Seiko new partner for BAR

Lucky Strike B*A*R Honda today confirmed the Seiko Watch Corporation, a brand synonymous with precision time-keeping, as official Team Watch Partner. The three-year partnership will initially see the Seiko company logo positioned on the racesuits of drivers Jenson Button, Takuma Sato, third driver Anthony Davidson and test driver Enrique Bernoldi.

Since being established in 1881, Seiko has been the innovator of several revolutionary time pieces commencing with the production of Japan's first wristwatch in 1913 and including the creation of the world's first quartz watch in 1969.

Seiko has also been the official timekeeper at many international sporting events since the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games including those of track and field, swimming, the Winter Olympic Games and is now entering Formula One for the first time.

The partnership with the B*A*R Honda team will enable the SEIKO Watch Corporation, an independent division of the Seiko company with President and CEO Shinji Hattori, to develop a marketing campaign created from its strategy of 'innovation and refinement'. Utilising a variety of images of the team, the global execution will also feature driver Takuma Sato, with whom the company has a personal endorsement in Japan.

B*A*R Honda Chief Executive Officer Nick Fry said, "I am delighted to begin the New Year with the announcement that Seiko has joined B*A*R Honda as Team Watch Partner. We are extremely proud to be associated with such a technologically innovative company and especially pleased that this association has been borne out of our successful relationship with Seiko's sister company, Epson, with whom we entered into an agreement for the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix."

"These are exciting times for our Team Partners as we embark on a new era for B*A*R Honda and seek to build on the significant performance step achieved last season. We look forward to assisting Seiko in their exciting product development and marketing programmes over the next three years."

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