The 2009 sport`s season is about to start and after the presentation of the MotoGP team last weekend in Madrid Repsol has been putting the final touches to the launch of its advertising campaign for the coming few months. For this the Spanish company brought together Andrea Dovizioso, the newest member of the Repsol Honda Team in the World MotoGP Championship, and Jaime Alguersuari, who will defend the Repsol colours for the second time – this year in the World Series – at the INTA circuit (Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial) in Madrid. Repsol supported Jaime Alguersuari in 2008 when he won the British Formula 3 Championship and became its youngest ever winner.
Dani Pedrosa was not able to go to the filming as he is still recovering from an injury, but he will be there at the next few recordings, as the plan is to star him together with his teammate Andrea Dovizioso as well as Jaime Alguersuari. The Italian rider asked about Alguersuari`s car and spoke to him about his motorbike`s technical features.
Today during this filming the public got its first chance to see the car that Alguersuari will use in the World Series decorated in the Repsol colours. It was also an opportunity to discvover what Repsol`s ambitions are in the World Series, which this season are the responsibility of the Formula Renault 3.5 that will be driven by Jaime Alguersuari. The driver from Catalunya, winner of the British Formula 3 Championship 2008, starts out with the ambitious objective of fighting for the title in a category whose cars perform very much like those in Formula 1. Alguersuari`s new car has a peak power of 500bhp, and is capable of being driven at speeds close to those reached by those in the top category of world racing.
Jaime Alguersuari >> Audio
“This year I am going to race in the World Series by Renault and it will be my first, my debut in the category. The objective is to win the championship because we did the same last season in British Formula 3, and this year with help from Repsol we have some great backing and we are determined to battle for this objective. We will be competing in a car that is bigger than last year`s, with 500bhp, that is quite a bit more power than we had. The tyres are also a lot wider, and in general this is a car with features that are very similar to those on a Formula 1. The difference between them and a Formula Renault 3.5 is about 5 or 6 seconds, which is very little.”
Arturo Sus, Vice-director of Sports Sponsorship
“The relationship between Repsol and Jaime Alguersuari started with a personal sponsorship last year, this has been extended to his team in the World Series by Renault for 2009 after the great result they got in British F3 where Jaime was proclaimed champion. The good relationship between Repsol and Red Bull, who it collaborated with in tests for the Dakar, the WTCC and World Motorcycling made it easier to reach this agreement. And so Repsol has shown once again that it is backing four wheels, after winning the titles in the GP2 Series and in the WTCC last year”.