The AMG logo on all Ducati Marlboro Team bikes and racing suits
Bologna (Italy) – Starting with the 2011 MotoGP season, the AMG logo will be featured on the bodywork of the Ducati Marlboro Team bikes and on riders' leather suits. Since the official partnership was announced in Los Angeles on the 18th of November, AMG's sponsorship of Ducati has become even more high-profile. This is further proof of the constructive and enthusiastic collaboration between the high-performance company from Affalterbach and Italy's number one name in motorcycle sports. Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, and Gabriele del Torchio, President and CEO of Ducati Motor Holding, announced the news today at a press conference held at the Ducati Museum the day before the opening of the Bologna MotorShow.
“Following the official launch of our partnership during the AutoShow in Los Angeles, I'm very pleased and proud to be here in Italy, at the Ducati Museum in Bologna to announce the first concrete development in this strategic collaboration between Ducati and AMG. As of next season, AMG will make its debut in the MotoGP world championship as a proud sponsor on the bikes and racing suits of the Ducati Marlboro Team's factory riders. AMG and Ducati are perfect partners both on the racetrack and on the road as both our companies share the same values. The key message put across by both companies is an expression of our innate passion for racing, high performance and exclusivity. Through this long-term partnership we will be able to create innovative opportunities for the Clients that we have in common,” declared Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
“We're really happy to have formed this partnership with AMG, a company which in every way shares the values that we believe in, such as high performance, fair play, sophistication and unmistakeable style and design. The decision to make the link between us even more high profile by displaying the AMG logo on the bodywork of our bikes and on our riders' racing suits underlines the harmony that exists between our two companies. This is a prestigious partnership to add to our other MotoGP sponsors, Phillip Morris, Generali, Enel and TIM,” commented Gabriele del Torchio, President and CEO of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.
As well as sponsoring the MotoGP team and renewing the Bologna-based company's fleet of cars and industrial vehicles, the partnership between AMG and Ducati will involve a number of shared marketing initiatives. For example, at the Bologna MotorShow, the new Ducati Diavel and the 1198 SP Superbike model will be on display in the Mercedes-AMG area, making it even more special and providing an extra reason for motorcycle fans to visit the MotorShow and the Mercedes-Benz stand. Several other initiatives are currently being finalised and will soon be presented to the public. At exclusive events and at the AMG Driving Academy, enthusiasts will be able to test-drive the Ducati range while it will be possible to experience the thrill of driving high-performance AMG vehicles at Ducati events such as the Ducati Riding Experience. There will also be a number of joint events put on for members of the AMG Private Lounge, which currently includes over 13,000 AMG Clients all over the world.
The two companies are also working on other marketing activities and strategies, which will be ready to be unveiled in the near future.
Ducati and AMG: racing, high performance, exclusivity
Founded in 1926, Ducati has built motorcycles with a sports character since 1946: bikes with high-performance Desmodromic engines, innovative design and cutting-edge technology. The Ducati range of motorcycles covers various market segments with different technical characteristics and styles to suit different riders. These include the Superbike, Desmosedici RR, Streetfighter, Monster, Multistrada, Hypermotard and the brand-new Diavel. Genuine icons of Italian style, the Ducati bikes are sold in 86 countries throughout the world – with the highest sale figures in the European, North American and Japanese markets. Ducati is currently involved in both the World Superbike Championships and (with a factory team) in the World MotoGP Championship. The Italian manufacturer has won sixteen out of the last twenty Superbike Manufacturers’ World titles as well as securing the Riders’ World title thirteen times. Among the leaders of the MotoGP since its debut in 2003, Ducati won both the Manufacturers’ and the Riders’ titles at the end of the 2007 season.
The Bologna-based manufacturer has achieved worldwide fame and a name that's synonymous with high performance and cutting-edge technology, racing success and original design – an image in perfect harmony with AMG's own.
AMG: three letters that are known worldwide to represent character, dynamism and exclusivity. Over the past forty years, Mercedes-AMG GmbH has evolved from simply customising luxury vehicles to enhance their sports nature, to actually manufacturing cars. Nowadays, AMG is the high-performance brand of the Mercedes-Benz Cars division, a brand that specialises in creating unique vehicles at the top of their range in terms of performance and exclusivity. The AMG range has something to fulfil the requirements of even the most demanding clients: saloon cars, estates, SUVs, coupés, convertibles, roadsters as well as limited edition special series and even exclusive one-off models. The AMG brand is responsible for such aspects as design, streamlining, interiors, transmission, engines, chassis, brakes and electronics. They also test drive all new AMG models and work independently on all the main procedures for the marketing and sale of the vehicles and their dedicated accessories. Leading on from all of this, the idea for the AMG Performance Centres was conceived during the brand's most successful year to date. There are 175 AMG Performance Centres altogether including six in Italy – veritable centres of expertise at the service of all our clients and the supporters of our brand.
