SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 13, 2012 – TrueCar Racing has announced today that Virgin Group, a leading global brand synonymous with innovation, entertainment, lifestyle and adventure and one of the world’s most recognized brands, is joining as an affiliate sponsor of TrueCar Racing, the world’s first all-female racing team and “Women Empowered” initiative, for the rest of the IndyCar season and 2012 Women Empowered racing calendar. IndyCar is one of the premier motor sports leagues watched worldwide. Financial terms of the deal are undisclosed.
“We are thrilled to have the Virgin Group team with TrueCar Racing to help empower women in racing and to help strengthen and broaden the message that women racers can statistically win in a sport dominated by men with the right resources and support,” said Scott Painter, Founder and CEO of TrueCar, Inc. “We are committed to providing our team with the tools they need to win now and in the future.”
With the affiliate sponsorship, Virgin will now be included on Dragon Racing’s IndyCar’s piloted by TrueCar Racing driver Katherine Legge, and four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais with branding on the nose and fuselage of the cars, team uniforms, visor of helmet and all team apparel. It will also have their logos placed on each TrueCar sponsored “Women Empowered” initiative racing team’s cars. Dragon Racing manages TrueCar’s IndyCar team and is owned by publishing and motorsport entrepreneur Jay Penske, who is developing a racing franchise that not only will win races, but also be one of the dominant racing teams in motorsports.
“This initiative speaks volumes on our commitment to empowering women. Given the opportunity, women race car drivers have a great capacity for success,” said Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group. “We’re excited to help TrueCar Racing and its women drivers achieve victory on and off the track.”
TrueCar Racing was created to support top female race car drivers in premier racing series, along with young rising stars across several developmental racing series. TrueCar Racing is empowering high-potential women who aspire to become championship race car drivers by providing full sponsorship support, professional coaching and training, marketing exposure, and top-tier racing team opportunities throughout the U.S. TrueCar Racing currently sponsors women in the following race series: IndyCar, Star Mazda, USF2000, World Challenge, Mazda MX-5 Cup and Rally America.
For more information about TrueCar Racing, please visit www.truecar.com/ racing. You can follow TrueCar Racing on Twitter (@TrueCarRacing) and become a fan of TrueCar Racing on Facebook.
TrueCar Racing was created to support top female race car drivers in premier racing series, along with young rising stars across several developmental racing series. TrueCar Racing is empowering high-potential women who aspire to become championship race car drivers by providing full sponsorship support, professional coaching and training, marketing exposure, and top-tier racing team opportunities throughout the U.S. TrueCar Racing currently sponsors women in the following race series: IndyCar, Star Mazda, USF2000, World Challenge, Mazda MX-5 Cup and Rally America.
TrueCar, Inc. is an online automotive information and communications platform focused on creating a better car buying experience for dealers and consumers. Consumers want a hassle-free car buying experience and dealers want high-quality sales velocity. TrueCar helps achieve these goals by providing unbiased market information on new car transactions and by supplying an online communications platform through which dealers and consumers can communicate with each other. TrueCar’s market-based information provides both consumers and dealers with an accurate and comprehensive understanding of what others actually paid recently for similar vehicles, both locally and nationally. TrueCar’s communications platform then allows informed, ready-to-buy consumers to communicate directly with participating dealers. Some of the nation’s largest and most well respected membership and service organizations rely on websites powered by TrueCar to help educate their members and customers who are in the automotive market. TrueCar is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, and has offices in San Francisco, CA, and Austin, TX. After experiencing dramatic growth since 2006, TrueCar is developing a suite of products and services centered on radical clarity through the comprehensive analysis of market data and information. TrueCar’s participating dealer partners have sold over 500,000 new vehicles to TrueCar users nationwide.
The Virgin Group is a leading international branded investment company and one of the world’s most recognized and respected brands. Conceived in 1970 by Sir Richard Branson, the Virgin Group has gone on to grow successful businesses in sectors ranging from mobile telephony and media to transportation, travel, financial services, hotels, health and fitness, as well as renewable technologies and space tourism. Virgin employs approximately 50,000 people in 35 countries and its global branded revenues in 2011 exceeded £13 billion (US$20 billion). For more information, visit www.virgin.com.
About Dragon Racing:
Dragon Racing is an IndyCar Series team owned by Jay Penske, the Chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corporation (PMC). Dragon Racing began under the original banner of Luczo Dragon Racing founded by both Penske and Steve Luczo, the Chairman and CEO of Seagate Technologies. The team debuted in 2007 at the Indianapolis 500 with driver Ryan Briscoe and finished fifth. In 2009, during the team’s first complete season, it won Rookie of the Year honors with driver Raphael Matos. In 2012, Dragon Racing has forged an alliance with lead strategic sponsors Microsoft, TrueCar, and McAfee and has two entries in the IZOD IndyCar Series for 2012: Katherine Legge, the first woman to win a major open-wheel race in North America, and four-time Champ Car Series champion Sebastien Bourdais. Dragon Racing has operations in Indianapolis, Indiana and Los Angeles, California.
For more information, contact Dragon Racing at: press@dragonracing.com
Source: TrueCar, Inc.