Photo Credit: IndyCar
On May 5, 2016 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports announced that Lucas Oil and Jahia Solutions group will be co-sponsoring the No. 77 SPM with Marotti Racing car that will be driven by Oriol Servia in the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PenGrade Motor Oil at the Indianapolis Motorspeedway. Lucas Oil is a long time sponsor and partner of SPM and will share space on the No.77 livery.
Forrest Lucas, who is the founder of Lucas Oil, first became a partner with SPM co-owner Sam Schmidt almost a decade ago when the company was the primary sponsor for Schmidt’s Indy 500 entry when Schmidt raced for Richie Hearn back in 2003. Since then, Lucas Oil has been the main sponsor every season for at least one of SPM’s Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires race cars.
“Being an Indiana native and on behalf of everyone at Lucas Oil, I am absolutely thrilled to be participating in the 100th running of the Indy 500,” said Lucas. “Our products are now known worldwide for their performance and I can’t think of a better venue to display their quality than the largest sporting event in the world ever.”
Jahia Solutions Group is a digital management platform, they help organizations to build trusted one on one personal relationships with their customers. They power some of the worlds most beautiful, wonderful, engaging digital campaigns and experiences on the world wide web, social media, email, as well as mobile touchpoints. They turn organizations into digital powerhouses along with customer experience leaders.
“We are enthusiastically supporting the Indy 500 with our corporate sponsorship,” said Jahia CEO Elie Auvray. “They are putting people – their fans – at the center of their business, which is a core value and message for us. Technology today not only makes IndyCar racing possible but thrilling as well. And, as we help our customers win the race for digital mastery through enterprise technology, and thrill the audience, the combination of technology and emphasis on the human relationships naturally makes Jahia and the Indy 500 a powerful connection for acceleration.”
Jahi, is new to the racing community and aims to grow their market into North America and when Hippino, which is an IndyCar experienced sponsor who has alliances with Jahia, approached them about making the deal they had to jump on it.
“2016 will be Hippino’s fourth season in IndyCar and we couldn’t be more excited to help Oriol get into the 100th running of the 500,” Ej Falk, CEO of Hippino added. “He is an incredibly talented driver and deserved this opportunity. Anyone who has ever worked with him knows how engaging he is with sponsors, and his intelligence outside of the race car lends itself well to working with the tech companies we are looking to bring into racing. IndyCar racing has been a passion of mine as long as I can remember and to continue to have opportunities to be involved is exciting. As a tech company, I cannot think of a better place to showcase our product and involve partners. Targeted engagement and analytic data is essential to creating a brand experience. By using products like Hippino and Jahia, teams and sponsors will be able see real data on how racing can truly benefit companies trying to nurture relationships with their customers.”
Servia, who is the son of a Spanish Rally Champion, has been racing since he was a little kid. He moved up the ranks through different series around the world. Before he joined the Verizon IndCar Series in 2008, he was crowned the 1999 Indy Lights champion and was also runner up in the Champ Car World Series in 2005. In 2011, he ended up finishing in the fourth position in the IndyCar championship standings. Notably, fourth place in 2012 is Servia’s best Indy 500 finish. Servia has made seven attempts at the Indy 500 that included a front row start that lead to a sixth place finish in the 2011 race, as well as three 11th place finishes.
He is fluent in four languages and holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering. That makes him a perfect brand ambassador for the lubricants firm as well as the International tech company.
“My number one aim was to make sure I was participating in the 100th Indy 500 with a team that could give me a car to contend for the win, and I have no doubt that Sam Schmidt and all his group at SPM will do exactly that,” said Servia. “Being sponsored by Lucas Oil and Jahia are just the cherry on the cake and I couldn’t be happier to represent companies with such high standards. I can’t wait for May 29th to hopefully make them proud.”
SPM announced in April that Marotti Racing would be a co-entrant for the Indy 500 to help the teams third car at IMS. Marotti Racing, found by Will Marotti, will use this experience to start up his business and to build the skills he needs to strengthen his team. Marotti is a huge racing fan and has not missed an Indy 500 since 1969. He was a driver in autocross and SCCA evens as well as a graduate from Skip Baber Racing School.
The 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 also known as the Greatest Spectacle in Racing will be ran on Sunday May 29 at 12p.m ET and will be broadcast live on ABC unless you live in Indianapolis then it will be re aired later on in the day
