French tyre manufacturer Michelin has agreed a deal to serve as the title sponsor of the Australian leg of the MotoGP motorcycle-racing championship for the second successive year.
This year's event, which runs from October 20-22 at Victoria’s Phillip Island Circuit, will officially be known as the Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
Michelin last year replaced Italian generator manufacturer Pramac as the event’s title sponsor. The company reached the new agreement with Dorna Sports, the series’ commercial rights-holder.
Michelin also serves as MotoGP’s official tyre supplier.
Gary Guthrie, president of Michelin’s two-wheel tyre division, said: “We learnt a lot in 2016 from working with our partners in each of the teams and will use that to push Michelin’s technology still further for even better MotoGP racing. At the same time, we are using the technologies developed in MotoGP to bring new levels of performance and safety to our road tyres for riders everywhere.
“The opportunity Dorna has given us again this year to associate Michelin with the Australian GP, which is one of the MotoGP rounds that bikers from all over the planet invariably look forward to the most eagerly, is a tremendous lever for us.”