Dark Matters Racing Team, a motorsport club based in Lagos have unveiled Produce Extract Limited as their official sponsor in the RoadX motorsports racing series in Nigeria. This sponsorship deal, which would see the team in the final race of the 2019 RoadX series, to be held on November 29, in Benin City, Edo State, was made known at the unveiling and signing ceremony at the weekend in Ikeja, Lagos.
The agreement is the first-ever made by a local corporate body for the sponsorship of a motorsport racing team in Nigeria. Speaking to The Guardian, the Dark Matter Racing Team Principal, Arawore Ikutegbe said the deal was of huge benefit, adding that it had been difficult for most teams to race regularly because it costs a lot of money to put the cars together and take them to the tracks, especially with the bad roads.
Speaking on the level of awareness of motorsport in Nigeria, Ikutegbe said RoadX is very popular in the country, just as the Formula 1 is worldwide, adding that unfortunately, people don’t know how deep it has gone in Nigeria. He added that the brand had been built for over seven years, with the tracks were established about two years ago in Benin City.
Ikutegbe said with opening of new avenues of promotion, more motorsports enthusiasts would be invited to patronise the industry, while he called on all states’ governments to support the sport by providing the enabling environment, well-constructed road tracks and also sensitising the Federal Road Safety Corps and other Police apparatus on the benefit of sports to stop further harassment from them.
“If we can get permission to race in the cities like it is being done in Monaco, France, London and all over the big cities in the world… if maybe the Lagos State government, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja can give us this permission to have these races in towns, it will also help to bring more motorsports enthusiasts closer to racing,” he said.
Also speaking on the sponsorship, the Managing Director, Produce Extract Limited, Adeola Kotey said the sponsorship was aimed at promoting motorsports racing in Nigeria, especially as the youths were involved and had been showing more interests.
Koey said the sponsorship was an enduring deal, adding that the company sought to continue building its brand name by supporting the youths in achieving their goals through motorsports racing in the country.“We will continue to sponsor them for a long time and be able to maintain the relationship as a family for as long as it would take,” he said.
Also the Deputy Team Principal, Dark Matter Racing, Tony Dia emphasised on the role of sponsorship in improving the motorsport racing industry in Nigeria, noting that it was expensive, especially the cost of putting the cars in shape, moving the cars, paying drivers, insurance and health were quite high.
