Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/485263
www.PowersportsBusiness.com FINANCIAL Powersports Business • April 6, 2015 • 17 Team21Motosport announced that Elena Myers, rider and owner of Team21Motosport, has secured title sponsorship from McGraw Powersports for her rookie Superbike season in the newly formed MotoAmerica series. "We are extremely excited to be the title sponsor of Team21Motosport for the 2015 MotoAmerica series," said McGraw Powers- ports CEO John Chu. "Elena Myers is breaking new ground on and off the track — we're proud to have her as an ambassador for our brand. As part of the motorcycle industry, McGraw is dedicated to supporting riders, powersports enthusiasts and athletes like Elena. It's reward- ing to participate in this new phase of her rac- ing career." "Ever since I made the announcement that I was starting my own team, I've been work- ing extremely hard to secure a title sponsor for our inaugural season with MotoAmerica," Myers said. "Then I got a call from McGraw Powersports about their interest in supporting a rider to represent their brand in MotoAmerica. We then put this deal together rather quickly, and I must say that words simply can't describe how over-the-moon I feel right now. To essentially go from not having a ride to starting my own team, and then being able to continue to do what I love most means so much to me. I can't thank McGraw enough for coming on board in such a big way!" With her team formed, Myers plans on taking a big step up to Superbike for 2015 and become the first woman in the modern era to compete in the series' most prestigious class. "It's going to be a steep learning curve with new tracks and little to no data to go by, but the past few seasons of racing against the best middleweight riders in the country has taught me a lot, and I've learned to adapt quickly to new tracks and new bikes. I've been training really hard with my trainer Dennis Cejas of 1 on 1 Personal Training to best prepare for the jump up in class. For my sponsors and me, we feel the time is right. It's always been my dream to race a Superbike someday, and I plan to learn as much as I can while having fun and representing my sponsors as best I can for their dedication and continued belief in me. The details regarding what machine I'll be riding are still being finalized and will be released as soon as possible." Myers is the only female in the history of AMA Pro Road Racing to ever win a profes- sional level race with her 2010 Supersport victory at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. She also hails as the only female to win a motor- sports race of any kind on the high banks of the world-renowned Daytona International Speed- way with her stunning supersport win in 2012. Through her more than 186,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter, Elena now carries the distinction of being 10th in the world of motor- cycle roadracing's "Most popular interactive athletes," according to Hookit. PSB McGraw Powersports to sponsor rookie rider Myers ELENA MYERS SKULLY closes on $11 million in financing Skully, Inc. has completed an $11 million Series A financing led by Walden Riverwood Ventures and Intel Capital. Participants in the round also include Formation 8, Techstars, Eastlink Capital and Western Technology Investments. Proceeds from this financing will fund devel- opment of Skully's next generation intelligent vehicle systems, and also the fulfillment of Skul- ly's pre-order campaign on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo, which set the record for the fastest campaign to reach $1 million in sales, ultimately selling more than $3.4 million in pre-orders. Skully's first product, the AR-1 motorcycle helmet, eliminates blindspots with a wide-angle camera and provides navigation directions via a proprietary heads-up display technology. "This is a landmark time for Skully's growth," said Dr. Marcus Weller, founder and CEO of Skully. "Funds from this round will help carry Skully through its manufacturing milestones and accelerate our technology roadmap. I couldn't be more excited for the future of Skully and the wearable display industry." Joining the board is Nicholas Brath- waite, partner o f W a l d e n Riverwood V e n t u r e s . He played a m a j o r role in the G o P r o S e r i e s A i n v e s t - ment and served as C T O o f Flextronics. Victor Westerlind, director of Intel Capital, will also be joining Skully's board. "Skully is one of a very small class of com- panies that has demonstrated it possesses the characteristics needed to create a new product category," Brathwaite said. "We are excited to partner with Marcus and his team and look forward to fully supporting Skully in the develop- ment of an exceptional product." "Wearable technology is one of the most exciting and promising spaces in the innovation industry," said Mike Bell, corporate vice presi- dent and general manager of the New Devices Group at Intel. "Skully is well positioned to change how people think about motorcycle hel- met technology." PSB Investors threw $11 million at Skully, Inc., which had $3.4 million in pre- orders for its debut motorcycle helmet.