Sponsorship threatens Lucky Strike c'ships

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's preparations for hosting the world motocross championships for the first time next year have been marred with sponsorship problems.

PT British-American Tobacco (BAT) Indonesia is considering withdrawing from sponsoring next year's Lucky Strike International Motocross Championships.

A source close to the sponsor said yesterday that the company mentioned withdrawing the sponsorship last year after being disappointed with the poor performance and attitude of national crossers during the annual championships it has sponsored since 1991.

The just concluded BAT-sponsored motocross championships in Cibubur, West Java, saw 13 world leading crossers prevail over locals, with Frans Tanujaya, who finished 9th, being the only Indonesian in the top ten.

Other top national riders such as Pieters Tanujaya, Johny Pranata and Satya Sunarso who were ranked second, third and fifth by national standards, finished 13th, 17th and 22nd respectively.

"Indonesian riders are money-hungry. Their utmost concern is money, not performance," Bisnis Indonesia daily quoted Ermiel Thabrani, PT BAT's promotions manager, as saying.

Thabrani was also quoted by Gema Olahraga as saying that the home riders' poor performance put his company, the main sponsor, in an uncomfortable position because this gives the impression "that we sponsor the championships only to see foreign crossers beat ours."

However, according to Frans, poor technical skills were to blame for the poor performance. "We are far behind them in terms of technique. They have crossed since they were six or eight years old, while we began the sport as teenagers."

The championships organizer, Dolly Indra Nasution, regretted PT BAT's plan to withdraw the sponsorship but said that there is "another party", whose name he declined to mention, which is interested in taking it over.

Dolly, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Rally Foundation, added that whether or not PT BAT continues its sponsorship will not deter Indonesia from hosting a series of world motocross championships in July next year. (arf)