Things were looking grim for Yamaha’s factory MotoGP team when news came down recently that they’d lost oil giant Petronas’s sponsorship.
However, rumours are circulating that the team has picked up a new sponsor, Japanese oil company ENEOS. Supposedly, they haven’t released the news officially yet out of politeness – ENEOS is a competitor of outgoing Petronas – but gossip says Yamaha will tell us about the deal, on the record, in the next week or two.
This is big news for Yamaha; the team lost major sponsor Fiat a couple years ago, and Petronas’s departure could have seriously hurt their MotoGP effort. World-class roadracing isn’t cheap. We don’t know the value of the ENEOS deal, but it will certainly be important to Yamaha’s ongoing racing program.
ENEOS has sponsored auto racing in the past, but according to MotoMatters, this is their first time sponsoring motorcycle racing.
[…] Internet rumour had them courting oil company JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation (a.k.a. ENEOS) for replacement funding weeks ago, but they took their time confirming the gossip. The deal comes into effect today, but we don’t have any indication as to how long it will last. […]