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.
By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted February 23, 2015 | In MotoGP, Motor Racing, Motorsports
Day two of the second Sepang test has concluded with Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez back at the top of the time sheets with teammate Dani Pedrosa finishing the day in 5th.
After a difficult first day, where he was unable to work properly due to an issue with the brakes, Marc was keen to get to work on his test programme. It wasn’t long before the reigning World Champion was out in front, becoming the first rider in this second test to lap under 2’00 just before midday. He spent the day working on electronics amongst other items and recorded his fastest lap of 1’59.844 on lap 22 of 63. He had a small crash in the afternoon at turn four, but thankfully remained uninjured. Dani continued to work on suspension settings and set his fastest lap of 2’00.275 on lap 36 of 57.
The three-day test will conclude tomorrow and will be followed by the first test by Factory riders on Michelin tyres in preparation for 2016.
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | MARQUEZ Marc | 93 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | 1’59.844 |
2 | LORENZO Jorge | 99 | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 1’59.902 |
3 | IANNONE Andrea | 29 | ITA | Ducati Team | 2’00.098 |
4 | DOVIZIOSO Andrea | 4 | ITA | Ducati Team | 2’00.250 |
5 | PEDROSA Dani | 26 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | 2’00.275 |
6 | ROSSI Valentino | 46 | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 2’00.308 |
7 | SMITH Bradley | 38 | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 2’00.329 |
8 | CRUTCHLOW Cal | 35 | GBR | CWM LCR Honda | 2’00.333 |
9 | ESPARGARO Aleix | 41 | SPA | Team Suzuki MotoGP | 2’00.409 |
10 | ESPARGARO Pol | 44 | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 2’00.689 |
11 | PETRUCCI Danilo | 9 | ITA | Pramac Racing | 2’00.713 |
12 | VINALES Maverick | 25 | SPA | Team Suzuki MotoGP | 2’00.731 |
13 | REDDING Scott | 45 | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | 2’00.762 |
14 | BARBERA Hector | 8 | SPA | Avintia Racing | 2’00.847 |
15 | HERNANDEZ Yonny | 68 | COL | Pramac Racing | 2’01.012 |
16 | BRADL Stefan | 6 | GER | NGM Forward Racing | 2’01.131 |
17 | HAYDEN Nicky | 69 | USA | Drive M7 Aspar | 2’01.633 |
18 | PIRRO Michele | 51 | ITA | Ducati Team | 2’01.897 |
19 | LAVERTY Eugene | 50 | IRE | Drive M7 Aspar | 2’01.944 |
20 | ABRAHAM Karel | 17 | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | 2’01.945 |
21 | MILLER Jack | 43 | AUS | CWM LCR Honda | 2’01.968 |
22 | DI MEGLIO Mike | 63 | FRA | Avintia Racing | 2’02.006 |
23 | BAUTISTA Alvaro | 19 | SPA | Factory Aprilia Gresini | 2’02.221 |
24 | BAZ Loris | 76 | FRA | NGM Forward Racing | 2’02.426 |
25 | DE ANGELIS Alex | 15 | RSM | NGM Forward Racing | 2’02.499 |
26 | NAKASUGA Katsuyuki | T1 | JPN | Yamaha Test Team | 2’02.755 |
27 | MELANDRI Marco | 33 | ITA | Factory Aprilia Gresini | 2’04.313 |
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.
A graduate in Public, Social and Political Communication from the University of Bologna, he has always been passionate about marketing, design and sport.
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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.
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
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