Roshfrans:Official Lubricant of the CCWS?

[Dov]

Some guys over at CCF are reporting that Roshfrans has become the official lubricant of ChampCar, so take this news with a grain of salt. Here's the link

Also in the Mexican media, Roshfrans General Director said that the races in Brazil and Argentina are soon to be confirmed

[Kicking-back]

We heard rumours of this a while ago. Could be true.

[evo]

Umm, does this mean all the cars will be using Roshfrans oil? So if another oil company wanted to sponsor a car that they couldn't? If that's the case I think this is a terrible idea.

[Dov]

Good question, evo.

[Dov]

It's official now!! From motorsport.com:

In signing a multi-year agreement to become the Official Lubricant of Champ Car, Roshfrans' synthetic oils will run in each of the Ford-Cosworth XFE engines powering the series racers and the company will also provide the balance of its complete line of lubricating products for use on all parts of the 750 horsepower turbocharged power mills.

[Brian W Keske]

I've never seen it sold on the shelves in the States.

I can't imagine they are paying much for this. It seems almost meaningless to me from a fiscal support opportunity as CCWS is still a US based series, and they need US based support first.

[Snrub]

I've heard of it but have never seen anywhere that I could purchase it. I'm semi-surprised that Amsoil, Redline or a more mainstream oil company wouldn't have already gotten involved. (BTW: Amsoil synthetic 2-stoke is wicked stuff)

To be honest I am probably most interested in Mexican sponsors getting involved with the series. The reason for this is that Herdez and RuSport are becoming legitimately competitive with NH and Forsythe. For this to continue/improve, someone's got to fill the gap left by Herdez for '05 and Jourdain looks like he needs sponsors too. Maybe in '05 we'll have a Roshfrans sponsored car or it'll help encourage other Mexican sponsorship.

Related side note: Ever notice how Bosch logos are on every car? I've never seen it played up from a marketing standpoint. They must give the series something, the logical peice of value would be ECUs, but I could have sworn champ cars use Motec ECUs. (I believe the most basic Motec units start @ ~$10k USD) Anyone know anything about Bosch?

[Dov]

What's frustrating me is Mexico has some companies helping out it's drivers and the CCWS, but no companies from Canada are stepping up to the plate! Let's hope that a big American sponsor like AOL/Tim Warner will join ChampCar in the near future.

[mountainstar]

I've heard it's sold in the southwest. I know people that have bought it. I don't know if they are planning to distribute it more widely in the states or not.

I don't think becoming the official oil provider of Champcar would stop any other petrochemical company from joining the fun as a sponsor. Especially if those companies are promoting gasoline, which is a whole different deal.

[indycool]

I don't know how "official" this is. Mark C.'s site reported that a news conference was scheduled for 11:45 a.m. Vegas time Friday and then said it was Roshfrans on a seven-figure deal (which I seriously doubt) as official lubricant. But the site Dov posted is the ONLY place I've found where someone declared it official. It's not on Mark C.'s site. It's not on the CCWS site. It's not in either Las Vegas paper. Nowhere.

[Dov]

From CCWS.com:

[Brian W Keske]

But what it all really means is anybody's guess at this point.

One thing is for sure, all the teams are getting free oil out of this.

How a 'Shell', as example, would feel about this is unknown. But I can only imagine a 'Shell', as example, would provide much more to a series because of international clout. Or a 'Valvoline' for national clout, or 'Havoline' for that matter.

[Kicking-back]

The brands you name are already well known, Brian.

Roshfrans may feel this tie-up will help build their brand.

[Brian W Keske]

Obviously.

We'll see what happens/if it works.

[indycool]

Well, finally a website photo, no release....that indicates to me this wasn't that big of a deal.

[Dov]

^^^ We wouldn't expect YOU to see it ANY OTHER WAY!

[mountainstar]

Originally posted by Dov
^^^ We wouldn't expect YOU to see it ANY OTHER WAY!

You took the words right out of my mouth Dov! No CCWS thread is complete without our resident trackforum export "helping" us out

[The Snout]

Dov, when you post a thread like this don't forget the 'Abandon all Hope past this Point' disclaimer.

Now in any case, good to have another company on board and interested in our activities. Welcome to Roshfrans.

[Dov]

^^^ Here's to Roshfrans!

[Uesque]

Originally posted by evo
Umm, does this mean all the cars will be using Roshfrans oil? So if another oil company wanted to sponsor a car that they couldn't? If that's the case I think this is a terrible idea.

I don't think it would stop them, how many years did Citgo sponsor a cup car that ran on 76 gasoline.

[Snrub]

Did anyone notice any logos on the cars at the LV race? I noticed the Herdez cars had yellow slashes with "Roshfrans" written on the side of the rear wings, but they may have had that before.

[Dov]

Originally posted by Snrub
Did anyone notice any logos on the cars at the LV race? I noticed the Herdez cars had yellow slashes with "Roshfrans" written on the side of the rear wings, but they may have had that before.

Mario Dominguez in Monterrey, Mexico (2nd race of the season):



There's a strong rumour going around that Roshfrans will replace Herdez as Mario's primary sponsor in '05. As for RHR, i'm not sure what his status with the team is at this moment.

[Snrub]

Originally posted by Dov
There's a strong rumour going around that Roshfrans will replace Herdez as Mario's primary sponsor in '05. As for RHR, i'm not sure what his status with the team is at this moment.

Thanks for answering my Roshfrans question. I hope that the rumour you speak of is true, we need a strong Herdez (or whatever they'll be called in '05) and Dominguez in the series. RHR's done an okay job, hopefully he'll stick around too as the series needs decent or better American drivers.

[Dov]

The deal between Roshfrans and ChampCar is 100% official now!
From CCWS.com:

The fervent support that the Champ Car World Series receives from Mexican sponsors, partners, and fans is a cornerstone of its success. Today, the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford made those ties even stronger by announcing that Roshfrans would become the first Mexican company to ever become an official series sponsor.

[Brian W Keske]

Aww....you can't believe everything you read on that site