Hero Motocorp has announced that it is to tie-up with the US based Erik Buell Racing (EBR) with an aim to strengthen its presence in the high-end bike segment.
At the declaration, Mr. Pawan Munjal, MD and CEO of Hero Motocorp commented, “It gives me immense pleasure to welcome Erik Buell to the exciting world of Hero MotoCorp. This is in keeping with my objective of quickly scaling up our own in-house R&D capabilities to a global two-wheeler technology power-house by leveraging a network of strategic international alliances. Erik and his team have been working closely with our engineers and designers to develop our next-generation range of products with cutting-edge technology and first-of-its-kind features”.
Munjal also said, “The Indian two-wheeler industry is set to evolve, and it is only natural that as the market leader, we are driving this change. As a part of this plan, Erik is going to play an integral role in giving shape to some of my dream two-wheelers for the discerning youth of today. So my R&D team and Erik’s team together have made some definitive progress in this direction, and we will hopefully be putting a few scorchers on the roads soon”.
Regarding the racing debut, Mr. Munjal said, “This is also a key part of our alliance with EBR. Both Erik and I felt that we should carry forward our partnership into the race track. As a company, we have always supported and
nurtured sports and sporting talent in India. It is indeed a pleasure to sponsor two EBR teams at the AMA Championships and we are delighted to be taking an Indian brand to a highly-competitive and highly-popular international motorcycle race arena. We look forward to superlative performances from both Danny and Geoff”.
Mr. Erik F. Buell, Chairman & CTO of EBR, said “EBR is delighted to partner with a company as iconic as Hero MotoCorp. Both HMCL and EBR share the common commitment to manufacturing world-class two-wheelers with technology of the future. I have personally been deeply impressed with and inspired by Pawan’s vision. He has given us a challenging brief, and our highly-motivated team is working towards giving shape to that dream. We look forward to designing technology solutions which are in line with contemporary global standards and also futuristic in their appeal and utility”.
Buell added, “I deeply appreciate the support provided by Pawan and Hero MotoCorp to our two teams and this will only make Danny and Geoff perform better this season. As I kept meeting Pawan over the past several months, I realised his keen interest in moto-racing and the ‘Team Hero’ at AMA Championships is really a natural extension of our strategic collaboration. Top-class motorcycle racing is a very popular sport in the US, and the presence of the ‘Hero’ brand name is going to lend a lot of stature and excitement to all EBR fans out there”.
Hero MotoCorp is entering the exciting world of international motorcycle racing for the first time. The company will mark its foray into the racing arena by sponsoring two teams: Team Hero and AMSOIL Hero – a first by any Indian two-wheeler company at the AMA Pro Racing National Guard Superbikes Championship. Popular young racer Danny Eslick will represent “Team Hero” while another well-known racer Geoff May will represent team AMSOIL Hero – both riding on EBR 1190RS bikes. Hero MotoCorp also showcased an EBR 1190RS bike at the press conference.