POUGHKEEPSIE, NY April 7, 2010 – Close to 800,000 people stop by an ARCO station every day. The fuel stops will be quicker on the streets of the Long Beach Grand Prix April 17 and at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca May 23rd. BP’s prominent west coast brand, ARCO, will be sponsoring the #16 Mazda Lola coupe of Dyson Racing for the second and third rounds of the 2010 American Le Mans Series. This is a continuation of a partnership started last year when ARCO branded a Dyson Racing Mazda Lola entry at the then season-ending race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
“As a leading gasoline brand in the western U.S., ARCO is pleased to be partnering with Dyson Racing, Mazda and the American Le Mans Series, a leader in green motorsports racing,” said Derek Battiest, Marketing Manager. “Since the 1980’s, ARCO has been known as a source for cleaner fuels. We look forward to taking our message to the race track again and showcasing our brand at two of the more iconic American race venues.”
Chris Dyson added, “Representing the ARCO brand at the ALMS season finale was an honor for us last year, and we are delighted to be running the fastest and best-looking car in the field and again to be representing the ARCO brand. It is especially important for us to do well because Long Beach and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca are our ‘home tracks’ on the West Coast. We look forward to having all of our interested and extra supporters on hand as we push to stand on the top of the podium.”
“Our partnership with BP Castrol is extremely important to us and to be able to carry that over to BP’s ARCO brand name while we are on the West Coast is a natural fit,” noted John Doonan, Manager Motorsports Team Development for Mazda. “The ALMS races at Long Beach and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca are truly ‘home courts’ for Mazda in many ways. So, to be supporting the ARCO brand for these events, as well as activation at ARCO sites gives us a boost of extra momentum in our 2010 championship fight.”
The #16 LMP2 entry of Chris Dyson and Guy Smith finished third in class at the first race of the year, the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 20. Andy Meryrick completed the driver line-up at Sebring and will be back in the car for the newly expanded six-hour enduro at Mazda Raceway. The Dunlop-shod Dyson entry will continue its season-long running of BP’s isobutanol fuel blend.
More than 1,300 ARCO-branded sites operate in five western states: California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Arizona. Known for cleaner fuels and low prices, ARCO introduced EC-1 Regular in 1989, the nation’s first environmentally engineered fuel. Parent company, BP is a leading U.S. gasoline retailer, marketing more than 15 billion gallons of gasoline through 11,000 retail outlets.
