Full Throttle

Cigarette giant Gudang Garam will co-sponsor the Indonesian leg of the A1 Grand Prix motorsport championship next month, organisers said Tuesday, bucking a global trend toward restricting tobacco advertising.

Spokesman for A1 Team Indonesia, Indra Said, said Gurang Garam and local Bank NISP would sponsor the event, but he declined to reveal how much they would spend. “The most important thing is the event will be successful,” Said told AFP.

Both companies would be allowed to put the A1 logo on their own billboards and advertisements, while their logos would adorn Team Indonesia, he said. Indonesia and Nepal are the only two countries in Asia that have not signed a UN convention on tobacco control, which among a slew of other measures, requires signatories to impose restrictions on tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion when it comes into force.

The Indonesian A1 Grand Prix was originally scheduled for January 15 but was postponed due to the death of Dubai ruler Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashed al-Maktoum, the uncle of the championship’s founder. The race now will now take place on February 12.