It has been reported in Spain this week that two of the leading sponsorship brand names in the MotoGP paddock have joined forces to promote their respective companies on a broader level worldwide. This may, in turn, open the door for Sete Gibernau to get the "good oil" without the political struggle he seems to have faced up until now.

Both Spanish companies, Repsol YPF (natural gas and oil) and Telefonica Movistar (Telecommunications), have agreed to a commercially viable contract so that both conglomerates can promote their lines of business with more impact in farther-flung regions of the globe. Each has areas of coverage that the other does not, so this marriage of business strategies looks set to be a profitable one for both with expertise from both boardrooms being readily shared to achieve this goal.

Both parties will keep their unique business personality and independence but will join forces so that they have a much more powerful bargaining base to work from in terms of negotiating sponsorship deals. A real powerhouse of financial persuasiveness looks to have found its genesis from two companies that seemed to have stalled with their plans for this venture, in the sporting arena anyway, when the first set of talks between the two broke down before the Valencian Grand Prix of 2004.

The way both companies promote their image will instantly reflect the ambitious nature of the pairing with this amalgamation; but just what does that mean for each in terms of its sponsorship of MotoGP teams?

Repsol YPF is the parent company that sponsors the official works Honda team of American star Nick Hayden and Italian Max Biaggi; Repsol has been associated with Honda in the premier class since the days of Doohan and Criville. Telefonica Movistar is instantly associated with Spaniard Sete Gibernau, who brought the Telecom giant with him as title sponsor to the Fausto Gresini HRC satellite set-up from the Suzuki camp prior to the 2003 season.

How will this marriage of the rich and powerful work in terms of sponsorship and exposure?

Rumors abound that Sete Gibernau is to receive a full works factory-spec RC211V motorcycle and factory support at the second Sepang winter test. Well, "is to receive". That statement appears to have been promoted by some within the Honda racing hierarchy and denied by others from within the same chain of command. As we reported last week, there appears to be some confusion as to who will lead the Honda line this season. Will it be Max Biaggi as a fully paid Repsol rider or will it be Gibernau, who has finished runner-up to Valentino Rossi for two consecutive seasons now although he is racing for a customer team set-up from a touted "almost factory slot"?

It's still unclear at this stage whether this joint business venture will show itself on the fairings of the bikes this year in some sort of split livery system between the Gresini team and the Repsol team. There has also been no press release yet from the racing wing of HRC or from the sporting departments of Repsol YPF or Telefonica Movistar.