Jaguar agree terms to supply Wimbledon with cars for the annual tennis tournament.

• Luxury and sports car manufacturer Jaguar announced as official car partner to All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) for Wimbledon
• Jaguar to supply vehicles from its  award-winning range including XE, XF and XJ models
• Jaguar Ambassador José Mourinho launches Jaguar’s partnership with the AELTC as Official Car of Wimbledon
• Mourinho hails Wimbledon as “the special Grand Slam” on first visit to SW19

British luxury and sports car manufacturer, Jaguar, is announced today as The Official Car of The Championships, Wimbledon.  

Sporting icon and Jaguar ambassador José Mourinho was given his first Wimbledon experience to mark the occasion as part of a tour hosted by AELTC Committee member and Former British No. 1 tennis star Tim Henman.  

A new short film capturing Mourinho’s reaction to the Wimbledon experience may be viewed above.

Mourinho was given a tour of the historic surroundings of SW19 and followed in the footsteps of Wimbledon champions by making the celebrated walk to Centre Court. 

“Wimbledon is more than a Grand Slam. You have great tournaments, great matches, but Wimbledon is Wimbledon. The tradition, the history around this tournament is magnificent. There are some iconic moments in your sports history, and in football to play at Wembley is a special moment. It is similar to Wimbledon. The aura is very difficult to explain – you come in and you just feel it,” said José Mourinho.

Commenting on his favourite memory of the Wimbledon tennis championship, Mourinho said: “The one that I really felt was Andy Murray’s victory because it was very special for him. Winning Wimbledon is the same for all the players, but for a British player to win Wimbledon after so many years I felt so much emotion. I am not British, but on that day I felt like I was.”

Jaguar and Land Rover will supply 170 luxury and high performance vehicles to support tournament operations. The new Jaguar XE and XF, as well as successful XF Sportbrake and XJ models will be seen in London at this year’s Championships.

Laura Schwab, UK Marketing Director at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Wimbledon is a British icon, which is recognised globally as the pinnacle of international sport. There’s no other event like it.

“The tournament captures our imagination in different ways. For some it’s the feeling of summer, but for others it’s British sport at its best. We’re very excited to be working with the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club to establish our new partnership and celebrate what makes Wimbledon so special.”

Former British No.1, Tim Henman, who now sits on the Committee at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club said: “When you talk about Wimbledon being a quintessential tournament and part of the British calendar, you can talk about Jaguar being a quintessentially, luxury British brand. I think they complement each other well.”

Mick Desmond, Commercial Director at the AELTC, added: “We're delighted to welcome Jaguar as a partner to Wimbledon and into our family of world class brands. We are very proud of our unique British heritage and are looking forward to another great tournament this summer with one of Britain's most iconic luxury brands."

The Championships, Wimbledon 2015 runs from 29 June to 12 July 2015.

Abarth to sponsor Movistar Yamaha Racing Moto GP race team for 2015.

Abarth will be Official Sponsor and Official Car Supplier for the Yamaha Factory Racing team taking part in the FIM MotoGP World Championship. The two-year agreement will see the Scorpion logo on the front cowling of the official Yamaha YZR-M1 machines being ridden by the legendary Valentino Rossi and multiple World Champion, Jorge Lorenzo.

The official announcement of the two-year partnership was made today (28 January) in Madrid, at the headquarters of the Telefónica Group, where the new livery of the YZR-M1 to be used by Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo in the 2015 World MotoGP Championship was revealed.

The Scorpion logo, synonymous with “racing” and symbol of a heritage of victories and passion which gave rise to the birth of one of the great sensations in the cult of modern motor racing, is placed on the nose of the two M1s. To seal the partnership, the Abarth logo will also be visible in the Team’s official communications and interview backdrops, as well as on all key team assets.

Abarth will also provide Movistar Yamaha MotoGP with a number of FCA Italy vehicles all over the world. The assault on the world title will begin in Qatar on 29 March and will deliver the World Champion in Valencia on 8 November.

“The agreement comes from several shared values between the two brands,” says Marco Magnanini, Head of Abarth Brand for the EMEA Region. “Innovation, love for performance and passion for racing: these are the pillars that allowed our two brands to build this prestigious partnership.”

The flagship product of the sponsorship to Movistar Yamaha MotoGP is the 695 Biposto, the modern icon of the brand, which represents the ideal fusion of road and race cars, the “transfer” of racing thrills to a legally compliant car for everyday use. 

The Abarth 695 Biposto is the result of this exciting research: a 190 HP 4 T-jet engine (the most powerful ever installed on an Abarth road car), weighing just 997 kg, a weight-to-power ratio of only 5.2 kg/HP (the best in its category) and an acceleration of 0-62mph in just 5.9 seconds, and record agility thanks to its increased wheel track and compact body. Furthermore, it is the first road car in its category in the world at present to be equipped with a dog-ring gearbox.

With special bodywork bearing the colours and the blue and white squares in honour of the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team, an example of the “smallest of the supercars” was the star of a photo shoot, taken at Gerno Di Lesmo a few days ago in the presence of the riders Rossi and Lorenzo.

With a victory record of six World Champion titles won since 2004, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP is one of the most successful teams in the world. Similarly, Abarth has established itself as the automobile brand best able to convey the spirit felt within the circuits, and to share the innate sports values and desire to excel which are part and parcel of the Scorpion’s DNA and of the star two-wheel riders.

For Abarth, this marks a return in style on a Yamaha bike. In 2007, the official Yamaha YZR-M1 of Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards appeared on the starting grid of the Australian GP in Phillip Island sporting a special Scorpion. The activity celebrated Abarth’s return to the world of two wheels where it had begun: it was, in fact, 1928, when a very young Carlo Abarth achieved his first sports successes in the saddle of a motorbike. The following year, he built his first personalised motorbike with the Scorpion logo.