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Racing Fast Facts

Shell has been involved in motor racing since the beginning of the sport and has built a long and storied history.

This history includes the following:

· Shell has partnered with race teams since the 1920’s.


· Powered Ferrari’s Formula One team to six FIA Constructors’ Championships in the last six years


· Partnered with Ducati Corse to take six World SBK Manufacturer’s Championships


· Helped Audi make history as the R10 became the first diesel-powered car ever to with the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans


· Racing lubricants made with Pennzoil technology were in the engine of the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup winning car

Formula One

Ferrari
  • Shell was the first sponsor of the great Enzo Ferrari when he worked alongside Alfa Romeo in the 1930’s. Then when Enzo created his own Scuderia Ferrari in the 1940’s – Shell scientists and engineers created unique blends of fuel for racing activities.  The same advanced technologies that fuel Ferrari’s Formula One cars on the track have been adapted for Shell fuels for the road.
  • Shell and Ferrari were technical partners at the very first round of the Formula One World Championship in Britain, 1950. Shell powered Ferrari to its first Formula One win a year later at Silverstone in 1951.
  • Shell and Ferrari contested Formula One races together from 1951 to 1973 (inclusive) and then from 1996 until the present day
  • Shell and Ferrari have contested more than 395 Formula One races together, winning 135
  • Shell has powered 7 teams in the history of the Formula One World Championship, but Ferrari stands out as the most successful. Together the partnership has scored more than 2000 World Championship points
  • Shell V-Power, the most advanced fuel Shell has ever developed, is in part a direct result of Shell’s technical partnership with Ferrari in Formula One.  The on-track involvement with the team provides Shell engineers with a unique testing ground for fuels and lubricants technologies.  The result is that the fuel used on the Formula One track contains 99% of the same types of compounds as found in commercially available fuels, like Shell V-Power.  In the U.S., Shell V-Power contains five times the minimum amount of cleaning agents required by Federal government standards and it surpasses TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline standard set by top automakers.
  • In 2005, Shell blended 40 tons of Formula One engine and gearbox lubricant for Ferrari.  That’s equivalent to the weight of 27 small road cars.
  • During a weekend, Shell engineers will analyze Ferrari’s fuel and oil more than 40 times.
  • Shell provides fuel, engine oil, gearbox oil, hydraulic fluid and greases to the Formula One team and road car production line.
  • Formula One fuel has three main tasks: to give power, protection and drivability.  Formula One lubricant also has three main tasks: to lubricate, to absorb heat and to minimize power loss through friction.
  • Key technical personnel behind Shell’s commitment to Ferrari are also involved in the formulation of fuel and oil products for the road.  This ensures that Shell’s unsurpassed expertise from the top of the motorsport world also goes into the products for the motorist.
  • All Ferrari road cars are designed to run using Shell fuels and lubricants.
  • Shell has partnered with race teams since the 1920’s.
  • Powered Ferrari’s Formula One team to six FIA Constructors’ Championships in the last six years
  • Partnered with Ducati Corse to take six World SBK Manufacturer’s Championships
  • Helped Audi make history as the R10 became the first diesel-powered car ever to with the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans
  • Racing lubricants made with Pennzoil technology were in the engine of the 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup winning car

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NASCAR

No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil car
  • Shell began its relationship with NASCAR in 1992, becoming a sponsor with Joe Gibbs Racing. After starting as an associate sponsor with the team’s Cup Series program, Shell became a primary sponsor for the Joe Gibbs Racing Busch Series program.  Shell experienced its first NASCAR victory when Bobby Labonte won the Opryland 320 in 1996.
  • In 1995, Shell became one of the first sponsors for the newly formed Joe Gibbs Racing-NHRA Division, with both a Top Fuel Dragster and a Funny Car.  Despite starting from scratch, the team had experienced personnel and used an engine oil specially formulated by Shell to help the Dragster finish second and the Funny Car third in points in their first years on the circuit.
  • In 1998, Shell began a Marketing Alliance with Texaco.  At this time, the Shell name moved out of NASCAR, however the company remained intimately involved in the sport, managing the Texaco partnership with Robert Yates Racing.
  • Pennzoil has been involved with NASCAR since 1991, and has been an associate sponsor with Roush Racing’s Nextel Cup Program since 2004.  Kurt Busch's No. 97 Ford Taurus engine ran motor oil with Pennzoil racing technology when he captured the NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship in 2004. All five Roush drivers were in the 2005 Chase for the Cup and 2003 Cup Champion Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin are competing for the Cup in 2006 with Pennzoil lubricants technology.
  • In 2005 and 2006, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin drove the Pennzoil Platinum Ford at select NASCAR Busch races.
  • Q motor oils owe their high-performance excellence, in part, to testing and specific product feedback from some of racing's best. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon came within a few points of the Nextel Cup with Q motor oil technology in their engines over the last two years.
  • Rotella T is the sponsor of Morgan Dollar and driver, Dennis Setzer, in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

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Cart/Champ car/Indy Racing League

  • In 1992, Shell signed an associate sponsorship with CART’s Team Rahal, beginning a decade of involvement in U.S. open-wheel racing.  Shell became the primary sponsor of the No. 28 Team Rahal car in 1995.  In 1998, Bryan Herta piloted the Shell car to a victory at Laguna Seca Raceway.  One year later Herta and Shell were back in the Victory Circle at Laguna.
  • Shell had its best year with Team Rahal in 2001, when Kenny Brack took four checkered flags and finished second in the points standings.  One year later, Shell completed it’s final year in Champ car.  Jimmy Vasser finished 7th in the standings and won the race at Fontana, Shell’s second-to-last race.
  • Pennzoil has been the sponsor for some of the most legendary teams and drivers in U.S. open-wheel racing. In the 1970’s, Pennzoil sponsored the likes of Jim Hall, Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford. Rutherford won the 1979 Indianapolis 500 in the Pennzoil Chaparral.
  • Pennzoil joined forces with legendary team owner, Roger Penske, and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, Rick Mears. Pennzoil cars won four Indy 500’s in the 1980’s with Penske drivers Rick Mears (three) and Danny Sullivan – his famous “spin and win.”
  • In the Indy Racing League, Pennzoil captured back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002 with Panther Racing and driver, Sam Hornish Jr. 
  • Quaker State was involved with Team Menard as an associate sponsor in the Indy Racing League and a sponsor of driver Adrian Fernandez in CART.

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MotoGP and World Superbike

Casey Stoner
  • Since 1999, Shell has enjoyed an extremely fruitful relationship with Ducati on the racetrack.  With six Manufacturers’ Championships and too many race wins to mention in World Superbikes, as well as a sparkling performance in MotoGP, the partnership has just begun to taste the next generation of success on the circuits of the world.
  • Shell shares a unique technical partnership with Ducati Corse in MotoGP and World Superbike. Shell produces tailor made Shell Advance lubricants and Shell V-Power racing fuel to suit the exact needs of the Italian Desmodronic engines. Shell Advance’s partnership with Ducati Corse was extended until at least 2008.

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Endurance racing.

  • Shell, a global leader in diesel technology, has a technical collaboration with Audi Sport to fuel its Audi R10s throughout the Le Mans racing series. In June, 2006 Shell V-Power Diesel racing fuel with GTL powered Audi Sport to victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, becoming the first ever diesel-powered winner of the legendary endurance event. In March 2006 the Audi R10 became the first diesel-powered sports car to win the 12 Hours of Le Mans in Sebring, FL using Shell V-Power Diesel.
    o The result was due in part to the inclusion of Shell GTL (Gas to Liquids) Fuel which is designed to continuously give more power.

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Multiple Series & Events

  • Working with some of the world’s finest and most successful race teams, both Pennzoil and Quaker State have conducted years of research into developing formulas and lubricant   technologies. In all types of racing, including NASCAR, NHRA, IRL, Sprint Car, Sport Compact and high-performance Skip Barber racecars, Pennzoil and Quaker State have helped racecars get to winner’s circle.
  • Quaker State Q line motorsport sponsorships include NASCAR Nextel Cup and Busch Series, NHRA Funny Car, NHRA Sport Compact, and National Sprint Car racing. The Q line of motor oils was specifically formulated for different engine needs, such as the Q Advanced Engine Full Synthetic and the most recently introduced Q TorquePower Full Synthetic designed for Trucks and SUV’s.  Q also features a line of racing oils that include:  Q Drag Racing 0W-5, Q Sport Compact Drag Racing 17.5W-35 and Q Oval Racing 15W-50.
  • Shell V-Power is associated with a number of premier automotive lifestyle events, including the Concorso Italiano, the Porsche Club of America “Porsche Parade,” Marque Madness and Hot Import Nights.

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