News
S5000 secures VHT as naming-rights sponsor for inaugural season
The new S5000 open wheel category has welcomed VHT Australia as naming rights partner of its inaugural season, to be known as the VHT Australian S5000 Championship.
VHT, which stands for Very High Temperature, is an industry leading producer of high performance, flameproof coatings for automotive, hardware and household applications, with the capability to withstand temperatures of over 1000°C.
Established in the USA in 1964, VHT was first imported to Australia in 1970 by Brian Sampson, founder of the Speco Thomas and Motor Improvements businesses.
Fittingly for the inaugural naming rights partner of S5000, Sampson is one of Australia’s most successful open wheel racing drivers. In a motorsport career enduring more than six decades, Sampson’s greatest achievements included victory in the 1975 Hardie-Ferodo 1000 alongside Peter Brock, and a highly successful period in Formula 2 and 3 racing during the 1970s in partnership with Brian Shead, constructor of the locally built Cheetah racing cars.
VHT branding will appear on the upper nosecone area and rear wing endplates of every car in the VHT Australian S5000 Championship, which will commence at the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix from March 12-15.
The opening round of the 2020 season will feature a high quality, 16-car grid including Formula 1 Grand Prix winners Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella, reigning Bathurst 1000 winner Alexandre Premat, Australian Indy 500 competitor James Davison and a host of Australia’s best open wheel talents.
QUOTES
Brendan Jones
Director, VHT Australia
“VHT is thrilled to be the first-ever naming rights sponsor of the Australian S5000 Championship.,” said Jones.
“S5000 is a category unlike anything Australian motorsport has seen since Formula 5000, so it is an honour for VHT to be associated with this great racing formula.
“2020 also marks 50 years since Brian Sampson acquired the distribution rights to the VHT brand in Australia, and to this day Speco Thomas remains its sole distributor. In that time VHT has also been associated with numerous forms of Australian open wheel racing, so our partnership with S5000 continues that great tradition.
“With S5000 being the fastest open wheel category in Australia and VHT being renowned for high performance coatings, this partnership fits on every level.”
Nestora Strintzos
General Manager, Commercial & Partnerships, Australian Racing Group
“It is with real pride that ARG welcomes VHT Australia as the inaugural naming rights sponsor of the Australian S5000 Championship,” said Strintzos.
“S5000 is a category that captures the spirit of Australian open wheel racing’s halcyon years in the present, and into the future. Through Brian Sampson who is a legend of Australian motorsport, VHT has a rich connection to ‘pure racing cars’ in this country. In S5000, the VHT flag will be flying proudly into the next chapter of Australian open wheel racing.
“A large part of the trade and performance motoring industries rely on VHT coatings for a wide range of uses, and we hope they continue to support the brand that supports S5000.”