31 August 2015 – Eight races into the 2015 season, Castrol and Gresini Racing announced that both brands would join forces in the Moto3 World Championship. Starting with the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring both Gresini Racing’s Honda NSF250RW bikes ridden by the all-Italian pair of Enea Bastianini and Andrea Locatelli were sporting prominent Castrol POWER1 branding, Castrol’s motorcycle oil for superior acceleration at a touch of the throttle.
For Castrol, the partnership with Gresini Racing is a continuation of successful motorcycle racing dating back to the very beginning at the Isle of Man TT in 1907. Between 1922 and 1947 all but two Isle of Man TT winners used Castrol lubricants. Meanwhile, Castrol’s relationship with Honda goes back to 1958 and now includes more than 500 World Championship wins.
As for Gresini Racing and Castrol, both brands did not have to wait long for their first joint success. Only two races after both brands announced their Moto3 partnership Enea Bastianini made the podium when the promising youngster finished the Czech GP second, just a 152 millisecond blink of the eye behind race winner.
“We are proud to partner with Gresini Racing for the thirteenth consecutive season. A successful partnership with one of the most important and successful Italian teams in the World Championship, “said Italo Bellotto, BP Italia SpA President, while Gresini Team Manager Fausto Gresini added: “Our relationship with Castrol continues uninterrupted since 2003 and it is therefore a great pleasure to give continuity to this fruitful collaboration in the Moto3 World Championship, a category in which we are having a starring role.”