TEAM SAN CARLO HONDA GRESINI: A NEW BEGINNING
For Gresini Racing the 2008 MotoGP season begins with the
presentation of the new main sponsor. Occupying the most prominent
space on the Honda RC212V of Alex De Angelis and Shinya Nakano
will be the SAN CARLO logo, a company that has already been
supporting the Italian team for the past two years. Over the
last two seasons a shared passion has strengthened the partnership
and the company has naturally evolved to become the main sponsor:
the team will now be called Team SAN CARLO Honda Gresini.
Gresini Racing and San Carlo have quite a few things
in common.
The Italian team began its world championship career on the
initiative of founder Fausto Gresini -twice 125 cc world champion
in 1985 and 1987 - and has since achieved outstanding results:
the world title with Kato in the 250 class and three MotoGP
World Vice-Champion titles with Gibernau and Melandri.
San Carlo Gruppo Alimentare S.p.A. was founded in Milan in
1936 by the Vitaloni family as a small "rosticceria".
With the production of their first crunchy crisps, quite a
novelty at the time, San Carlo hit the big time: its first
'production run' of 20 kilos grew exponentially and today
the company has 12 production plants, 2500 employees, 170
depots, 1300 dealers, 200,000 customers and a Europe-wide
distribution network. The industry's leading brand, San Carlo
Gruppo Alimentare will continue to use its association with
Team Honda Gresini in the MotoGP world championship as a platform
on which to develop projects aimed, above all, at the key
youth market.
The President of San Carlo, Alberto Vitaloni, underlines
the importance of the partnership: "This year our alliance
aims to build on the excellent results of the first two seasons.
In Team Honda Gresini we have found a reliable partner with
whom we share goals, values and passion for the sport.
We firmly believe in teamwork: working together with a compact,
successful motor sports team undoubtedly gives a boost when
it comes to developing a sense of belonging and team spirit.
It's values such as these we want to instil in our company
and pass on to the young.
Moreover, MotoGP is a sport that generates powerful passions,
a sport that comes from the heart. The message we aim to give
our public, especially the young, is that a company such as
ours knows how to keep up with the times, how to set a trend
and maintain its leadership in a sharply competitive world.
So we feel sure that this season will be steeped in success
for both of us."
On his part, Fausto Gresini is raring to do battle under
his new colours in what looks like being a highly competitive
season: "I'm satisfied and proud of the agreement between
the San Carlo Group and Team Gresini: after two seasons this
constructive partnership is now stronger than ever and ready
to grow. This partnership also constitutes a positive sign
for the entire MotoGP environment: a major Italian company
has decided to become the main sponsor of an Italian team.
A relationship based on mutual respect and shared sporting
values.
Team San Carlo Honda Gresini now faces a MotoGP season that,
as initial testing indicates, will be hard-fought - a championship
that will undoubtedly generate massive and passionate public
interest. For this season my team has chosen a young rider,
Alex De Angelis, who represents the future of MotoGP: already
an expert after numerous seasons in 125 and 250, he is starting
to show his huge potential in MotoGP too. The decision to
go with Alex - to go with youth and look to the future of
the world championship - is a really exciting challenge.
De Angelis is flanked by another first-class rider, Shinya
Nakano: expert, hungry for success and highly motivated. I'm
convinced Nakano will have a good season too.
Together with the new main sponsor, whose faith in us has
been reinforced by two years of positive partnership, it goes
without saying that I also want to thank some other key players:
Honda and its RC212V, Bridgestone and, of course, my team,
whose passion and experience play an essential role in our
success."
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