Tourism and territorial promotion in motorsport - part 2

In the previous article we began to list all the cases in which examples of tourism-territorial sponsorship are present. In this second part, we continue by going into more similar situations.

Bikes

Abruzzo and Trentino were not the only regions to support a team in the MotoGP. Sicily also saw one of its representatives on the grid. Leading it was a motorcycling icon especially in small cubes: Massimo Matteoni. The blue Aprilia 125s and 250s, with the trinacria logo on a large yellow sun, competed in the 2007 season of the quarter and eighth of a liter. On the saddles were Lorenzo Zanetti in the smaller class and Anthony West in the middle class. The Australian was then replaced mid-season by Dan Linfoot who then gave way to Federico Sandi for the last 3 races of the year.

Aeroport Castelló was a frequent presence during the 2007-2008 MotoGP seasons. However, the Castellón de la Plana airport represents the emblem of an unedifying affair. This great work in fact officially opened in 2011 but the first flights are dated only 2014-2015. The construction of the airport was at the center of a major speculative scandal, and the approximately 26 million euros spent on sports sponsorships are part of the disproportionate sum of more than 150 million made necessary for its construction. For the record, the teams and riders to have worn the blue-and-white livery were Aleix Espargaro and Alex Debon in Team Lotus with Aprilia 250 cc in 2007 and 2008. Following the switch to 4-stroke engines with Moto2 Debon returned to the saddle, this time on the FTR, in 2010, with an all-Airport color scheme. Also of note is his sponsorship of the Villareal team.

Car

The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism (CIDOT) and Porsche Motorsport North America have entered into a partnership starting in 2021 whereby the Islands will be the official sponsor of the newly formed Porsche Carrera Cup North America. During the season's eight stages, all on U.S. soil, participants and spectators can learn more about the Caribbean archipelago thanks to the sponsor's constant presence and dedicated initiatives. Winners then enjoy a prize vacation in the Islands. In the same vein we also find the Porsche Visit Cayman Islands Sprint Challenge Gb (Great Britain).

The words Visit Angola, obviously related to the African nation's tourism campaign, have been camping on the sides of the cars of the Portuguese G-Drive stable, which is committed with Aurus 01s in the LMP2 category of the European Le Mans Series in 2021. The financing channel on the axis of the two countries includes the presence of the Angolan oil company Sonangol. It was later taken to overseas competition in Tower Motorsport's LMP2 Orecas in the IMSA 2022 Championship.

The Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to encourage tourism to the Texas city. Among the various initiatives it has put in place is VisitDallas.com, through which it has sponsored Nascar cars: first, the No. 51 Chevrolet of Kyle Larson and Justin Allgaier in 2013 and later the No. 34 Ford of Brian Moffatt in 2015.

A1GP was born as a championship for national teams: the idea was to create a challenge between representatives of the various countries in which the liveries of the altos carried the colors of the flags rather than the color schemes of the sponsors. With this in mind, of course, several racing teams exploited the series to put forward their various local touring campaigns. Among them we can include "There'sno place in the world like Sidney" and "Visit Mexico" by the Mexican team.

Former driver Vincenzo Sospiri is in charge of the eponymous VSR (Vincenzo Sospiri Racing) team. The team is engaged in the Blancpain GT World Challenge Asia with the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO. Stickers on the nose of the Bolognese supercar include the Amazing Thailand logo. The same campaign accompanied the adventure of local driver Sriachavanon Tor Graves, the first Thai citizen to finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans: it was 2012, and ADR-Delta's Oreca-Nissan No.25, with the brand name prominently displayed on the central "fin," scored a very respectable sixth place finish in the LMP2 class and 13th overall.

The Patronato Pricincipal de Turismo de la Costa del Azahar is the next example we look at. This stretch of coastline in the Province of Castellón, on the Balearic Sea, has always been very active in proposing sports events and initiatives in order to promote local tourism preerogatives. In addition to organizing regattas and rallies, in the late 1990s and early 2000s the entity has put its mark on a number of racing cars: in 1997 the star was the Ferrari 333SP of Team Pilot Racing right 45th overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Michel Fertè- Adriàn Campos- Charlie Nearburg at the wheel. In 1999 he supported Fernando Alonso in his year in Formula Scout just with Campos Racing, the stable of Adriàn Campos.

Campos Racing still contributes to spreading the image of safe tourism and sports in Spain at the world's best motor racing circuits. It is currently the only Spanish FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 team and has therefore joined the "Spain awaits you" campaign, which aims to promote the country as a destination for safe tourism and sports with the motto "Safe Sport, Safe Tourism" and the hashtag #SpainAwaitsYou. It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism through Turespaña, the Ministry of Culture and Sports through the Superior Sports Council, the Ministry of Health, CEOE and LaLiga.

In 2021, the Kenya Tourism board initiated the Magical Kenya campaign, which, like others we analyze in these articles, aims to increase the country's tourist awareness and appeal. Local government secretary Najib Balala decided to use the echo of the famous Safari Rally to sponsor a car-a VW Polo R5 driven by driver Onkar Rai-to participate in this leg of the WRC Championship. This solution is part of a strategy that has seen the African nation invest in numerous sporting events in a variety of disciplines.

The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) entered into a partnership with Team Frazzz Racing for the Nordic and Nitro Rallycross series held at the end of 2021. The partnership called for JTB's official branding to appear on the race car of up-and-coming driver Fraser McConnell, 22, Jamaica's first Rallycross champion. McConnell began his career in motocross, then went on to karting and rallying, eventually winning the Jamaican Driver of the Year award twice. McConnell's No. 35 Ford then donned Jamaica's famous black, green and gold flag in an effort to expand national tourism appeal among fans.

Emirates

Rallies have been one of the main strands chosen by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) to promote the country and provide an outlet for local talent. To this end, The Abu Dhabi Team was created in 2007 and in parallel the sponsorship of the Official Ford Team in the WRC began. From 2011 onward, the Emirati team entered the World Rally Championship directly in partnership with Citroen. The support ended in early 2019 when the tourism body decided to take a break to review its promotional strategies.

Another state in the same area has followed Abu Dhabi's example, taking over precisely from the emirate on the bodywork of Ford WRCs. This is the state of Qatar, whose lettering has been camping on the Fiesta throughout 2013. The support also included the presence of local driver Nasser Al-Attiyah at the wheel of one of the cars. The partnership extended to Al-Attiyah's many activities in rally raids and off-road championships, with Mini, Toyota and Volkswagen. During 2022, communication focused on the upcoming World Cup held in the Arab country itself. in the current season, the classic brown/burgundy lettering has been replaced by the slogan "Visit Qatar" on a blue background, which characterizes the new style adopted by the country's government.

In 2020 it was Bahrain 's turn to support the Mini team at the Dakar. Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz took to the race the 2 prototypes equipped with the Persian Gulf state's flashy lettering on the hood, the top of the sides and the trunk. It was precisely the Spaniard who won the grueling desert marathon. Activities related to the initiative include the logo of StartUp Bahrain, the national incubator dedicated to all innovative digital businesses.

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If, on the other hand, you want to learn more about the dynamics of sponsorship, visit the dedicated section!