NOVEMBER 9, 2006

ING to sponsor Belgium

The Dutch financial company ING recently announced its plans to sponsor the Australian Grand Prix and we are expecting another announcement shortly, indicating that the firm is also going to be the title sponsor of the Belgium Grand Prix, the race closest to the company's headquarters in Holland. This will be a big bonus for the troubled Spa event which has struggled to balance its books in recent years but has managed to get back into the World Championship next year with a new promotional company. The previous promoter DDGP went out of business in 2005 with debts of $11.75m. The sponsorship will give the new promotions company a decent chance of success as the deal is believed to be for at least three years.