Starting with the 2010 event, the Open Championship at St Andrew’s will see the Korean-based industrial giant, Doosan, joining hands with Rolex and Lexus in a five year sponsorship deal. Rejoicing at the successful culmination of this deal, Tim Waples, Doosan Infracore UK general manager, said that the objective of this deal was to increase the visibility of the company not only for forklifts but for other businesses in UK and elsewhere in Europe. According to him, the championship is a prestigious event and associating with it would help the company to improve its profile.

The Open Championship sponsored by Rolex at St Andrew’s is the Holy Grail for golfers all around the world as they search for that elusive win that would propel them to superstardom. Tiger Woods, Open Champion 2000, 2005, stated that winning at St Andrew’s was the ultimate golfing experience for him. Another golf legend, Jack Nicklaus stated that a golfer must win at St Andrews in order to be remembered for a long time.

The Open Championship sponsored by Rolex is considered by many as the toughest golf championship in the world due to its challenging golf course. In order to become a champion a golfer has to negotiate through hazards at every turn. Of course, there have been instances of great shots being made that have earned golfers appreciation from around the world, but more often than not golfers are left with memories of innumerable misses and windblown shots. According to experts, a win here opens the doors to making history.

Businesses across the board want to associate with the Championship because of its rich heritage. Therefore, it was not surprising when Doosan chose to join hands with the Championship just like Rolex and Lexus. The company hopes to use this deal as a marketing strategy to catapult itself into the big league. Doosan is the first Korean company to support the championship, which will be broadcasted to large parts of America and Europe. The actual championship will be watched by an approximate of 250,000 people.

Rolex is considered by many as the ultimate in luxury goods. The company was formed way back in 1905 when Hans Wilsdorf and his brother-in-law founded the Wilsdorf and Davis Company in 1905. Later this name was changed to Rolex and the company was incorporated in the year 1919, in Geneva, Switzerland. Rolex supports a wide range of sporting activities that includes golf, car racing, sailing, vintage car racing and so on. The main aim of the company is to provide support to new and emerging talent in sports. The winners are awarded with personal Rolex timepieces in order to encourage them to do even better.  The support given by Rolex brings forth more fans to the sporting arena over a period of time.

Eager to get racing on the 1.5 mile track at Lime Rock, Connecticut, the Rolex series team is all set to get, set and go, after a successful preparation race test held by the team. Originated in the year 2000, the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car series is North America based and has been combining classes of Daytona prototypes, which is a custom based class built especially for the Rolex Series, and Touring Style Production based cars. The series also includes a number of tracks ranging from American, to Canadian, to Mexican. Presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, the event is scheduled to happen on the 31st of May, at 2 P.M., ET.

The reviews of the test revealed that the Daytona Production cars did an exalting 49 second lap, with seven turns overall, hence making the competitors happy with the speed they showed in those laps. The pace, they feel, would give a stiff competition to the production based GT cars, which are known to give an average of a 53 second lap. The trial had a total of nineteen cars, which included eleven Daytona Prototypes, which tackled a changing weather condition for the six-hour session. Getting an aggressive edge with the entire track, the Starworks Motorsports drivers feel that the Lime Rock will be a great venue for the DP Cars, especially because the Connecticut circuit is fast and twisty, hence adding to the excitement at the Grand-Am race.

Racers including Mike Forest and Ryan Dalziel also feel that Lime Rock, as a race track, has a strong potential to give the event plenty of action. Offering only one clear passing zone, the track will be full with dually-classified, thirty racing cars. Thrilled about the one day event, the racers believe that the program will allow them to make the best use of the improved cards.

Focusing on the ranking, most racers are positive about finishing as the top five at the Lime Rock. The event will be seen as a platform to improve the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series point standings, and hence the ranks. Kasper Anderson, with his team mate Bill Lester, marks his return to the Rolex Car series with this event and looks forward to the new challenge being offered. He believes that the race is going to be hard to pass, and is crucial to qualify to be part of the Starworks Motorsports.

With a combination of a challenging track and the best of racing cars, everyone waits in anticipation to see how the event will unfold.

Canadian racer Mark Wilkins is all set for a test-of-endurance race in the Laguna Seca Racing Championship. The American Le Mans Series will mark the initiation of the Laguna event. The racer will be seen sharing the steering wheel of the Level 5 Motorsports No. 55 FLM09 LMPC class with Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut. The event will take place over the weekend starting 22nd May, at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca which also hosts Rolex sponsored annual Monterey Historics championship, one of the most revered racing championships which features a great blend of different racing cars on the race course.

The event will mark the first one after the trio registered their victory in the class race at the 12 Hours of Sebring which was held during March. The prestigious racing event will be spread over a time period of six hours. Beginning on Saturday afternoon; the event will go on till twilight.

The trio top racers will return to the Laguna Seca event with a spirit to replicate the Sebring victory and for registering the topmost step at the podium. Speaking about the Sebring event, Mark Wilkins said that they worked as a team and also called it an experience of a lifetime to race in the event. He also said that their car in that event was quite different from the Daytona Prototype which he usually drives in all Rolex events. The Toronto based racer added that he was looking forward to driving in another LMPC and said that it was a great surprise when he was contacted by Level 5 for the Six hour Laguna Seca race.

Mark Wilkins also commented that the Mazda Raceway of Laguna Seca is quite familiar to him as he has had several opportunities to race on the track.  He added that being familiar with the track as well as with the car always helps during the race. He said that his other two experienced co-drivers- Scott Tucker and Christophe Bouchut were also very familiar with the Laguna raceway and looked quite hopeful of speeding through the championship.

In addition, Mark Wilkins will also be seen participating in the 2010 Rolex Daytona Prototype Series where he will be racing in the No. 61 AIM Autosport Ford Riley together with Burt Frisselle. The Rolex Prototype event will mark the fourth one in his illustrious racing career. Also, the racer is slated to rejoin Michael Shank for the Rolex 24 At Daytona where he will be co-driving with Ozz Negri and John Pew in the No. 60 Ford Riley. In the year 2008, Mark Wilkins gave one of the most admired performances of his career during the Grand Am Rolex Series with his co-driver Burt Frisselle when he faced a defeat in the last lap after registering a victory in all other rounds.

The American Le Mans Series (ALMS) consists of sprint and endurance races which follows the 24 Hours of Le Mans’ spirit. The Laguna Seca Championship includes a line-up of eight races apart from the American Le Mans Series which are held over the weekend starting Saturday afternoon.

One of the most popular and successful manufacturers in the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series as well as in some of the other racing series, Porsche is all geared up to don the hat of the official promotional partner of the Grand Am Series. With this, Porsche has earned the right to make use of the Grand Am logos, marks, videos and images for the entire 2010 season. This has also paved way for Porsche drivers to be able to race in the Rolex GT Class series to lay claim over the coveted Porsche Cup. Like every year, the cup will be awarded to the best Porsche driver by manufacturers on the basis of the annual performance of the driver.

As opposed to other manufacturers, Porsche is the sole manufacturer to have won as many as nine Rolex Series manufacturer championships.  Five of its manufacturer championship titles were bagged in the Rolex GT Class Series, which included the Rolex Daytona Prototype in the year 2003. The German company registered its 22nd overall victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona last January. Porsche also marked its 58th class victory during the Bosch Engineering 250 following the commendable partnership of the talented racers Andy Lally and Ted Ballou, who shared the wheel of the TRG’s No.66 AXA Porsche GT3. The championship was held at Virginia International Raceway. The reputed manufacturer also became the proud owner of the maximum number of championships in the history of the Rolex Series, including the overall as well as class series following its 42 overall victories and 59 class victories during the Grand Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

While speaking about the initiative, the President of Porsche Motorsports North America, Paul Ritchie considered the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series as a very important component of the motorsports related action that the company engages in the United States. He went on to add that both racing cars- the Daytona Prototypes and the 911 race cars powered by Porsche have registered fine performances in all the series and also expressed that the company is pleased to have added the extended marketing component.

The Porsche Cup is one of the most cherished and coveted accomplishments of any of the manufacturers. The cup is awarded together with prize money of $310,000. The award is given to the best performer of the series during the annual Porsche Cup party, which is held in Weissach, Germany. So far only three full time Rolex Series Competitors have earned the esteemed Porsche Cup- Wolf Henzler, Kevin Buckler and Dirk Werner. Kevin Hindson the Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Grand Am commented that they are fortunate that the three Rolex Series racers have won the Porsche Cup, after giving a tough fight to Porsche privateers that the world offers. He said that with all the Porsche drivers gearing up to participate in the GT Class of the Rolex Series to win over the Cup, the international series is once again going to be highly action packed with a loads of competition to look forward to.

The ongoing 2010 Bell Micro LPGA Classic has witnessed participation from a number of champion golfers, including Jiyai Shin, who recently bagged the prestigious title of being No. 1 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. This marks the very first appearance of the talented South Korean golfer in the LPGA event after winning over the title. Jiyai Shin opened with an impressive 70 in the event sharing her score with the World No.2 golfer Ai Miyazato who also opened with a 70 mark.

Jiyai Shin piped another ace golfer Lorena Ochoa in the LPGA’s Tres Marias Championship this year to claim the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Rankings. Lorena Ochoa embraced the No.1 Rolex ranking for a total of 158 weeks. Jiyai Shin’s impressive performance in the LPGA Japan tour helped her scale new heights.

Jiyai Shin had made her debut in the LPGA Tour in the year 2007. In a short span of time, the Rolex No.1 woman golfer broke all records under the Korean LPGA tour. Following this she went on to prove her worth in 10 out of a total 19 golfing events of the KLPGA. She featured in the top three women’s golfing championships in the year 2007. Jiyai Shin is also known for her participation as a non-member in 10 tournaments of the LPGA tour. She marked her victory in three tournaments out of 10, which included the ADT Championship and the Woman’s British Open. Jiyai Shin also made an appearance in the Evian Masters, which is one of the major LPGA events. Soon she registered on the eighth position in the world rankings, which also made her the highest ranked South Korean golfer of all times. She remained the rookie of the year in the last season of the LPGA Tour after she claimed the money list, which also earned her the title of player of the year.

The Bell Micro LPGA Classic Tournament took off on May 10th 2010 and will go on till May16th 2010. Although Lorena Ochoa’s retirement, who was one of the most sought after golfers of all time, has given some degree of relief to the other players competing in the Bell Micro LPGA Classic Tournament, however, with Jiyai Shin around the atmosphere is still tense. Suzann Pettersen, who holds the honor of being World No. 4 in the rankings, commented that the tournament feels like a phase between two eras. However, she went on to add that the players are used to such sort of fierce competition. She noted that earlier it was Annika Sorenstam who used to dominate in the championships, which was followed by Lorena Ochoa and now they have to fight the latest No.1 player Jiyai Shin. She also said that they all enjoyed the stiff competition.

Talking about the newly acquired title of the No. 1 ranking in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Jiyai Shin said that she had always dreamt about bagging the No. 1 spot and added that for her bagging the title was like realizing one of her biggest dreams.