Hitachi Automotive To Sponsor No. 3 Team Penske IndyCar At Nine Races in 2013
--Sponsorship Renewal for 2013 Will Be Leveraged for Multiple Hitachi Group Companies—
HARRODSBURG, KY (November 29, 2012) – Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd. today announced that Hitachi Automotive Systems will serve as the primary sponsor for nine races on the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet driven by three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves in the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series. Hitachi Automotive Systems began its partnership with Team Penske for the 2012 season as the primary sponsor on the No. 2 Team Penske IndyCar. While the sponsorship is held by Hitachi Automotive Systems, the 2013 sponsorship will be leveraged to benefit multiple Hitachi Group companies in the Americas.
“Hitachi is a world-class company that has proven to be a terrific partner for us during the 2012 season,” said Roger Penske, Founder and Chairman of Penske Corporation. “The technical expertise Hitachi provides to Chevrolet in its IndyCar engine program underscores this relationship and represents a winning formula on many levels. We are pleased to have them back on board for the 2013 season.”
In 2013, the Hitachi primary sponsorship for the No. 3 machine driven by Brazilian-native Castroneves in the IndyCar Series will be for races in St. Petersburg, Fla; São Paulo, Brazil; Detroit (doubleheader race weekend); Newton, Iowa; Long Pond, Pa; Toronto, Canada (doubleheader race weekend) and Sonoma, Calif. Hitachi will also serve as an associate sponsor for all other IndyCar races during the 2013 season.
“We’re very excited to be back with Team Penske in 2013 and we look forward to working with Helio and the No. 3 car team,” said Rob Sharpe, Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc., Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In addition to its sponsorship, Hitachi Automotive Systems supplies several components on the Chevy IndyCar race engine. “Hitachi Automotive has a long standing relationship with General Motors and we will continue to collaborate on the fuel system delivery for Chevy’s racing engine used in the 2013 IndySeries. Our involvement with the engine itself gives added significance to this partnership,” Mr. Sharpe continued.
Additionally, Lauren Raguzin, Director, Branding and Corporate Communications Group for Hitachi America, Ltd., noted, “This sponsorship provides great visibility for the Hitachi brand in the Americas. We look forward to working with Team Penske to leverage the strong brand recognition by involving multiple companies within the Hitachi Group and look forward to an exciting year. The recent NASCAR Cup Series championship won by Penske Racing clearly exemplifies the motor sports expertise Penske commands and we are thrilled to partner with them in 2013.”