AdminIn a major boost for the 27th edition of Le Tour de Langkawi 2023 (LTdL), PETRONAS has been unveiled as the Title Sponsor for the prestigious cycling event. This exciting partnership was announced at a ceremony attended by key dignitaries, including Minister of Youth and Sports YB Hannah Yeoh, who expressed her enthusiasm for the collaboration.
Minister Hannah Yeoh stated that PETRONAS’ involvement in the LTdL family is a significant development, particularly considering the constant challenges faced in organizing the annual cycling race. She lauded PETRONAS for its support and announced that the partnership extends for three consecutive years, spanning from 2023 to 2025.
“KBS is proud of this partnership and would like to extend a million thanks to PETRONAS for being the main sponsor of LTdL 2023. And what has made this partnership even better is that PETRONAS has also agreed to be the Title Sponsor for three consecutive years – 2023, 2024, and 2025,” said Hannah.
Also present at the ceremony were PETRONAS Group Senior General Manager of Strategic Communications, Datin Anita Azrina Abd Aziz; Chief Secretary of KBS, Dr. Nagulendran Kangayatkarasu; Director-General of the National Sports Council (MSN), Dato’ Ahmad Shapawi Ismail; and Vice President 1 of PKBM, Dato’ Amarjit Singh.
Boosting the budget for a world-class event
Minister Hannah explained that while the initial budget allocated to KBS for organizing the race was only RM8 million, a much larger budget of at least RM15 million was required to elevate the ProSeries tour event to a ‘world-class’ standard. This posed a significant challenge, but with the support of PETRONAS, they could ensure the event’s success.
“I am sure that the MSN team led by Dato’ Ahmad Shapawi will put in place the best strategy in ensuring that all the sponsorship packages will be fulfilled and implemented,” she said.
As the Title Sponsor, PETRONAS has secured ‘naming rights’ for the event, leading to the official logo being changed to “PETRONAS LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI 2023,” featuring the PETRONAS logo on all LTdL event branding. Moreover, PETRONAS will now have the right to the overall leader’s jersey, which will adopt the PETRONAS green, reflecting the corporate color of the petroleum giant.
“Yellow has been in use for the overall leader’s jersey for the past 26 years, so we are changing it for the first time to the PETRONAS green. This is a shift in ensuring that LTdL has a unique color for its leader, like the yellow ‘mailot jeune’ jersey for the Tour de France and the pink ‘maglia rosa’ jersey for the Giro d’Italia,” Minister Hannah added.
Broad exposure and sponsorship returns
KBS is confident that the widespread exposure through ‘live’ broadcasts on sports broadcaster Eurosports, as well as millions of viewers on local and foreign television, social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok, will provide significant returns on the sponsorship investment. Additionally, promotional programs, including the Calvacade parade and side events, will further cement the PETRONAS brand in the hearts of Malaysians.
“As an organizer, KBS is also proud of being able to partner and have a relationship with a world brand name like PETRONAS that has great popularity and credibility, especially in motorsports through their sponsorships of Formula 1 and MotoGP,” added Hannah.
LTdL 2023, organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through MSN in collaboration with the National Cycling Federation of Malaysia (PKBM), is a ProSeries race that will commence in Kerteh on September 23, covering 11 of the 12 states in the Peninsula and concluding in front of the PETRONAS Twin Towers (KLCC) on September 30, covering a total race distance of 1,277.1 kilometers.
A total of 22 teams, including two (2) WorldTeams, eight (8) ProTeams, 10 UCI Continental teams, and 2 Continental teams, including the Malaysian national squad, are set to participate in this exciting edition of Le Tour de Langkawi.
CJMY
Jimmy Tan
