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By Riccardo Tafà| Posted March 29, 2016 | In MotoGP, MotoGP
Movistar Yamaha crosses atlantic ocean for the Grand Prix of Argentina
After Jorge Lorenzo‘s dominant victory at the opening round almost a fortnight ago, he and Movistar Yamaha MotoGP teammate Valentino Rossi gear up for the second Grand Prix of the season in Argentina this weekend.
Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), 30th March 2016
With the 2016 season in full swing, MotoGP fans can hardly wait for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi to return to action at the Termas de Río Hondo Circuit.
Lorenzo underlined why he was crowned 2015 MotoGP World Champion when he rode a flawless race in Qatar last week. He aims to continue his form at the Gran Premio de la República Argentina. Though he‘s admittedly struggled there in the past he still took home solid points, securing fifth position in 2015 and third place in 2014. This year the Majorcan will settle for nothing less than a duplication of his sensational opening of the season and will again be giving his all to fight for a place on the podium.
Teammate Rossi is also eager to challenge amongst the front-runners again this weekend. At the first round he rode a solid race and almost landed his first top three finish of the season. The nine-time World Champion can hardly wait to hit the track again, where thousands of fans will be cheering him on this weekend in the fight for a podium place. Last year he came out victorious in a brilliant race in Argentina, after he secured fourth in 2014, and he is up for the challenge again.
The 4.8km long Termas de Río Hondo Circuit was officially added to the MotoGP calendar in 2014, two years after it was remodeled. The re-design aimed to turn the track into Latin America‘s most modern and safest circuit, providing fans with even more exciting racing action. With a fun layout that includes a mixture of fast corners (five left and nine right) and a 1076m in length longest straight, this year‘s Gran Premio de la República Argentina is likely to be another showstopper.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
“After a good opening race in Qatar we‘re on our way to Argentina. Termas de Río Hondo Circuit is a good circuit for us that suits our YZR-M1 well. Last year Valentino secured a brilliant victory in a hard battle that race fans are still talking about to this day. Last year Jorge arrived here still recovering from a cold. This year our riders are both in top form so we are expecting another close fight this weekend. We have already gained more knowledge on how well Michelin‘s tyre life lasts over long distance from the first race. It will be interesting to see how the tyres will perform at this circuit where we haven‘t done any testing yet. One thing is certain, after last week‘s victory we are all incredibly motivated and we are looking forward to working towards another strong result this weekend”
JORGE LORENZO
MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP RIDER
“I look forward to racing in Argentina! After the victory in Qatar and the good feelings on track, I now want to race at a circuit where in the past we struggled a bit. On the other hand, we need to keep our feet on the ground. We started the championship in a perfect manner but we still need to understand what the behaviour of the bike is like for different track layouts. I want to check if the bike with these electronics and tyres works well everywhere. Anyway to kick off the season like we did in Qatar is a good way to get confidence and work even harder to try to fight again for the victory here. The track is really nice and Argentina as well so I feel happy to go there”.
VALENTINO ROSSI
MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP RIDER
“I am very happy to go to Argentina. In this place I have many fans and it’s always nice to feel the affection and passion of these people. I have great memories here. Last year it was a great race. It will be difficult to repeat the same result but we will try. In Qatar I was not able to go on the podium but it was a good race anyway. We worked well throughout the weekend. In Argentina we will have to do the same thing, but we’ll have to do better in the race, and try to get on the podium. I really like the Termas track and we will try to do our best!”
CIRCUIT INFORMATION
CIRCUIT Autódromo Termas de Río Hondo
LOCATION Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina
LENGTH (M) 4.806
WIDTH (M) 16
POLE POSITION left
TURNS 14
TURNS RIGHT 9
TURNS LEFT 5
YAMAHA MOVISTAR PRESS RELEASE
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.
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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
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