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Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Gauloises Racing
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Camel Honda
Photo by: Fabrice Crosnier
Photo de: Richard Sloop
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Richard Sloop
Photo by: Gauloises Fortuna Racing
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
From the 1980s to the mid-2000s, tobacco brands populated the World Championship grid. It was usual for almost all the leading drivers to have the presence of a tobacco company in their fairing that contributed a significant amount of the team’s budget.
However, in the mid-1990s the situation began to change. Society began to become aware of the harmful effects of smoking on health and one country after another enacted laws to restrict tobacco advertising.
As the legislation was not the same in all the countries that hosted Grands Prix, the tobacco companies continued to sponsor the teams, circumventing the prohibitions where they existed with the ingenuity of the designers who modified the decoration in a way that continued to make the brands recognizable despite comply with the law that prevented its advertising.
Some tobacco companies, such as Rothmans , MS or HB simply removed their name from the logo. Others, like West and Camel , played with their acronyms to name their pilots. Among the most ingenious was Altadis, who exchanged Gauloises and Fortuna for messages. The one who resisted the most was Marlboro , which among its many modifications highlighted the barcode they wore, something similar to what Chesterfield did.
Gradually, more and more countries ended up drawing up their own law and tobacco disappeared from the MotoGP grid. Still, Phillips Morris continued to finance Ducati, which thanks to its red color continued to find the partnership interesting. In fact, the US tobacco company resisted until very recently through Mission Winnow , “a communications platform that seeks progress and transparency,” according to them.
Since 2009 the presence of tobacco in MotoGP has not been seen again. Banished from the championship, we are currently in the era of energy drinks like Red Bull or Monster Energy .
Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team, en 2009
