Fag sponsorship back on bikes. Sort of.

REGARDLESS of your views on smoking it’s hard to deny that back in the days of Marlboro, Rothmans, Gauloises, Camel, Lucky Strike and Fortuna bike racing enjoyed massive levels of sponsorship and some of the best paint schemes ever seen on track.

Those days appeared to be gone once bans on tobacco ads came into force, but this year electronic fag firm E-Lites – which broke new ground with the first TV ad for smoking in years just a couple of months ago – is sponsoring the BSB series.

Promising red-and-white logos around the circuits ‘reminiscent of the iconic branding’ associated with motorsport in the 1980s, the firm is also sponsoring Superstock 600 rider Tim Hastings.

E-cigs get around the tobacco bans since they don’t actually use tobacco, instead providing nicotine in a vapour to simulate smoking. As well as arguably offering health benefits in comparison with tradition cigarettes – since there’s no carbon monoxide or tar – they get around smoking bans in indoor areas and are even allowed in some offices and on certain airlines. The sports advertising bans also don’t apply to them.