North Reading, Mass. – A pair of race
cars sponsored by high-end speaker maker Bowers & Wilkins will compete in
the 94
th
running of the
on May 30.
The sponsorship is part of the
company’s strategy to expand brand awareness beyond traditional purchasers of
high-end home speakers as it expands into such new product categories as
automotive sound systems for Jaguar, iPod-docking speaker systems and
headphones, the company said.
IndyCar racing demographics “tie
in well with the desired customer base” and provide “a new arena beyond the
traditional luxury audio promotional avenues the firm has relied upon,” the
company said.
The sponsored cars, owned by the Fazzt Race
Team, are the first race cars sponsored by Bowers & Wilkins, which began sponsoring
Fazzt only months ago starting with the team’s competition in the Brazilian Sao
Paulo Indy 300.
In the Indy 500, one sponsored
car will be driven by Alex Tagliani, who will return to Indianapolis after his
debut in 2009. Tagliani was last year’s Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year,
starting 33rd and finishing in 11
th
place. This year, he drives car No.
77.
The other vehicle, No. 33, is
driven by Bruno Junqueira.
