Clipsal has "dropped its naming rights sponsorship of the Adelaide 500 Supercars event," confirming the '17 race will be the last to bear its name, according to Sam Kelton of THE ADVERTISER. Clipsal by Schneider Electric has been the event’s major sponsor since '00 but its contract expires at the end of the '17 race. Negotiations are in progress with service station chain On The Run to take over naming rights, "with rumours circulating in circles involved with the Clipsal 500." Former Clipsal 500 CEO Mark Warren, who resigned in May, "now works for the Peregrine Corporation, the parent company of On The Run," a South Australian company owned by the Shahin family. A spokesperson for On The Run -- known now under its OTR branding -- said that the company "had not been approached for any such deal." Sport Minister Leon Bignell "would not confirm rumours of a potential OTR takeover of sponsorship." The sponsorship announcement "comes in the wake of the abolition of the South Australian Motor Sport Board, which oversaw the event, in favour of the South Australian Tourism Commission," in '15 (THE ADVERTISER, 11/28).
