General Tire to Sponsor Team USA 2011 Dakar Run

Even if the Dakar Rally long stopped being one of the iconic events in motorsports, the legacy of its name still causes excitement in those involved in the automotive industry. Car manufacturers and supplier alike race for a chance at stardom, with the 2011 event to be hosted, again, by the South American continent.

One of the contenders to the title, Team USA, will be entering their Ford F-150 Raptor with the help of General Tire, who announced today it will be sponsoring the car to be driven by Darren Skilton, Sue Mead and Tom Collins.

That means the Raptor will use General Grabber competition tires for the challenging 5,500 miles race from Argentina to Chile. With these rubbers on, the team hopes to make a lasting impression in the competition's history books.

"This is an exciting sponsorship for General Tire," said Travis Roffler, director of marketing, General Tire. "We've made a major come-back in motorsports in the past few years, and sponsoring Team USA at the Dakar Rally is just another step in the plan."

“With the reported 4.1 million spectators and 2.2 billion television viewers the event had last year, this is the ultimate off-road sponsorship opportunity for us."

The Dakar Rally kicks off in the first day on next year in South America, where it moved recently, promising to bring, thanks to a change in regulations towards the WPM system, an increasingly important role for co-drivers. The new regulations have been tested, successfully by all accounts, in the Silk Way Rally.