Mahindra Racing riders Danny Webb and Marcel Schrötter will take to the track for the opening round of the new Moto3 World Championship in Qatar this weekend (6-8 April) sporting Dainese leathers and AGV helmets after the team struck a sponsorship deal with the Italian company, a leading manufacturer of protective clothing and gear for motorcyclists. The pair’s Mahindra Racing team will also be clothed by Dainese for the 2012 season.
Dainese and AGV have a long association with the MotoGP World Championship and use the challenges of the top flight of motorcycle competition to research and develop innovative solutions for rider safety. With motorcycling firmly established as the foundation of the company, Dainese has gone on to use its expertise in safety technology and fabrics to develop a range of clothing for other sports and team-wear that will benefit the Mahindra Racing team throughout the varied and intense conditions of its 17-race season.
“We are very pleased that Mahindra Racing’s riders and personnel will benefit from an association with two of the best-established, most-iconic and technologically-advanced names in rider safety,” explained Mahindra Racing CEO Mufaddal Choonia. “Dainese/AGV has chosen to support the team because they are excited about what we have set out to achieve in the sport and we are looking forward to a long and fruitful partnership with them.”
“As a company with a rich history in MotoGP, it has been exciting for us to get involved with Mahindra Racing as they are just embarking on their racing journey,” commented Fabio Muner, Dainese’s Marketing Manager. “Dainese and AGV are at the forefront of rider safety and MotoGP is the ultimate testing programme for our products. We are very pleased that Mahindra Racing has become part of that research and development and we look forward to working with them on track. Equally, we are excited that our partnership with Mahindra will assist us to spread the word about rider safety in the rapidly growing Indian two-wheeler market.”
Mahindra Racing will contest the Moto3 World Championship with its new Mahindra MGP30 250cc, four-stroke race bike. The 17-race series begins in Qatar on 8 April and will conclude in Valencia, Spain on 11 November.
“A great deal of work has gone into getting the MGP30 ready for Qatar,” explained Choonia. “We have had a few niggles during pre-season testing, but the feedback from the riders has been very positive and we are aiming to be competitive from the first round. The team had a boost the weekend before last when our test rider, Riccardo Moretti, won the first round of the Italian championship on our 125cc bike from last season. Now we are looking for success on the world stage as well.”