Australian motor-racing series the Supercars Championship has agreed sponsorship deals with oil and energy giant Shell and German automotive company Porsche.
Shell Fuels has signed a three-year deal to serve as an official partner of the series. The agreement will cover the 2017 to 2019 Supercars seasons.
The sponsorship comes following the launch of the Shell V-Power Racing Team in partnership with DJR Team Penske, which sees Shell V-Power branding on the No.12 and No.17 Ford Falcon.
Chief executive of Shell’s licensee, Scott Wyatt, said: “Supercars lie at the heart of Australia’s love of motorsport so it’s exciting that we are extending our support in such a big way. Shell looks forward to sharing its technical expertise with Supercars and is committed to continuing a shared focus on innovation and performance.
“The advances Shell has made in fuel technology continues to flow through to motorists who can buy these premium fuels from Shell branded service stations nationally.”
As part of Porsche’s agreement with Supercars, the company's Cayenne SUVs will be used as the series’ official safety, medical and course cars in 2017.
The Cayenne S Diesel will feature at each of the 15 events this year as the safety and medical cars, with the Cayenne Diesel Platinum Edition to serve as the course car.
Director of public relations and motorsport at Porsche Cars Australia, Paul Ellis, said: “This partnership reaffirms the strength of the relationship between Porsche and the Supercars Championship.
“We are entering our 13th season of the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia championship, which continues as the primary support category of Supercars into 2017, while we have previously supplied the medical car with various Cayenne and Panamera models.”
The 2017 Supercars season began in Adelaide at the weekend.