Symmons Plains: Symantec boosts Australian motorsport

SYDNEY, Australia -- March 4, 2009 -- Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), makers of Norton security software, has accelerated its involvement in Australian motorsport, announcing a major partnership between its Norton 360 brand and the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Symantec will partner with Triple Eight Race Engineering, with the Norton 360 logo featuring on the TeamVodafone V8 Supercars driven by current V8 Supercar champion, Jamie Whincup and V8 Supercar legend, Craig Lowndes.

Symantec will also be the naming rights sponsor of the Melbourne round of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series, to be called the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge.

The partnership with TeamVodafone and Triple Eight Race Engineering is an extension of an existing relationship with Symantec and Craig Lowndes, who carried the Norton logo on his helmet and race suit throughout the 2008 season.

"Our partnership with Craig Lowndes has been extremely successful, helping raise consumer awareness of Internet safety issues and promoting the speed and performance of our products," said Symantec's consumer spokesperson Pacific, Matthew Drake.

"Motorsport is a great platform for communication with consumers given our products are engineered for speed."

Lowndes became the Norton Internet Safety Ambassador for Australia and New Zealand at the beginning of last year, and continues to promote online safety and security to consumers.

"Our partnership with the team complements the awareness-raising work we have been doing with Craig in our region, as well as various Symantec online safety programs currently underway elsewhere in the world," said Drake.

Team principal, Roland Dane, says the partnership with Symantec is a great boost to his championship-winning team.

"Any time motor racing attracts a major new corporate sponsor it's a good thing," said Dane.

"Given the current economic environment, the addition of a fortune 500 company like Symantec on the cars is particularly helpful to our prospects of defending the Supercar title."

Chief Executive Officer of V8 Supercars Australia, Cameron Levick, has welcomed Symantec's increased commitment to V8 racing.

"Like a number of other key sponsors Symantec clearly sees good value in V8 Supercars and we are pleased that the audience of the sport aids the awareness-raising objectives," said Levick.

"This is a key announcement for our sport as we and our teams continue to defy current commercial trends. We welcome Symantec, through the Norton name, into our sport and look forward to a lengthy relationship."

The Norton 360 Sandown Challenge will comprise two sprint-length races on August 1 and 2, 2009.

The new Sandown race promoter, V8 Supercar Events, says Symantec's sponsorship will help to rebuild the Melbourne race as a major event on the V8 Championship calendar.

"Our aim this year is to restore some of the prestige to Sandown as an iconic inner-city race venue," said Levick.

"The Norton 360 sponsorship gives the Sandown race a strong platform for future growth and will allow us to provide a better experience for race-goers."

The Norton 360 Sandown Challenge will also be an occasion to thank Victorian fire-fighters for their efforts during the recent deadly bushfires. Five hundred of the fire-fighters will receive tickets to the Melbourne race courtesy of Symantec.

-credit: theprojectgroup.com.au