When news came down last week that Mercury would be joining Evinrude as FLW engine sponsors for 2011, it signaled the end of Yamaha's lengthy relationship with the organization. Yamaha addressed that issue in a statement issued to BassFan today, which is reprinted below in its entirety:
"After lengthy review, Yamaha Marine Group elected not to renew its contract for sponsorship with FLW Outdoors beyond 2010.
"Yamaha remains firmly committed to the bass fishing marketing. Tournament sponsorship and pro staff are valuable elements of Yamaha's marketing plan and are important to its customers.
"A successful element has been the Yamaha VMAX SHO Demo Tour, which has allowed thousands of customers to experience the superiority of the VMAX SHO. It will continue through 2011 at Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments and many other venues.
"Yamaha recently signed a multi-year extension to an agreement with BASS and looks forward to continuing to support the BASS tour and its anglers. At the same time, Yamaha will do its best to continue providing tournament service support to anglers who wish to use Yamaha outboards in FLW Tour competition.
"With these and other programs, Yamaha will continue to vigorously support its position in the bass fishing niche."
