DENSO Sponsor Rotax Pro Tour
TweetDENSO has signed as a major sponsor for the Rotax Pro Tour. Each competitor will receive a free DENSO spark plug at each round, commencing in Melbourne later this month.
Above: Denso Australia will have a strong presence in this season's Rotax Pro Tour, from on track and kart signage right down to the trophies
pic - Gary Cooper
press release
Australia's fastest growing national karting series, the Rotax Pro Tour, has provided some of the most competitive racing seen domestically since the series was introduced in 2009. It not only has provided up and coming talent an opportunity to gain invaluable track time through a very successful European-style race format, but it’s helped establish some rising stars onto the national stage such as David Sera. Now the series has gained a massive boost, with DENSO Automotive Systems Australia coming on board as major sponsor of the 2011/12 series.
DENSO, through DENSO’s Iridium Power spark plug range, used the Canberra round of the Rotax Pro Tour as a trial run with a view to commercially support the series, as well enhancing their technical relationship with Rotax worldwide. DENSO Spark Plugs are used as OEM equipment on all engine powerplants built and supplied and DENSO sees this as a perfect fit for their commercial and corporate image. After witnessing some of the most competitive racing at Rotax Pro Tour Canberra, DENSO came away thoroughly impressed and couldn’t say no to throwing its support behind an exciting series as the Rotax Pro Tour.
Having its origins date back to 1949 in Japan, DENSO have supplied high quality automotive parts for manufacturers as OEM equipment such as Toyota as well as the aftermarket. DENSO has also been heavily involved in many forms of motorsport in various stages over the years. Its name has been prominently seen on the world stage through Formula 1, the World Rally Championship and NASCAR and domestically through Toyota’s Australian Rally Championship program and Neal Bates Motorsport as well as V8 Supercar team, Brad Jones Racing during the mid-2000s.
Ian Black of IKD, Australian distributors of Rotax is pleased with the new sponsorship arrangement with DENSO. "I am very happy that Denso have decided to the support the Rotax Pro Tour," he said. "I think the competitors also get a nice little bonus by getting a free Denso plug at each and every round of the Rotax Pro Tour."
The next round of the 2011/12 Rotax Pro Tour is at Melbourne’s Todd Road Karting Complex on January 27-29, 2012, where registrations for the event have now reached 270.
Todd Road will be the first time a number of competitors will have their first competitive outing since the Rotax World Finals in Dubai, where Team Australia far exceeded their expectations on the world stage. In the four classes that competed, David Sera finished runner-up in Senior Max, whilst Joseph Mawson, winner of Rotax Pro Tour Canberra in Rotax Light, showed maturity and skill beyond his years to finish runner-up in Junior Max. Jason Pringle was a standout in the DD2 class, also finishing runner-up, whilst Brent Coghlan finished fifth outright in the DD2 Masters class. Team Australia also won the Nations Cup contest, beating 51 of the 52 nations represented.
The 2012 Rotax World Finals will be held at the Kartodromo Algarve in Portugal on November 27 to December 1.
