2008 Shell Motorsports Season Closes with a Bang! |
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The world of motorsports has seen several historic developments over the past few months, particularly with Formula One, Le Mans and World Superbike. Even more exciting, the teams Shell holds technical relationships with -- Ferrari for Formula One, Audi for Le Mans, Ducati for MotoGP and World Superbike – all finished their seasons on the winner’s podium! The Formula One season proved successful for Shell and Ferrari, with Ferrari winning the coveted Constructors Championship. The combination of Ferrari team members Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen raked in a total of 172 points throughout the Formula One season, finishing in Barcelona a convincing 21 points ahead of their closest competitor, McLaren-Mercedes. Ferrari’s excellent craftsmanship, driver precision and expertise of the Shell engineers helped make this one of the most exciting Formula One seasons in history. Ferrari’s victory in the Constructors Championship solidified their position as the most successful racing team in history with 16 total Constructors titles since Formula One began in 1950. The technical collaboration with Shell has netted Ferrari 150 of 208 overall wins, more than any other team in history. After victories in single Le Mans races throughout the past two years, the Audi R10 TDI, fueled by Shell V-Power Diesel race fuel, entered the complete Le Mans series for the first time this year. The #2 car, which was driven by Dindo Capello, Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen secured vital wins in the Le Mans series and helped the Audi team win the Constructors, Drivers and Teams Championships. The Audi Sport North America team, which also used two Audi R10 TDIs, saw similar success in the American Le Mans series, wrapping up their overall season championship at the Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California. Shell and Ducati had a very productive fall, with Troy Bayliss and the Ducati Corse team winning the World Superbike Championship Drivers and Manufacturers titles, and Casey Stoner leading Ducati to its 100th win in the MotoGP. Shell joined forces with Ducati in 1999 for the World Superbike series and the MotoGP in 2003, providing the Italian motorcycle maker with Shell V-Power fuel and Shell Advance products for their complex Desmodromal motors. The Shell Track Lab is present at every MotoGP event and enables Shell engineers to actively monitor the performance of the racing version of Shell V-Power while also developing new blends to help speed the Ducati Desmosedici GP8s to victory. The technical collaboration is one of the most successful in all of motorsports, with nine world championship titles and more than 150 wins in just under 10 years. Shell has a rich history of partnerships with some of the world’s leading motorsports teams. Not only will Shell continue using on and off track research to provide the world’s best racing teams with the high-quality products needed to propel them to victory, but all Shell fuels available to consumers will continue to be influenced by innovations resulting from these relationships. For more information on Shell Motorsports, check out http://www.shell.com/motorsports. |