Fiat ends Yamaha partnership
Added on Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
Fiat ends Yamaha partnership
Fiat has not renewed its sponsorship of the Yamaha MotoGP team, the team has confirmed, ending a four-year partnership.
The Italian car manufacturer, which has backed the Yamaha team since 2007, was expected to end its support for the team following Valentino Rossi’s move to Ducati and the ending of the agreement was confirmed at the weekend on Twitter.
The team’s official feed said: “The team will change title sponsor and therefore it won’t be ‘Fiat Yamaha Team’ anymore.” A statement on the team’s website read “Fiat and Yamaha: Thank you for four years of triumphs and emotions.”
Yamaha Racing bosses had been seeking a partner for 2011 towards the end of the 2010 season, with reported talks with Air Asia, Spanish telecoms giant, Telefonica and Petronas, an existing partner, over title sponsorship for 2011. At present, no deal appears to have been agreed, leaving Yamaha facing a potentially huge financial hole as they look to claim the constructor’s championship for the third successive year.
