GEICO Motorcycle Named As MotoAmerica Supporting Partner
Insurance company to also sponsor pre-season and post-season TV shows
COSTA MESA, CA, APR. 6 – MotoAmerica has announced GEICO Motorcycle as a supporting partner of the 2015 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship, and a sponsor of both the pre-season preview and post-season review shows that will air on the CBS Sports Network.
The debut season of the MotoAmerica Series gets rolling at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, April 9-12 and concludes eight rounds later at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, September 11-13.
In addition to its sponsorship of the MotoAmerica Series, GEICO Motorcycle is also the title sponsor of the GEICO Suzuki GSX-R1000 that will be ridden in the MotoAmerica Superbike Series by Chris Ulrich.
“We are pleased to have GEICO on board as a supporting partner for our series,” said MotoAmerica President and three-time 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey. “Our first year is going to be a lot of fun and we look forward to working with GEICO throughout the season. We’re also happy that GEICO is returning to the paddock as a sponsor of Chris Ulrich’s Suzuki team.”
“We are excited to serve as a supporting partner of MotoAmerica’s Road Racing Championship Series,” said Ted Ward, GEICO vice president. “The debut season promises to bring a lot of fun and excitement and also gives us a great opportunity to interact on a personal level with race fans and enthusiasts.”
The GEICO-sponsored 2015 MotoAmerica season preview show will air on CBS Sports Network on Wednesday, April 15 at 8 p.m. (Eastern) with a replay later that evening at 11:30. The show will re-air on Saturday, April 18 at 11 p.m. (Eastern).
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is the new North American road racing series created in 2014. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.motoamerica.com.
About GEICO
GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies and is the second-largest private passenger auto insurance company in the United States. GEICO, which was founded in 1936, provides millions of auto insurance quotes to U.S. drivers annually. The company is pleased to serve more than 13 million private passenger customers and insures more than 22 million vehicles (auto & motorcycle). GEICO’s online service center helps policyholders take care of policy sales, policy changes and claims reporting, and print insurance ID cards. Policyholders can also connect to GEICO through the GEICO App, reach a representative over the phone or visit a GEICO local agent. GEICO also provides insurance quotes on motorcycles, boats, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), travel trailers and motorhomes (RVs). Coverage for life, homes and apartments is written by non-affiliated insurance companies and is secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. Commercial auto insurance and personal umbrella protection are also available. For more information, visit www.geico.com.
More, from a press release issued by Geiger Media Global on behalf of GEICO:
GEICO Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich glad to be Austin-bound to start 2015 season
AUSTIN, Texas (April 6) — With only a few days remaining until the MotoAmerica season opener this Friday-Sunday at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Texas, Superbike rider Chris Ulrich is anxious to put his GEICO Suzuki to the test.
“With just days until the season starts, you know you should have done all your homework by now,” Ulrich said. “It also means the nerves start to set in. The test we held a few weeks back at COTA was a little bit of a preview of what the pecking order will be like this season, or at least for this first round. In our case, we’re ready to put the improvements we’ve implemented since the test in place and see how we do.
“One aspect for us was sorting out the suspension and changing the specifications to more of what I like. That change alone is going to help us right away to pick up some speed, which is always good. There’s still a lot of hard work to do, but I’m excited to go out and see where we stand after a little bit of a reset from the test.
“To be able to race in front of the world championship guys at Circuit of the Americas is exciting for us and is a great opportunity for motorcycling in the United States. We’re pretty excited to be on that stage. We still have some questions that need to be answered, but I’m for sure ready to get going and see where we stack up.”
With the first race of the season always bound to bring excitement as well as unknown factors, Ulrich also may have the element of weather to deal with this weekend with scattered rain in the forecast.
“Hopefully by Saturday afternoon when our race rolls around it’ll be dry,” Ulrich said. “It looks like it might rain a little bit for both days of racing. Even without the weather, there’s always crazy stuff going on. The first race of the season always has those riders that are really excited and do funny stuff and then those riders who are a little more cautious. We’ll see what happens once we get there.
“We’ve got 18 races this season over nine events. It’s going to be a long season for sure, and you definitely don’t want to wreck anything in the first round. But then again, you don’t want to give away too much by being cautious.”
Qualifying for the Superbike class will take place at 5 p.m. CT Friday, followed by the first of two 15-lap races at 5 p.m., Saturday. The weekend’s racing action will conclude with the final Superbike race on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.