French lubricant manufacturer Motul has moved to strengthen its presence in the professional motorcycling market by signing a wide-ranging sponsorship deal with the Dorna Sports agency.
Under the long-term agreement, the terms of which were not disclosed, Motul will become title sponsor of various races in the MotoGP World Championship motorcycling series, of which Dorna is the commercial rights-holder.
The deal will cover races in the Dutch city of Assen, the Motegi circuit in Japan and an event in the Spanish city of Valencia during the 2015 season. This will be expanded from the 2016 campaign to also include the Argentinean round at Termas de Río Hondo.
Meanwhile, Motul will also take over as series sponsor for the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) from the 2016 season.
Motul will benefit from trackside advertising at each round of the MotoGP and WSBK and will also provide technical support to the Asia Talent Team in the Moto3 Junior World Championship.
In addition, Motul will team up with Dorna to launch a social media hub under the #MotoGPBuzz banner. This will allow fans to follow and interact with MotoGP stars as well as take part in social-media driven competitions.
“The extended collaboration between Dorna and Motul is a natural progression to our long-term commitment to motorcycle racing,” Motul president Hervé Amelot said. “There is now in place a global agreement which allows us to jointly work together in multiple areas over and above our technical partnerships with factories and teams, comprehensively supporting Dorna in its promotion and engagement in the sport.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta, chief executive officer of Dorna, added: “Motul and Dorna Sports have reached a deal that we haven’t yet seen before. Not only is its title sponsorship of four races proof of how valuable a platform the MotoGP championship is, but its involvement in World Superbikes and the Asia Talent Team shows that we can offer the complete cross-platform reach to the world’s motorcycle community.”