AIGO, THE LEADING BRAND FOR MP3/MP4 PLAYERS AND DIGITAL CAMERAS IN CHINA BECOMES OFFICIAL PARTNER TO THE RACE OF CHAMPIONS

On 16 December 2007, aigo will, for the first time, be official partner of one of the most intense head to head challenges in the world of motorsport: The Race of Champions 2007, to be held on a specially designed one kilometre parallel tarmac track in the  brand-new, state-of-the-art Wembley Stadium in London. There is an expected audience of 80,000, all seats will have unrestricted views of the on-track action.

Established in 1993, aigo specialises in making high technology mobile storage devices, digital products and self-assembling products. This includes MP3/MP4 players,  high-resolution digital cameras and optomagnetic products.

“The spectacular development of the aigo trend products, expanding brand awareness all over the world, is similar to the developing motivation of The Race of Champions,” said Jessie, aigo Music CEO. “Sharing the same values of high performance, speed, passion and high technology will create an opportunity to activate a win-win communication platform for aigo.” 

Involved in motor racing since January 2007 in the Formula 1 World Championship with the Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, aigo’s other major sporting partnerships include the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 and football.

As a result of its partnership with aigo and its very close connexion in China, The Race of Champions will be broadcast on CCTV throughout China before Christmas.

By partnering The Race of Champions and benefiting from the media plan of the event (400 journalists expected, 1645 hours of broadcasting in 205 countries), aigo will promote its brand and products across many countries, mainly in Europe.

aigo will be prominently visible throughout the world class stadium, on the start/finish line. The Race of Champions has named a corner of its unique parallel tarmac race  track - aigo corner. aigo will also be associated to TAG Heuer to support the races co-drivers.

In 1988, The Race of Champions was created by Fredrik Johnsson, President of event organiser IMP (International Media Productions), and the world’s best female rally driver Michèle Mouton.

“We are proud to welcome aigo as an official partner of The Race of Champions,” said Fredrik Johnsson. “aigo is our first Chinese partner and together we are looking forward to building a strong and mutually successful partnership.

“With the growing popularity of The Race of Champions it is a perfect event platform for aigo to communicate their brand and exciting new products like the MP3 and MP4 Players, and Digital cameras to a worldwide audience.” 

The premise of the race is simple: using identical equipment and track, drivers can prove themselves based on talent alone. The drivers compete in a series of knockout heats in their own division to determine their class champion. Then, in a shoot-out to determine who is the master of motorsport, the winners go head-to-head in a super final. The victor is awarded the title “The Champion of Champions”.  

This traditional end-of-season showdown attracts spectators from across Europe. For three years the event, held at the Stade de France in Paris, has attracted well over 50,000 spectators each year.

Action from the Race of Champions 2006 was broadcast in over 200 countries and watched by more than 186 million viewers.

With prestigious and exciting cars in the line-up, such as the Aston Martin Vantage N24, Ford Focus WRC 07, ROC Car, Solution F and Fiat Grande Punto S2000 Abarth The Race of Champions has always attracted an array of first-class drivers from all disciplines within motorsports. For 2007 the line up is no less impressive:

Seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher Formula One star Jenson Button Triple World Touring Car Champion, Andy Priaulx Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel Four-time Champ Car Champion & Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Bourdais Seven-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen Two-time DTM Champion Mattias Ekström Two-time NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson Eight-time X-Games winner & double Rally America Champion Travis Pastrana Double World Rally Champion, Marcus Grönholm Renault F1’s Heikki Kovalainen 1995 British Rally Champion Alister McRae World Touring Car Championship star Yvan Muller 2003 World Rally Champion, Petter Solberg Five-time Norwegian Rally Champion, Henning Solberg

To book tickets for The Race of Champions, from 1 to 7 tickets go to ticketmaster.co.uk or call +44 161 385 69 25 for less than seven tickets, or +44 207 930 3000 for more than eight.  

aigo and IMP wish the racers all the best for this brilliant show of the best drivers of the world !