LOCAL HEROES TAKE ON THE WORLD
A forward thinking successful global company has entered the most demanding and exciting of all World Championship sporting arenas with their sponsorship of a teenager who is already emulating the exploits of a sporting legend.
Oxfordshire based Oxford Products have signed a deal with grand prix winner Bradley Smith for the next one and a half years to extend a special relationship that started four years ago. Their already impressive sporting heritage has been greatly enhanced by forging a relationship with a potential World Champion in a truly global Championship that last year attracted an average crowd of 134,233 fans to each grand prix weekend and was televised live to 337 million homes by cable/satellite television networks.
Oxford Products is a global two-wheel accessory brand that exports to over 60 countries and is the UK market leader in motorcycle security and touring products. They have a successful history in motorcycle racing dating back to the mid seventies by supporting many riders including Champions Phil Read, Jeremy McWilliams, Steve Hislop and Trevor Nation. They supplied Bradley Smith with free HJC helmets back in 2005 and have followed his progress with enormous interest ever since.
“I have watched Bradley’s progress in wonder since we first met up in 2004 when he was competing in a club race at Silverstone and I’m delighted to have cemented our relationship in this way,” explained Oxford Products Managing Director Andrew Hammond. “Bradley will make an excellent ambassador for our brands as he is for the whole of British sport. Bradley actually passed his bike test in the car park of our Witney premises last year which was the perfect coming together of two of our biggest aspirations by supporting grass roots biking as much as grass roots racing.”
Eighteen Year old Bradley Smith has re-written the history books this season in the highly competitive 125 cc World Championship which makes such compelling viewing. After winning the Italian Grand Prix in May he became the first British rider to lead a grand prix World Championship since the legendary Barry Sheene thirty long years ago. Earlier that month Smith won his first ever grand prix riding the Aspar Aprilia at Jerez in Spain. The Oxford-based teenager is in his fourth season of grand prix racing and has made impressive progress each year culminating in those two grands prix wins.
It’s a long way from that club race at Silverstone and Smith is delighted to rekindle the relationship especially with a local company.
“It’s brilliant to be involved with such a progressive local company that helped me right from the start of my road racing days,” he said, before jetting off to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to compete in the American Indianapolis Grand Prix.” Oxford Products have a fantastic heritage in motor cycle racing and I’m delighted they have chosen me for this to continue.”
The new sponsorship deal between Oxford Products and Bradley Smith will run for the remainder of this season and throughout 2010.
More about Oxford Products
Oxford Products was formed in 1973 in Oxford by a group of motorcycle enthusiasts. Today Oxford Products is still staffed by active enthusiasts based at their multi-million pound headquarters at Witney in Oxfordshire.
They are a global two-wheel accessory brand that exports to over 60 countries and are the UK marketing leaders in motorcycle security and touring products.
Oxford Products founder and Chairman Alec Hammond started the company out of a passion for motorcycle racing which has been continued throughout the phenomenal success of the Company.
The list of riders who have benefited from their support reads more like a who’s who of British Motorcycle racing and includes eight times World Champion Phil Read, TT winners Steve Hislop, Robert Dunlop. Jim Moodie and Trevor Nation and Grand prix winner Jeremy McWilliams plus British stars Mark Farmer, Paul Young, Glen Richards, Asa Moyce, Geoff Johnson and Les Burgan. Today Oxford Products support the Kawasaki team riders in the British Superbike Championship. Off-road they have also supported both Nick Plumb and Simon Pavey in the gruelling Paris/Dakar Rally.
More about Bradley Smith
Bradley Smith started racing moto-cross as a youngster urged on by father Allan who was a British Championship contender. However after breaking his leg in a moto-cross accident he switched to road racing with immediate success. After racing in England he then competed in the very competitive Spanish 125cc Championship before graduating to the World Championship stage in 2006.
He was voted Rookie of the Year after his first season and since then has made incredible progress resulting in those two precious grand prix wins and a real chance of World Championship success. After his win at the Italian Grand Prix he became the first British rider since Barry Sheene to lead a grand prix World Championship in thirty years.
The 18 year old from Forest Hill near Oxford is a fitness fanatic and a couple of weeks ago took on Formula One Championship leader Jenson Button in the London Triathlon.
www.bradley-smith.co.uk
More about MotoGP
The 125cc World Championship is part of the global MotoGP World Championship which is the oldest World Motorsport Championship still running having started in 1949.
The 16 round 125 cc Championship visits 13 countries on four separate continents in eight months of frantic action.
It’s a Championship that never stands still on and off the track. Floodlit grands prix, new venues and a constant desire to make the racing ultra competitive and gimmick free keeps it ahead of the pack.
After last year’s record breaking attendances and television viewers the figures this year are equally impressive. Over 2.9 million viewers tuned into the BBC Television coverage of the British Grand Prix while the last round of the Championship attracted a race day crowd of over 138,00 to Brno in the Czech Republic.
www.motogp.com
