Altherm is the new 'naming rights' of JCR Yamaha Racing

With National MX2 Champion, Scott Columb, proudly displaying the No.1 plate on his Yamaha for the 2013-14 season and his MX1 class team-mate, Billy Mackenzie, showing the No.2 plate on his machine, the team will move forward with a fresh impetus, courtesy of the Hamilton-based window systems company, APL, which maintains a nationwide network of Altherm retailers.

The JCR Yamaha Racing Team also had Rotorua-based athlete, Cameron Vaughan, collecting the National 125cc title last season; so winning races is something that the team manager, Motueka’s former Grand Prix star and current Australian MX1 Champion, Josh Coppins, can almost guarantee.

"To be honest, though, while winning is nice, it’s not vital to this relationship,” said APL General Manager, Marketing, Shane Walden. "We believe that there is real synergy between quality brands such as Altherm and Yamaha. This is a space that we haven’t been in before, but we are very interested in growing our brand profile within the motorcycling fraternity as a lot of families ride off-road dirt bikes in NZ and those same people build houses, and buy windows.”

Team manager, Coppins, said it was ‘quite unique’ to have sponsorship from outside of the motorcycling industry. "I am very excited about the relationship and thrilled that they have entrusted us to help promote their window systems. It has a real ‘feel good’ feeling about it and I’m keen to show them what we can do.”

Altherm, in conjunction with the JCR Yamaha Racing Team, will be running a competition throughout the season focused on young riders, offering the chance to go into the draw for the ultimate prize of a weekend’s worth of personal coaching with Josh Coppins at his Motueka-based training facility.

This initiative looks to broaden the focus away from pure racing, such as National Championship events, and include families involved in the sport of off-road riding. It also allows Coppins to give something back to the sport. "We will be offering tuition to teach youngsters how to ride an off-road motorbike,” explained Coppins. "Fostering the younger generation is just as important as managing the professionals. Altherm’s initiative is a fantastic way to provide an opportunity for those families new to, or familiar with, the sport of off-road riding to further their confidence and skills.”

In the meantime, if it all goes to plan for the Altherm JCR Yamaha Racing Team this season, it’s unlikely that other race teams will feel they’ve ‘been framed’ and probably won’t get a look-in on the race track.

Copy Andy McGechan.  Yamaha Motor New Zealand image.
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