"Ryan Lee" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Probably just some fellow looking for stuff to decorate his motorbike with, >but I saw a sleek black roadbike emblazoned with a big fat pink PENTAX just >under its petrol tank. Wish I took a shot, but didn't have my camera with me >on my bicycle (here we go again with the geographic-community specific >terminology- they call it a pushbike here.. *shudder*). > >So does anyone know who, if anyone at all, Pentax sponsors for real? Any >racing teams? Sportspeople?
I'm pretty sure Pentax has sponsored teams in the Suzuka 8-Hour in the past. For those who don't follow motorcycle roadracing, the Suzuka 8-Hour is the biggest annual sporting event in Japan. As the name implies, it's an 8-hour endurance race. It's held in the hottest part of the summer. Teams consist of two riders per bike, who alternate one hour shifts. Riders typically get themselves hooked up to intravenous saline feeds between shifts. They get around 200,000 spectators at the track for the race, many of whom apparently stay after the race is done and watch the whole thing replayed on video on the huge track video screens! There is a world championship endurance series but it's considered a notch or two below the grand prix and world superbike series. The factories almost always send their best grand prix and superbike riders and prepare special bikes just for this one race and they generally wax the endurance series regulars. Lots of companies that don't sponsor teams for an entire year's racing series will put up money for the Suzuka 8-hour. It's a very big deal over there. -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
