meeting
Today Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi was honoured for his major achievements as the face of Grand Prix racing during his appearance as a special guest of [...]
Read MoreWhy choose RTR Sports Marketing
In 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.
Save time and money
When first approaching a sponsorship or sports marketing 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. Sports 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.
The right information, the right choice
Sports 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 sports marketing and sports sponsorship agency like RTR has an objective, 360-degree picture of the scenario and can tell you what is really best for you: which sport, 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 beating heart
Activations are the real heart of sports 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 sports marketing project you need an agency that knows how to use sponsorship to engage the fanbase on the Web, 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.
Objective measurements for a certain return
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.
Sit back, relax, we’ll take care of it
We have been involved in sports 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.
I would like to highlight the fact that one of the qualities of RTR is its great ability to approach the sponsorship scenario strategically, together with its passionate attitude, its amazing enthusiasm for solving problems, and its high level of professionalism.
Gianluca Degliesposti
Executive Director Server&Storage EMEA
Eurosport is truly delighted with its business relationship with Riccardo Tafà, who has become extremely popular, thanks to his detailed knowledge of the sports marketing sector and his highly diligent attitude to work.
Francois Ribeiro
Commercial Director
Passion and Expertise are the features that I have found in RTR since the very beginning. Serious and reliable professionals but also very helpful, nice and open-mind people, willing to listen and compare different ideas. All the values in which RTR believes make this agency a partner, not just a supplier, a partner with whom we have had the opportunity to achieve significant commercial results in term of success and image.
Luca Pacitto
Head of Communication
We have been working with RTR Sports Marketing for over 10 years. The objectives and the programmes of collaboration continue to be renewed and to grow with mutual satisfaction. I believe RTR is a team of great professionals led by Riccardo Tafà, who I consider a manager of exceptional skills and with a great passion for his work.
Lucio Cecchinello
Team Principal
I have known and worked with Riccardo Tafà since 1995 when we collaborated for the first time on a project for the Williams Formula 1 team. Several clients followed. After leaving Williams to work for Gerhard Berger then owner of the Toro Rosso F1 Team, I turned again to Riccardo to seek his help in finding a tool supplier for the team and Riccardo duly obliged with an introduction to USAG, a partnership with Toro Rosso which endured for five years. I recently started a new role as Group Commercial Director for the renowned Andretti Autosport organisation and I find myself working with Riccardo once again on a number of interesting projects. Why has this relationship with Riccardo endured ? He’s smart, knows the commercial side of sport inside out and back to front and he’s honest and trustworthy. Riccardo Tafà is a “doer” not a “talker”: in over 20 years I have never had a dispute either with him or with a company that he has introduced and each partnership introduced by Riccardo has delivered quantifiable ROI to rights holder and sponsor alike. I can think of no better testimonial of Riccardo’s diligence, knowledge, contact base and hard work than that.
Jim Wright
Group Commercial Director
Recent posts
The online platform where you can discover the latest trends, strategies and insights from the exciting world of sports marketing.
View our blog
May 8, 2025
Rally1 Cars in 2025: Specs, Performance & What to Watch
The 2025 World Rally Championship (WRC) season marks a significant shift in rally racing, with the elimination of hybrid power units and the introduction of new technical regulations. This ar[...]
Read More
May 8, 2025
WRC Sponsors: The Official Partners and Their Strategies for Success
The World Rally Championship (WRC) is much more than a competition between cars and drivers: it is a global ecosystem that attracts millions of spectators, fans and business partners worldwid[...]
Read More
May 8, 2025
WRC Sponsorship: Opportunities and Strategies in the World Rally Championship
The World Rally Championship (WRC) represents one of the most fascinating and challenging motorsport competitions in the world. With events held in different countries and on varying terrain,[...]
Read More