MotoGP: Green Monster Arrives At Last!

Kawasaki have finally announced that they will be sponsored by Monster Energy for the 2008 and 2009 MotoGP seasons.

I say finally as it was rumoured for quite some time. I helped spread the rumours myself with my "Hopper turns into Green Monster" post back in July.

To recap, Monster Energy is a competitor to Red Bull in the American "energy drink" (i.e. highly caffeinated sugary water) market. It is owned by Hansen Natural Corp, an American soft drinks goliath which has been giving the Monster Energy drink the hard sell to the kind of people who begin and end every sentence with the word "Dude!" This ties in nicely with Kawasaki's new nickname of "Team Dude!", which it gained by signing the paddock's top two dudes, John Hopkins and Ant West.

Monster Energy already had links with Kawasaki's AMA road racing program, and were Hopper's personal sponsor last year. They support various extreme sports that are popular in the Dude! sector, and the brand is growing rapidly thanks to the fact that the drink comes in bigger cans than Red Bull. Plus, monsters are obviously cooler than bulls, as no self-respecting monster would ever get stabbed by some Spanish bloke with a cape.