DENSO Increases Motor Sports Sponsorships for 2004

DENSO Corporation announced its motor sports sponsorship plan for the 2004 season. DENSO has been sponsoring motor sports since 1971.

This year, DENSO will co-sponsor two new teams as a corporate sponsor'Xthe Panasonic Toyota Racing F1 Team in Formula 1 (F1), and the Subaru World Rally team. DENSO also continues to support the Panasonic Toyota Racing team as a technical sponsor.

'DENSO is excited to sponsor these motor sports teams, and we hope to increase our name recognition and corporate image through our involvement with motor sports around the world,' said Takao Inukai, executive vice president, Sales and Marketing. 'It also is a good opportunity to showcase our technology to our many customers who support the motor sports community.'

DENSO's sponsorships include:

Four-wheel

' F1 (Formula 1)

Technical sponsor, supplying spark plugs, and corporate sponsor of the Panasonic Toyota F1 Team.

' World Rally Championship (WRC)

Corporate co-sponsor of a Subaru World Rally team

' All Japan GT Championship (JGTC)

Main sponsor for the Toyota Team Third and two new promising drivers participating in the JGTC GT500 cc class

' Indy Racing League (IRL)

Continue to co-sponsor Mo Nunn Racing and driver Toranosuke Takagi

' Asian Formula Three Championship(AF3)

Technical sponsor, supplying spark plugs, and corporate sponsor of the DENSO-Hanjin-JF3 Racing Team.

Two-wheel

DENSO supplies Iridium Power spark plugs, the world's first spark plug that uses a 0.4-mm iridium alloy center electrode, to various Motocross and World Two-wheel Championship riders.

' FIM Road Racing World Championship

DENSO continues to sponsor Naoki Matsudo (250 cc class) and Yoichi Ui (125 cc class. In addition, DENSO now sponsors Team LCR (owned by former GP rider Lucio Cecchinello) and rider Taro Sekiguchi (250 cc class), who swept the European Championship last year.

' Motocross and Drag Racing

DENSO sponsors Team Pro Circuit Kawasaki in Motocross and driver Keishi Nakamura in drag racing.