By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted November 16, 2016 | In MotoGP, Motor Racing, Motorsports
By Emanuele Venturoli| Posted November 16, 2016 | In MotoGP, Motor Racing, Motorsports
On the second and final day of the Valencia test, Marc Marquez took to the circuit around 10:20 a.m. local time and made the best of the fair weather conditions to complete a busy test schedule. Marc decided to not try the new front Michelin tyres and instead worked to better understand the new engine, also completing two long runs to find a good base setup. His fastest time of 1’30.171 on lap 58 of 79 placed him second-fastest on the day, just 0.196 seconds from the top.
Dani Pedrosa joined the action shortly after noon, when the track reopened after having been red-flagged for over an hour due to safety conditions following a crash by Alex Rins and Andrea Iannone. Like his teammate, Dani didn’t test the new Michelin front tyre and instead concentrated on comparing the characteristics of his current bike with the 2017 engine. His time of 1’30.686 (lap 38 of 42) put him in fifth place.
“Today was a good day. We started the pre-season better than last year, and we hope to continue to constantly progress from now on. At this track we found a good base setup and a good rhythm, and we’ll see how it goes from now. We hope to continue like this. We didn’t do a ‘time attack,’ and we also didn’t test the new Michelin front, as we eventually used all the track time available to make long exits and also a couple of 10-lap mini-long runs.”
“Today we were able to ride with the new bike a little more and further compare the characteristics. We continued to take things fairly easy physically and not put in too many laps in order to keep up the recovery, but we tried to understand more about the new bike, to see how the tyres, suspension and mapping work with it. I think there are things that are positive and other details that we’ll need to continue working on. We must take the data we’ve gathered and carefully analyze it in order to understand what step to take next with the bike.”
1 VINALES Maverick 25 SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1’29.975 2 MARQUEZ Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team 0.191 3 DOVIZIOSO Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team 0.468 4 IANNONE Andrea 29 ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar 0.624 5 PEDROSA Dani 26 SPA Repsol Honda Team 0.711 6 CRUTCHLOW Cal 35 GBR LCR Honda 0.734 7 ROSSI Valentino 46 ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 0.734 8 LORENZO Jorge 99 SPA Ducati Team 0.769 9 ESPARGARO Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 0.910 10 FOLGER Jonas 94 GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 0.973 11 ZARCO Johann 5 FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1.040 12 MILLER Jack 43 AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS 1.094 13 REDDING Scott 45 GBR Octo Pramac Racing 1.143 14 BAUTISTA Alvaro 19 SPA Aspar Team 1.211 15 BARBERA Hector 8 SPA Avintia Racing 1.269 16 PIRRO Michele 51 ITA Ducati 1.841 17 ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1.878 18 RABAT Tito 53 SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS 1.943 19 BAZ Loris 76 FRA Avintia Racing 2.186 20 SMITH Bradley 38 GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 2.563 21 LAVERTY Eugene 50 IRE Aspar Team 2.593 22 ABRAHAM Karel 17 CZE Aspar Team 2.724 23 TSUDA Takuya 22 JPN Suzuki Test Team 3.330 24 RINS Alex 42 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar 3.786 25 LOWES Sam 22 GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
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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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