In 2010, the Formula 1 World Championship, the World Rally Championship, Le Mans and the Dakar were all won by… Red Bull. And with the presence of other sponsors such as Monster Energy, Muscle Milk, Long Horn and Dark Dog, motorsport is becoming swamped by energising drinks!

It is energising drinks that have notably emerged at the top of the table after gradually taking the place of energy drinks and sodas. Indeed, Red Bull, which owns two F1 squads, a Nascar operation and two soccer teams, spends some €450 a year on sports sponsorship. For the record, this season is the first time that a drinks brand has won the F1 Constructors’ title.

Meanwhile, Red Bull and Citroën took the top prize in world class rallying, while the same firm finished in front on January’s Dakar with Volkswagen (cars), KTM (bikes) and Kamaz (trucks). Okay, the Audi R15 TDI which won at Le Mans didn’t sport Red Bull’s colours, but the Austrian company’s banding was visible in the German make’s hospitality suites, while Audi and Red Bull are partners in the DTM.

In volume terms, Monster Energy is the USA’s best selling energising drink and is closely involved in motor sport (rallying with Ken Block, off-road racing with Robby Gordon, MotoGP motorcycling with Valentino Rossi, IndyCar with Paul Tracy, etc.). No fewer than 39 sports men and women had contracts with Monster Energy in 2010, as well as more than 50 music groups.

The main buyers of energising drinks are youngsters aged between 20 and 35 ans. A survey carried out by Nielsen Media based on behalf of the ALMS revealed that the number of fans in the 18 to 34 age bracket doubled this year, so endurance racing is bang in the middle of the target audience. And now that energising drinks have shown the way forward, isn’t it about time we started to see telephone operators, Smartphone brands and social networking entrepreneurs become involved?