New Delhi: Creating history in Indian motorsport, Sahara Force India won 4th place in the Constructor’s Championship of the Formula 1 season of 2016. This historical milestone is another feather in the cap for Kingfisher, which has always supported motor racing and Formula 1 since its infancy in India. This year the racing season saw a nail biting finish at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Millions of fans across the world rooted for the Sahara Force India team which achieved it’s best ever finish.
Kingfisher is a brand that is synonymous with an array of sporting events across India such as Cricket, Football, The Derbies, Running and Racing. This year the ‘King of Good Times’ achieved a landmark with fantastic performances by Sahara Force India drivers Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Perez who finished seventh and ninth respectively, in the driver’s championship, enabling the team to secure fourth place in the championship.
Speaking on the occasion Shekhar Ramamurthy, Managing Director United Breweries Ltd. said, “Kingfisher is proud to be associated with Sahara Force India and celebrates the success of this fantastic team which now has a strong ranking in this global sport. As pioneers in this field, we want to encourage racing enthusiasts and youth in India to follow the sport and take the excitement level a notch higher. We hope that the next season will bring many more such celebratory moments for Sahara Force India. We look forward to a promising 2017 F1 season.”
Kingfisher’s Associations with Sports:
Kingfisher’s association with sports started in 1988 with the prestigious Kingfisher Derby, Bangalore; and has since associated with a host of ‘Derbies’ across the country. In the mid 90s Kingfisher sponsored the Sailing Rally from Bombay to Goa. In 1996 Kingfisher sponsored The West Indies Cricket team which gave birth to the iconic jingle “Ooh La Lala Le O” which is till date synonymous with the brand Kingfisher. The association with cricket continued with brand ambassadors such as iconic Indian cricketers Sourav Ganguly & Ajay Jadeja in the late 90s & two of the world’s best cricketers Andrew Flintoff & Michael Vaughan.
In 1996 Kingfisher’s began its association with the world of racing with sponsorship of the Benetton Formula 1 team. Besides sponsoring the Toyota Formula 1 team, the brand endorsed India’s best race drivers Narain Karthikeyan & Karun Chandhok. Kingfisher also gave its F1 fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to race with the Force India drivers in a unique go-karting challenge.
The brand co-owns the Kingfisher East Bengal Football Club which is the 2003 Asean Champions and also three times winner of the National Football League. The brand sponsors the Kingfisher Pro-League in Goa, which is the premier league of Goa’s top 8 clubs. In addition to this Kingfisher sponsors the Goa state football team & conducts an annual Goa Beach Football Tournament. The brand also sponsors another I-League team, Lajong FC; hosts the “Kingfisher Corporate 5s’ – an annual five-a-side football event at the national level and sponsors all key events under the auspices of Indian Rugby & Football Union of India. Kingfisher is the Official Refresher to all of India’s premier running events, the Mumbai Marathon, the Delhi Half Marathon & the Bangalore World 10k.
