Sponsorship - How do they pull it off?

[ss_collins]

exactly what adee said but its one whole mountain of hard work. That said I sorted (hopefully) a reasonably sized pure sponsorship deal (for an event rather than a racer). Hopefully I'll explain all soon to show you how thinking and a lot of luck can help out - but you need the contacts. And thats key.

[JurekB]

That sounds interesting and I would like to hear the details when you are ready. I'm under no illusions as to how hard this might be to pull off but then nothing worth doing is ever easy.

[wheadon]

the only reason jordan got ford engines in 2003 was because their main sponsor DHL promised to buy x amount of ford transit vans!!

[Tainan]

Sign me up!!

[JurekB]

Who me? If so then Pm me with a few details and we'll see about having a chat.

If not then just ignore this.

[elementsports]

Dont expect much from UK Ren, complete idiots!! also europe, look to your local sponsors! friends, family, Ren are crap i gave them 2 drivers they now use in the so called program and dumped them!
Keep away from driver programs!!!
BARC is poor go to Europe, cheaper and you get a free holiday and some racing! Look into other racing in France, Germ, Italy, Spain! you will find it better racing for a club driver and more fun! Also more SUN!
Go from that and move on
sb

[yasen]

I just would like to thank everybody contributing to this thread. I've learned quite a bit after reading it.

[pmaster]

Hey Steve, we both know how crap Renault is.

The other guys are right, sponsorship doen't exist in the way that it is seen by most people. You might luck into a little deal here or there, but you'll probably spend as much getting the deal as it's worth after you take all the failed approaches and proposals, and the time spent, into account. Peter Wardle was right about one thing, even if his project was wide of the mark: every formula right up to and including GP2 is a pay formula, and if you can't buy the best and test and test and test you won't be at the sharp end very often. You're always going to struggle unless you have a money tree AND more than a smattering of talent.

I subscribe to the theory though that the higher up the formulas you get, the easier it is to win. At the lower levels lots of people can afford to play, and therefore the standard can be very high on average. But each time you move "up" say from FF to FR to F3 to WSR to GP2 it gets more and more expensive, so great drivers with little or no money drop by the wayside and end up driving clubbies whilst well funded but average drivers carry on up the ladder. You only have to look at WSR or F3 or F3 euro grids to see how many drivers in those series have never won races on the way through, and some have never had a podium, at any level!

[Bob Pearson]

Originally Posted by elementsports

Dont expect much from UK Ren, complete idiots!! also europe, look to your local sponsors! friends, family, Ren are crap i gave them 2 drivers they now use in the so called program and dumped them!
Keep away from driver programs!!!
BARC is poor go to Europe, cheaper and you get a free holiday and some racing! Look into other racing in France, Germ, Italy, Spain! you will find it better racing for a club driver and more fun! Also more SUN!
Go from that and move on
sb

We priced up the two European FR options last winter and found them much more expensive than BARC, even though BARC prices suffered a massive hike prior to this season. I realise your post was an old one and so maybe the situation has changed since it was posted or maybe you put a high value on the sunshine!!

[Flavio Galtieri]

Originally Posted by pmaster

You only have to look at WSR or F3 or F3 euro grids to see how many drivers in those series have never won races on the way through, and some have never had a podium, at any level!

Excellent post pmaster. And even up to IRL where Danica recently won her first ever motor race to my knowledge.

Even with Palmer Audi, which has an excellent promotional package and TV coverage, the (say) £100k required for a proper season with testing and damage allowances is 80 -90% more than the value of the TV ratings as the audience is so low in media terms, despite repeats. The production company goes out of it's way to cover each car but the fact is that the figures just don't stack up in the cold light of day if that is all you have to offer.

Unless of course your "sponsor" is absolutely mad keen for his product to be involved in motor sport, in which case he's really your patron, not your sponsor.

Nothing wrong with that of course. It's just not sponsorship that's all.

[PTRACER]

I see getting sponsorship as being a bit of a catch 22 situation...

If you're, for example, 19 or 20 years old and you have no racing experience, no on-track experience, no race licence and no cash at all, you can't expect to knock on the door of a big company and ask them to fund a year's worth of racing.

From my point of view, you'd have to be driving in a series that got a lot of exposure - racing publications at least, television would be better. But it would only be an advantage if the company wanted to advertise on a national scale. And you'd have to guarantee a picture of your car would end up in the publications or on the television. Which means you would have to competitive enough to win races and championships. And if you have no proven race record, then sorry, but they most likely won't be interested. And if you have no funding, there's no way you'll be driving in either your own car, or someone else's.

It's catch 22, because you need to prove yourself to get sponsorship money, but if you have no money, you can't prove yourself anyway. I think that's why karting is a good place to start racing, if you can get into it young enough, because it's more affordable than "proper" racing and you have more of an opportunity to prove yourself to a potential sponsor...Or in fact prove yourself to an insanely rich Formula 1 team boss...

[Mak]

No catch 22 about it.. If you have enough money to compete and win for one year, you still need twice as much money to compete the next! Winning won't get you into the next level and won't get you sponsors. Sorry but that just nieve??

[PTRACER]

I'm speaking from the point of view of a business owner. Winning means more exposure to the media.

[Mak]

Not the sort of exposure that makes it good value for the amount of money necessary. The only Business model that could be put to motor sport is that of the wealthy father who "MAY" see a return from his son making a living from motorsport. The odds are to high for a practical investment so there needs to be a personal reason. Most finacial support is patronage.