In August 2021, the then SRT-Yamaha team lost the support that, since its emergence in the MotoGP World Championship, had been provided by the Malaysian oil company Petronas, which was a serious blow to the point of closing the structure and refounding itself as RNF Racing, which this year was sponsored by the Italian brand WithU, dedicated to the electricity, gas, communications and internet supply business.
Razlan Razali , owner of the team’s place in MotoGP, was able to face the loss of Petronas and the reorganization of the structure, remaining as a satellite of Yamaha, thanks to the economic injection of the Italian company, which opted for the world championship of motorcycling to become known as a provider of basic services in your country.
However, WithU’s bet has not given the expected return, as explained by its owner, Matteo Ballarin , in the Italian newspaper l’Arena .
Ballarin explains that the crisis in Europe as a result of the war in Ukraine has hit his companies hard, which has led them to rethink current investments in sponsorship.
In addition, the executive takes the opportunity to criticize the little visibility that WithU has received in the time he has been in MotoGP.
“People don’t know we exist,” says Ballarin in the interview. We have left many sponsorships and we have put others under strong discussion,” he adds.
Specifically, regarding his bet on MotoGP, he assures that “it is very expensive and the current market situation does not give visibility”.
WithU, whose headquarters are in the Italian town of Verona, will from now on bet more on the local volleyball team, which it has sponsored for years.
“With volleyball we want to deepen and move forward, because we are very involved, we feel part of the protagonists”, explains Ballarin
And when asked if he is going to leave MotoGP to focus on volleyball, the executive does not hesitate. “Yes, but it doesn’t mean that we will increase the contribution to volleyball, but it does mean that we are going to say enough is enough to MotoGP”.
A new problem for Razali, who after reaching a two-year agreement with Aprilia to become a satellite team of Noale’s house, which is the one who will pay the salary of the riders, Miguel Oliveira and Raúl Fernández, and a large part of the team technician, you will have to look for a new sponsor to face the regular expenses of the structure for the next season.
