KEY POINTS:
High profile support of drivers of the calibre of Juan Pablo Montoya out of Formula 1 and now racing in NASCAR in the United States, and V8 SuperCar teams like Stone Brothers and Triple 8 across the Tasman means the Havoline lubricants brand is well known to motorsport fans around the world.
Here in New Zealand, Havoline also goes hand-and-hand with motorsport, courtesy of historic support of high-profile drivers such as Possum Bourne in rallying and a long-established link with the New Zealand V8 championship.
Last season, Havoline was part sponsor of the International Motorsport-run Caltex Racing Team that included Angus Fogg in the Star Mart Car and long-time anchorman Paul Pedersen in the Havoline Car.
This season, the Havoline support has extended to outright naming sponsorship of the Havoline Racing Team with two cars running in identical black-and-yellow livery.
In addition, the new race cars are also supported by Delo commercial lubricants designed with heavy equipment in mind yet equally at home in a race car.
From a driver perspective, the team has continuity with Fogg, this year racing in the
3 Havoline car reflecting his third place in the championship last season. In the other car, Pedersen has taken a sabbatical this season to support his son, Ant, who has progressed into Porsche GT3 racing this year.
His place has been taken by, Connel McLaren, who as one of the big improvers in the Porsche series last year, has moved to NZV8s as the next step in his burgeoning career on the local scene.
Sponsorship is now an integral and sophisticated part of the motor racing picture.
But few relationships are as mutually beneficial as the one that exists between International Motorsport and Caltex, the name behind the Havoline and Delo lubricant brands.
As well as carrying Havoline and Delo branding, the cars also use over-the-counter Havoline and Delo products. "That's right," says Angus Fogg.
"Contrary to what most people probably think, we run our cars on the same oils and greases you can buy at a Caltex service station or wherever Havoline and Delo products are sold.
"We use Havoline Formula or Syn Blend in the engines, Multigear S or Delo Gear in the transmissions and diffs, Caltex Synthetic ATF in the power steering, and Delo grease in the bearings and suspension."
Handy really, because if the team runs low on any oil or grease product they can, literally, head into town and buy some more.
"Which is exactly what happened to us in Invercargill this year," says Fogg.
"Because the transporter had been away from the workshop for so long, we ran short of transmission fluid but it didn't matter because we just sent someone into town to buy it from John Keast who is the local Havoline distributor down there."
Fogg speaks from a position of some authority when it comes to the needs and demands placed on lubricants by modern race cars.
Although best known as a driver, the 40-year-old has been building, developing and race-engineering his own cars since he was in his teens and, in addition to being the Havoline Racing Team's lead driver, Fogg is also chief engineer and oversees every facet of the team's NZV8 campaign.
The guys from Havoline take a close interest in how the lubricants perform under racing conditions, regularly analysing the condition of the engine, transmission and diff oils and passing that information back to the team and on to head office.
The two International Motorsport cars enjoyed a successful debut in their new Havoline/Delo colours at the opening round of the 2007/08 NZ Truth V8s championship at Pukekohe Park Raceway over the November 3-4 weekend, Fogg qualifying the
3 car second fastest then finishing third in the first race, fourth in the second and fifth in the reverse grid final race after starting 25th off the start. McLaren in the
94 car qualified 20th, no mean feat for a first effort, then finishing 20th in the first race, 21st in the second and 18th in the third.
Heading into the second round at Christchurch's Powerbuilt Tools Raceway at Ruapuna Park over the November 24-25 weekend, Fogg is in third place in the overall standings with 163 points and McLaren is 21st with 38.
