South African rugby union team, ampoule The Sharks has confirmed that their stadium naming rights sponsorship with Mr Price has ended. 

The stadium, order which over the past two years has been known as Mr Price Kings Park, will now be referred to as Kings Park.

Sponsorship negotiations are currently underway with potential new sponsors and an agreement is expected to be concluded shortly. 

Mr Price remain the title sponsors of the team. 

Sharks CEO, Brian van Zyl said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Price for their contribution to the Sharks as naming rights sponsor over the past two years and for restoring the name Kings Park, which means so much to our fans. A new sponsor is currently being finalised and we will inform all stakeholders once a deal has been concluded.” 

The Sharks open their 2013 Super Rugby campaign against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday, February 23. 

Motegi Racing will be the title sponsor of the Super Drift Challenge, order the first night race in the 39-year history of the world-famous Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 19-21.

The Motegi Racing Super Drift Challenge, an invitational Formula DRIFT event, will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights on the eastern end of the race circuit – turns nine, 10 and 11 – and is expected to feature 16 of the sport’s top cars and drivers including 2012 Formula DRIFT champion Daigo Saito, 2011 champ Daijiro Yoshihara, plus Frederic Aasbo, Aurimas Bakchis, Michael Essa, Conrad Grunewald, Ken Gushi, Tyler McQuarrie, Robbie Nishida, Justin Pawlak, Matt Powers and others to be announced. Friday’s action will include practice and qualifying runs, while Saturday will see the teams compete for a $25,000 prize pool. On Sunday, the Super Drift Challenge cars will drift the entire race circuit after the featured IZOD IndyCar Series race.

Grand Prix fans that purchase any admission ticket for Friday or Saturday racing activities will be able to see that day’s Super Drift Challenge. Seating for the Super Drift Challenge will be in Grandstands 16, 18, 24, 25 and 26 on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 6:30 p.m.

“Motegi Racing is pleased to be part of the first night race at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in nearly four decades,” said Marketing Director Rhett Sander. “The Super Drift Challenge is a great addition to the race weekend and we look forward to seeing a great smoke show under the lights.”

“We are excited to have Motegi Racing expand on their relationship here at Long Beach to include the entitlement of our first-ever night racing event,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “This is just another example of the added value that will be provided to all of our race fans over the weekend at no additional cost.”

Motegi Racing has been a supporter of drifting in the United States since its first season and has backed top drivers including Fredric Aasbo, Matt Powers, and Tanner Foust. The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is a special weekend for the aftermarket wheel company, which backs teams and drivers in many of the races on the schedule including drifting, ALMS and IndyCar.

 

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest and Le Mans Endurance Management have announced that Michelin has been selected as the official tire supplier for the LMPC and GTC classes in the 2013 European Le Mans Series.

LMPC will use the Michelin S9H tire as it is the specification used with success in previous seasons in the category. The S9H has shown a large working window, high performance and durability, with good consistency of performance and balance.

GTC will be limited to three sets of slick tires for each of the five race weekends and each set will be marked either A, B or C. Each set will be assigned to a session – ‘A’ to Free Practice 1, ‘B’ to Free Practice 2 and ‘C’ to Qualifying. T

he used sets will then be used in turn during the race. This regulation for three sets of tires will help reduce the costs to each team while the more sustainable use of the tires will mean the category is more environmentally friendly.

“We are pleased to welcome Michelin as the official tire supplier for the LMPC and GTC categories,” said Gerard Neveu, CEO of Le Mans Endurance Management. “The company has a long and fruitful relationship with the ACO and is a leader in every category of endurance racing around the world. 

“The use of control tires in these categories will help reduce the costs to the teams while maintaining a good balance of performance on the track for all the competitors.”

Serge Grisin, manager of the Michelin’s four-wheel motorsport programes, added: “Michelin is delighted to have been chosen as a partner of the European Le Mans Series to supply tires to competitors in its LMPC and GTC classes. It provides us with a chance to showcase the benefits of the Michelin Total Performance plan not only to those involved in the championship but also to fans of endurance racing. 

“The Michelin Total Performance plan uses unique technologies to develop tires which deliver high performance on every front, even in those areas frequently believed to be irreconcilable. Indeed, the championship’s regulations call for highly versatile tires in both classes, since only one type of slick and one type of rain tire are authorised. 

“Also, in addition to supplying tires from the Michelin endurance racing range, we provide competitors with an on-event support service, as well as advice from a team of experienced technicians.”

The European Le Mans Series will feature a strong grid of 29 cars at the opening round of the relaunched series at Silverstone on the 13th April.

SPEED Energy Drink has agreed a partnership with Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach as the Official Energy Drink Sponsor with a display in the Lifestyle Expo and will be sampled and sold throughout the facility during the April 19-21 event.

SPEED Energy’s Street Team will be on-hand to sample product and sell merchandise to the thousands of fans that will be a part of the weekend event.

“To have SPEED Energy the Official Energy Drink of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach makes great sense for both the race and us as a company, apoplectic ” said Robby Gordon, CEO of SPEED Energy Drink. “It’s a marketplace that is very exciting, up-scale event that is in our backyard.

“The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is a SPEED weekend. Full of high octane racing machines, including our very own Stadium SUPER Trucks that will provide a great show for the race fans. To have our product showcased at this event is an honor and we’re excited about the opportunity. We look forward to race fans being able to touch, feel, taste and purchase SPEED Energy at the track. I think the Long Beach weekend is going to be a marquee weekend for us and I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about it.”

Pasta brand, San Remo, Macaroni Company has extended its partnership with Netball Australia for a further three years.

San Remo first began sponsoring netball in 2008, throwing its support behind junior netball, the underage National Netball Championships, ANZ Championship and Australia Diamonds for the last five years.

The new three year agreement means the brand is a Gold Sponsor of Netball Australia until 2016, including throughout the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 World Netball Championships.

Michael Neale, chief marketing officer for San Remo said “We see netball as a fantastic vehicle for engaging with our target market – the Main Grocery Buyer – who is predominantly female.

“We also know that interest in netball, particularly in the Australian Netball Diamonds, far exceeds the 1.2 million regular netball participants who, like Main Grocery Buyers, are predominantly female.”

Neale said San Remo carefully selected netball as an appropriate sport for it to be aligned with.

“One of the most appealing things about netball is the calibre of the elite players. The Australian Netball Diamonds stand out as fantastic role models – not just as athletes but as people. This is really important when you have a high quality brand with strong traditional family values. You can’t be too careful about with whom you associate,” she said.

Squash in Namibia received a further major boost this month with the announcement that Trustco Group International signed a sponsorship agreement with the Namibian Squash Association for a three-year period with the All-Africa Squash Championships on the horizon.

Teams throughout the region will compete in this week’s All-Africa Squash Championships, hosted for the first time by Namibia. 

The championships will take place in the Namibian capital Windhoek from 19-23 February, following an Opening Ceremony at the Wanderers Sports Grounds in Pioneerspark. 

Later in the year, Namibia will further enhance its status in the region by hosting the All Africa Under 19 Championships.

USA Triathlon has announced supplier-level sponsorship agreements with endurance sports industry leaders Raceday Transport, unhealthy SelfGrip Athletic Tape and Virtual Race Bags. 

Raceday Transport offers athletes a convenient, health stress-free experience when transporting their bike and race gear.  With over 150 contracted bike shop partners and 3, ailment 000 FedEx drop points nationwide, athletes now have the choice between transporting their bike fully assembled from an activated region or choosing a box-and-ship alternative from any location in the world. 

The Official Bike Transport Supplier of USA Triathlon, USA Paratriathlon and Team USA through 2014, Raceday Transport offers a 15 percent discount to all USA Triathlon members and will provide Team USA members (the nation’s top age-group multisport athletes who represent the U.S. at ITU World Championships) with a 15 percent discount for all 2013 and 2014 ITU World Championship events. 

SelfGrip Maximum Support Athletic Tape helps relieve suffering from strains and sprains by providing maximum support and firm compression to ligaments, tendons and muscles. SelfGrip, which even holds its grip underwater, is designated the Official Athletic Tape of USA Triathlon through 2014. 

Electronic gift bag leader Virtual Race Bags provides a fully integrated online platform for event directors to efficiently and cost-effectively deliver sponsor messages to event participants. Virtual Race Bags delivers sponsor deals, offers and messages to event participants using an online platform that is customized for each event.

Virtual Race Bags is designated the Official Online Gift Bag of USA Triathlon’s National Championship Events for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

USA Triathlon also announced that Barrett Brandon, Susan Haag, Jacqueline McCook and Michael Wien have been named to the organization’s 12-member Board of Directors and recently began their terms of service.

“On behalf of USA Triathlon, I am excited and honored to welcome Barrett, Susan, Jacqueline and Michael to the National Board of Directors,” USA Triathlon President Bob Wendling said. “These four talented individuals possess a magnitude of experience in the worlds of business, governance and multisport, and I look forward to collaborating with them to continue to take our sport to the next level.”

IndyCar’s Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing and Direct Supply, a sponsor that has been with the team since its inception, have renewed their sponsor partnership for 2013.

Direct Supply, the nation’s leading provider of equipment, eCommerce and service solutions to the Senior Living profession, will serve as primary sponsor of Josef Newgarden’s No. 67 Honda at Milwaukee and be an associate sponsor for all other IZOD IndyCar Series. 

“Direct Supply has been with us since the very beginning, and as our longest standing sponsor continues to support us through thick and thin,” said Sarah Fisher, co-owner of SFHR. “We are very honored to call the Direct Supply team an extension of the SFHR family and look forward to continuing the build of a founding relationship.”

Leading northern brewer Thwaites will remain the Official Beer of Lancashire County Cricket Club (LCCC) until 2015. 

Thwaites, decease who first sponsored Lancashire County Cricket Club in 2005 and started supplying beers to the club in 1995, order continues its association with their award winning Wainwright beer brand.

As part of the agreement, the Thwaites Wainwright logo will appear on the LV= County Championship shirts for the next three seasons and runs concurrently with the ongoing beer supply deal in place.

Building on the success of association with the 2011 County Champions of more than a decade, the sponsorship deal forms part of a £2million investment to make Wainwright a top 10 ale brand in the UK over the next three years.

In line with the Wainwright brand’s ‘A Breath of Fresh Ale’ strapline, bars at Old Trafford will be serving Wainwright to over 150,000 cricket fans as part of The Ashes and One-Day International this summer as well as throughout the domestic cricket season.

Lee Williams, marketing manager at Thwaites, commented: “We are a proud supporter of Lancashire County Cricket Club and are delighted to cement our successful and long standing relationship with the club.

“Our current sponsorship deal will see our association reach an impressive 10 years not out and we’re delighted to continue to support Lancashire with our Wainwright brand.

“Everyone at Thwaites is hoping Lancashire County Cricket Club can build on their dramatic County Championship win of 2011 which created excellent awareness for the club and our Wainwright. With the redeveloped Old Trafford also hosting the highly anticipated third Ashes test when England take on Australia it promises to be a summer to savour.”

LCCC Business Development Manager, Warren Hegg, said: “Thwaites has had a long standing relationship with Lancashire County Cricket Club and we are delighted that they will continue their association with the Club as we embark on an exciting new era.”