The Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup has confirmed the official partners for the sprint series’ seventh season. Following the announcement of NINE Entertainment as official partner in December, 2017, Pirelli, Castrol, sportauto and China Television Service (CTVS) complete the line-up of official series partners for the 2018 season.
“The Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup is excited to announce such a strong collection of partners, each of which is a leader in their respective field. Together they represent what makes up our series – from racing to lifestyle to strong communications,” said Martin Kuehl, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. “Together with our partners we will continue to deliver a platform for the highest level of GT racing to our drivers and teams, and to the millions of people who watch our coverage in Asia and the rest of the world.”
Strong partners from racing to lifestyle to communications
Returning for a second season as official tyre partner is Pirelli. The partnership builds on the Italian tyre giant’s reputation as a manufacturer synonymous with motorsport. The brand is also the official tyre supplier of the Blancpain GT Series Asia in the region as well as the FIA GT World Cup in Macau alongside its long-running partnership with Formula 1.
NINE Entertainment, a Chinese company that invests in and produces films and TV series, embarks on its first season with the Cup as official partner. The company will enter the GT4 category with star drivers selected from its roster of Chinese music and acting talent, including film star Han Geng.
Leading lubricant solutions provider, Castrol, continues its partnership with the Cup, an extension of its long-running global collaboration with Audi Sport. The company has been the official oil supplier for the Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup since the series was launched in 2012.
Official media partner, sportauto, maintains its collaboration with the Cup that has been in place since 2014. The sports car and motorsport-focused media house is the Chinese sister-company of the legendary German automotive magazine, auto motor und sport.
CTVS, Asia’s leading live production and media distribution company, continues its partnership with the Cup that has run since the series’ inception. The Beijing-based company reprises its role as the Cup’s television and live broadcast partner for the seventh consecutive season.
Leading communication platform in Asia motorsport
The Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup’s seventh season will continue to build on its strong media activities that reached millions in 2017. The Cup’s television highlights programmes were broadcast for almost 100 hours in total on stations such as Fox Sports, Star Sports and Guangzhou TV, reaching over 80 countries and regions, and watched by 47 million viewers in 2017. All of the Cup’s races were also live streamed on leading online portals, with a total viewership of 2.4 million.
The Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup’s social media platforms, the strongest in Asian motorsport, continued to grow in 2017. The five official platforms on Facebook, Instagram, Weibo, WeChat and Yizhibo are followed by 850,000 people. Cup content on these platforms garnered 41 million impressions in 2017, with the Cup’s own video content hitting almost 5 million views.
The 2018 Audi Sport R8 LMS Cup gets underway in March at the Adelaide Street Circuit where it makes its Australian debut, followed by races at Germany’s famous Nürburgring Grand Prix circuit and China’s Ningbo and Shanghai race tracks before closing the season at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit.
