Toyota sign ESPN as teamsponsor

Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motorsport GmbH announced today that ESPN Star Sports has become a sponsor for the Panasonic Toyota Racing Formula 1 team. This new deal will see ESPN Star Sports logo appear on the side winglets of Toyota's TF104 race car from the first race of the 2004 season in Melbourne, Australia next weekend.

ESPN Star Sports is joint venture between two of the world's leading cable and satellite broadcasters, ESPN Inc. and Star.

ESPN Star Sports is Asia's complete sports provider that reaches over 128 million households with ESPN and over 57 million households with Star Sports. They bring the world's premier live sports and leading regional events to viewers 24 hours a day.

Rik Dovey, Managing Director, ESPN Star Sports, commented on the sponsorship: "We are pleased and honoured to become a part of the Toyota F1 Team for the coming season. ESPN Star Sports and the Toyota Motor Corporation already have a strong business partnership across sporting events and broacasting, and now, the extension of this into Formula 1 racing further strengthens the relationship between our companies".

John Howett, President of Toyota Motorsport GmbH, welcomed ESPN Star Sports by adding: "It is a great pleasure that ESPN Star Sports joins Panasonic Toyota Racing as our sponsor just before the new season is about to start in Melbourne. We are all set for the new competition, and we would like to keep showing our challenging spirit to motorsport fans".