A look at Kalimex’s history of supporting motorsport

Kalimex and LIQUI MOLY conclude PMF’s report into the excitement of motorsport and its integration with the automotive aftermarket – how do brands leverage motorsport’s influence to enhance awareness and achieve business success? Here, the two companies share their role in supporting motorsport.

Kalimex, the UK distributor for K-Seal, Quiksteel and JLM Lubricants’ range of products, has a long history of supporting motorsport in the UK. Mike Schlup, Kalimex’s managing director, explained: “Our involvement with motorsport began 20 years ago, not long after the launch of K-Seal Permanent Coolant Leak Repair. We started out supporting a local driver running a classwinning Ford Escort in the Southern Saloons Championship.

“Fast forward to 2010, and we became involved with John Mickel – already a UK and world champion in Legends Cars – supporting him in the UK championship which he won again. We then helped him to compete and win yet again in the World Finals in the USA.

“John was the only UK driver to achieve the World double in Legends cars, which was no mean feat given the stiff competition he faced! This was important for us as the US market was beginning to grow for K-Seal, so we had to get the brand name out there as much as possible.

“It worked (too) given K-Seal is now a number one bestseller in the US. Today John Mickel is running his own race team and is mentoring the Kalimex young driver programme with two drivers in the UK Legends championship and another driver in the 5 Nations BMW Mini Rallycross Championship.”

What does this activity bring to the business? Mike replied: “Simply turning up at a race and putting stickers on a car is easy, but to get a real return on the sponsorship investment takes more effort. So we run competitions with the trade to win VIP tickets to different race events. We also share news and imagery from race events over our various social media channels, and we incorporate images of the cars in our digital and print advertising.

“We use these images at trade events too because a race car is always going to be more eye catching than products on a shelf. Supporting motorsport with a brand does not have to break the bank, but it is important to share that support across as many channels as possible to reach your target audience. And, ultimately, you want it to deliver that all important return on investment.”

Biggest success? “When we supported Jordan Anderson at the 2020 NASCAR Truck season opener in Daytona Beach, Florida. Jordan came in second by just 0.010 of a second in the closest ever finish in this series. But the replays and images over the coming months, even years that were shared across multiple channels, were pure gold (bottom-left).”

The LIQUI MOLY logo will remain a fixture at Formula 1 racetracks until 2026 thanks to a new contract. Since 2019, LIQUI MOLY has been an ‘Official Partner’ of Formula 1, ensuring its presence through physical and virtual signage at select race events.

LIQUI MOLY has a history of sponsoring motorsport, including partnerships with Mercedes-Sauber and Jordan-Honda teams. Marketing Director, Peter Baumann, believes Formula 1’s extensive media reach and global marketing appeal, aligns with LIQUI MOLY’s goal of reaching a wide audience.

LIQUI MOLY engages in sponsorship activities in MotoGP, Motocross World Championship, World Handball Championship and various winter sports events.