Who is the new Australian MotoGP sponsor?
The naming rights sponsor for the 2023 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix is MotoGP Guru by GryfynThe Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix returns to the iconic Phillip Island circuit in Victoria this October, with a new naming rights sponsor giving the event a fresh look.
But while pervious naming rights sponsors like Tissot, Fosters, Qantas, and Michelin are household names, the new sponsor might have a few people scratching their heads.
For 2023, the event will be known officially as the MotoGP Guru by Gryfn Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. Yes, we had the same reaction.
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Well, it turns out that MotoGP Guru by Gryfyn is MotoGP’s official prediction game. In other words, it is the championship’s licenced tipping competition.
It gets more interesting. Gryfyn itself is described as an “NFT-centric custodial crypto wallet” and was the naming rights sponsor for the San Marino Grand Prix in 2022.
Gryfyn in turn is a product of Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based game software developer and venture capital company. And, if you haven’t already connected the dots yet, Animoca Brands was the title sponsor of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in 2022.
The connection to MotoGP is that promoter Dorna is collaborating with Animoca Brands in a number of areas including gaming, metaverse and Web3.
As part of the growing partnership between Dorna and Animoca Brands, the MotoGP organiser agreed for Animoca to sponsor two rounds in 2022 and a further two in 2023.
Italian company Pramac was the sponsor for the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 event. Red Bull was named as the sponsor of the 2021 event, but that too was cancelled, and the deal wasn’t taken up again.
Now Dorna and MotoGP are taking the opportunity to use in-house brands to sponsor the event alongside other partners and the Victorian government. In contrast, on the other side of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation office, the Australian Formula One Grand Prix currently has Rolex as its naming rights sponsor.
The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix is scheduled for October 20-22. Tickets are now on sale via the official website.
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