VR46 - jumped the shark ?

The optics of this, based on history, are terrible. If it signals a shift in that government's policies and attitudes in general, perhaps that could be a positive ... IF this is being done for the right reasons.

Let's not forget that the world's continued dependence upon fossil fuels are also supporting that regime. You are supporting that regime every time you fill up a fuel tank. Even if the specific molecules of fuel that you filled up with came from (let's say) Alberta, it's still a worldwide commodity. Keep the hypocrisy in mind.

Dorna, via both MotoGP and WorldSBK, also interact with the Middle East via their Qatar rounds, and have done so for quite a long time.

Everything in this world, is connected to everything else.
 
MBS - Mr Bone Saw
 
I have a similar discussion going on the Motogp board. Bottom line as Brian noted above... not much different than the Repsol sponsorship of Honda and MM93 in the end. Repsol has deep dealings with Saudi oil and gas. Not sure why everyone is making the connection with VR46 and the Saudi Govt while ignoring everyone else
 
All good arguments but in a world where umbrella girls are gone and people get cancelled over old tweets, I don't know if this is a great choice.
It's all about money though. Really depends how large of a sponsor they are, if they make up a huge chunk of the sponsorship for VR46, bad press won't have any damage. But if they aren't they could lose the others by association.
It's not an if but when another Saudi human rights issue comes to light.
 
Same as tobacco sponsorship. We still cheer on motorcycles and race cars emblazoned with Gauloises, Lucky Strike, Rothmans and Marlboro, even though those companies are complicit in making their products as addictive as possible and sending millions of people to early graves.

Have they killed more people than the Saudi regime? I'd say yes...
 
Lightcycle said:
Same as tobacco sponsorship. We still cheer on motorcycles and race cars emblazoned with Gauloises, Lucky Strike, Rothmans and Marlboro, even though those companies are complicit in making their products as addictive as possible and sending millions of people to early graves.

Have they killed more people than the Saudi regime? I'd say yes...
Click to expand...
But the killings didn't happen in "chop chop square".
 
nobody has high moral ground
 
Public relation moved by Saudi regime to win hearts and minds. But here in the West , the Saudi Kingdom is forever linked to 9/11 and ruling over its people with a brutal iron fist/saw.
 
EDIT: Posted the blog from David Emmet's Motomatters website, not realising this was the same thing...

My opinion is that it's all well and good to play moral relativism and just shrug and say they're all bad, but this is plainly a lot worse. It's not advertising a product of a murderous regime, it's directly advertising that regime itself. Would we be upset if arms dealers sponsored a team? What about ISIS? White supremacists? Absolutely, nobody is perfect, but there still has to be some standard somewhere along the line. We stopped tobacco advertising years ago for the same reason...
 
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