TAKING IT TO THE TRACK
23 July 2010
You’ve probably seen a Land Rover on two wheels, teetering majestically on some Moab rock face, or while clawing its way out of a Guatemalan forest ditch. But this weekend, Land Rover will be driving with two wheels, writes Bob Burns, Events Manager, Land Rover North America.
We’ve signed up as a sponsor for this year’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, a round of the sensational MotoGP superbike championship being held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca out in Monterey, Calif.
It’s the biggest event in Laguna Seca’s 2010 calendar. Last year, more than 105,000 fans turned out to watch bike racing’s rock stars, like Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden, do battle around the famous 2.2‑mile roller‑coaster circuit.
But what has high‑performance two‑wheel action got to do with four‑wheeling Land Rovers and Range Rovers you ask? One word: Exposure.
MotoGP enthusiasts, especially on the West Coast, tend to be affluent, action‑junkies who have a passion for European brands. Just take a walk around the Laguna parking lots during race weekend to see the rows of European luxury sedans, SUVs and naturally, high‑price superbikes.
To expose them to our re‑designed, re‑engineered 2010 line‑up of LR4, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover, we’ll be setting‑up a challenging off‑road course on Laguna Seca’s infield. Anyone can sign‑up for a test‑drive alongside one of our instructors.
As we discover at our more traditional ride and drives, while potential customers may be reluctant to step inside a dealer showroom, they can’t wait to get behind the wheel at a special event like this.
The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix is actually the first of three key events we’ll be sponsoring this year at the Laguna Seca track. Next up is the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion from August 12 to 15 that’s part of the week‑long Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance gathering.
We’ll also be at the huge Global Tuner Grand Prix that Laguna Seca is hosting for the first time from October 22 to 24. As with our Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix involvement, it’s all about exposing the brand to new audiences.
We like to think of it as Land Rover bringing the off‑road track to the race track.