are glamorous girls essential to motorsport?

[gfm]

God, some boring people posting here ...

[Asp]

There's some interesting points being discussed here, and the thread does have its merits, but let's not turn this into a slanging match please people

Originally Posted by gridmodels

ok, so in that case why doesn't everyone who works in motorsport should do it for free just for the love of it then? no of course they don't! A person should enjoy your work that's all!!!!!!

Taking this a little off topic, there are a number of people who do get involved "just for the love of it" - thinking of course of marshals and drivers at lower levels (in fact at financial detriment).
There could well be an argument that grid girls, if they are in it mainly for enjoyment, should just accept a free ticket and do their required duties, and then enjoy the day at all other times. Of course, this isn't purely the case, and I'm sure that although there are a number of professional grid girls (for lack of a better term, I'm sure there is one though...) that enjoy motorsport and the atmosphere, there is certainly a large number that are just in it for a job, I struggle to believe otherwise.

Answering the question directly - as a promotional tool, of course glamorous girls are needed - sex sells! They're not directly essential to motorsport - they don't generally add anything to the meeting. But indirectly, they do make people look at the sponsors and raise sponsor's profiles, thus draw in more sponsors, and sponsors bring in the money, and the money is needed for the racing. There's probably other ways that sponsor's profiles can be raised, so grid girls are not a necessity or an only means - and as we've seen in the BTCC this year can be cut. But they have traditionally been shown to work, so if it ain't broke, why fix it? And there's other nicities, of course ;-)

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by redshoes

'Of interest'? Don't make me laugh.

I've never fully understood the whole grid girl thing. As a spectator sat at say Donington Old Hairpin I can't even see the grid so how does having a few lycra clad bimbos do anything to improve my day out.

try and lighten up redshoes....the men from the home will be here to take you back soon

[mountainstar]

While there has been a lot of growth in the amount of women taking an interest in motorsport, males still dominate the scene. All men are pervs and Grid Girls can definitely grab some attention to you and your sponsor. Of course they should be dressed decently, as bikinis and stuff are a bit much. The Molson and Champcar
girls for instances are dressed in an appropriate fashion in my opinion.

When I go racing and since I'm really just getting started in the sport after several false starts, grid girls are essential to draw attention since I'm unknown. Even if it's just a club meeting. I'm fortunate enough to know plenty of attractive ladies who are keen on helping me out with that.

There was a good article on grid girls in a recent V8X magazine for those of you who can get the magazine.

[Grandslammer]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Of course they should be dressed decently, as bikinis and stuff are a bit much.

My personal opinion is NOT to me,we are all human(I think),as you say "BRING IT ON"

[gridmodels]

Just to follow up on all this I personally have an aesthetic appreciation of beautiful women and when I see a beautiful woman I think 'wow', I do not feel threatened or intimidated. There will always be someone more beautiful than us it's a fact of life!! I am also not offended by men making comments about the girls: it's all a bit of fun!

However, I don't agree with the girls looking cheap and slutty. Classy girls in classy yet sexy outfits is the way to go.

Photographers are going to take pictures of the girls in their branded clothing and these are going to be published on the web, in magazines etc. This is a fantastic form of advertising which I think many teams do not utilise enough.

I am very interested in the huge mixture of feelings towards grid-girls that have been expressed on this and other forums since my post! The supply of grid-girls is obviously my current livelihood and therefore to see that there may be a negative reaction to them by some motorsport enthusiasts is something for me to think about!

[Les]

a last comment

I look forward to seeing Fiona's grid guy on Sunday - I expect to see this 6'6" hunk in the shortest pair of shorts possible but preferably no silicone.

[gridmodels]

sorry but I am a straight woman and a guy on the grid just wouldn't do it for me! i would rather look at a fit chick!

[Al Weyman]

All men are pervs

Speak for yourself please, as a father with two very attractive grown up daughters one tends to look at things differently.

[Aysedasi]

As a father with two (almost) grown up boys, I'm not so sure........

[Al Weyman]

well I did have one of those as well, sadly no longer with us so I do know what you mean.

[mr_t]

i don't think grid girls are essential to motorsport, but lets face it, thats what most men like seeing, whether they are single or married. Also its good for the sponsors, who certainly for the lesser teams play an important role in the financial side.

Whether or not they enjoy motorsport doesn't matter, at the end of the day its a job. If they take pride in what they do and they enjoy motorsport, then good on them. I do agree with gridmodels tho, cheap and slutty is not the way to go!!

[TimD]

I'm with Redshoes on this. I regard the grid-girls as a waste of time and money. There are an awful lot of other things that a cash-strapped team ought be channelling a budget at.

I'm as happy with the aesthetics of the human form as anyone, but I find it an affront to my gender that a team will so blatantly try to draw attention to themselves by apparently appealing to my crotch. Furthermore, despite what anyone might say to the contrary, I am convinced that the high profile of promotional females in national sport has a detrimental effect to those women who would prefer to be appreciated for their work behind the wheel or in the technical team.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, it's Le Mans this weekend and the Hawaiian Tropic promotion will be going on as usual. As usual I will be elsewhere and as usual I'll not be expending a frame of camera time on it. One could argue that at least the brand name is familiar and that the advertising has done its job. However, I might mention that it took 15 years before it registered with me what Hawaiian Tropic actually was. For years, I actually thought it was a peep-show somewhere on the circuit...

[TimD]

Oh, and as an aside, I once got accosted by a popsie in a Jordan GP jumpsuit who had been standing in front of a yellow F1 car on Paddington station. Eagerly proffering a clipboard and a packet of cigarettes, she asked "Do you smoke, sir?"

"No I don't - does Heinz-Harald Frentzen?"

"Who?"

[SeaneyC]

Ultimately, at the end of the day, do i care if the pretty grid girl knows much about her team/driver? IMHO, no, not at all. Disappointing yes, as to the average joe, the grid girl does nothing more than stand on a bit of tarmac for 5 minutes, 3 times a day, and occasionally stand next to a driver for an hour at a pit lane autograph session. It would be nice if they did take interest in the series, or even feign some in it, but to be brutally honest, i actually don't care if they do or not, as long as they look good. This sounds very shallow, but this is afterall their job. As a DJ, i get paid to entertain people by playing songs, and only that. I am employed for my ability to choose and blend songs, not for my singing ability (thank god), or bone shattering dance moves (Obviously i do have an awesome arsenal of dance moves, but perhaps people don't want to pay overweight guys to dance on a stage lol)

Perhaps someone (Miss/Ms/Mrs. Gridmodels?) could enlighten me as to what else they actually do, and, if they're getting paid silly money, or just decent money. At the moment, i would think most people would like to know exactly what they do do, and then perhaps we would be able to make better judgements about them. Certainly it seems to me at the moment that they stand about and chat to various sponsors and VIPs in the team areas, and not much else outside of nameplate holding duties. Don't take this as an attack from me to say they're overpaid bimbos, as it's not, but the fact that i'm having to question what they actually do, is perhaps an indication that some aspects of their role need to be changed/highlighted to give the impression that they're not just an outdated idea sucking cash out of team funding.

[gridmodels]

In answer to your q about what the girls actually do: most of the teams get as much out of the girls as possible on the day.They get them to hand out fliers to the public in between races and also to do hospitality/meet and greet duties in their hospitality areas.

In terms of what the girls do when they are not at a race, they are mostly students, full-time office workers, or they do full-time promotional work at exhibitions and other events.

The minority may be bimbos but the majority are not. they are employed to chat to the punters about the product not just to look pretty.

[redshoes]

Originally Posted by gridmodels

The minority may be bimbos but the majority are not. they are employed to chat to the punters about the product not just to look pretty.

However in the examples myself and TimD have given it would be very difficult for them to chat to punters about the product when they don't actaully know who they are representing. I suspect this is not an uncommon occurance.

To follow up on SeaneyC's point, which I though was very good question - what does it actually cost to hire a set of fully-trained fully-clothed* grid girls for a season? Doesn't have to be specifics, a ballpark figure will do.

The reason I ask is to judge if it's a wise use of the budget. This year for example the Radio TOCA broadcasts have stopped due to lack of funding. That's a much needed feature of BTCC meetings and one which would be of benefit to more spectators. Or maybe use the budget to run a cheap ticket promotion. I'm sure half-price tickets would get more punters through the gates than the chance of seeing a pretty face.

[*] Before we get any smart-arse comments, by 'fully-clothed' I mean kitted out with matching uniforms.

[SeaneyC]

Originally Posted by gridmodels

They get them to hand out fliers to the public in between races and also to do hospitality/meet and greet duties in their hospitality areas.

-------

The minority may be bimbos but the majority are not. they are employed to chat to the punters about the product not just to look pretty.

Speaking on a personal note, i don't think i've ever bumped into a grid girl handing out flyers etc.. sure, lots of promo girls, but not the same girls I see on the grid. Obviously this is up to the team they work for, not the girls themselves. The image i personally have of the girls is quite simple, they look nice, and make chitchat with the VIPs and guests to keep the sponsors sweet, nothing more. This is purely my opinion, but it has had to have come from somewhere, so something must be giving me this impression of them.

[gridmodels]

In answer to the q about how much they get paid: not as much as you might think! Also Toca have already cut the girls out of the budget for 2 years running ow leaving it to the teams to finance their own girls if they want or can afford them.

At the last BTCC meeting Dunlop gave out branded caps to th fans which probably cost them around 30k (according to a source they ordered 30,000). That amount could have paid for grid girls for the whole season, advertising their branding in front of the cameras and the public, the photos of which would be shown in numerous publications and on many websites

[Al Weyman]

Good move by Dunllop, much better investment having people walking around with your advert on there heads months maybe years after the event, and I don't just say this because amoungst over things we sell are customised caps.

[Andy H]

"I remember a classic moment at Knockhill BTCC a few years ago. Al Hyde went down the grid asking each their name and which driver they represented. Despite holding a board with the driver's name on and being stood in front of the car many didn't know or couldn't pronounce the name. Most are their not through any love of motorsport but simple because it pays the bills."

wasn't that the time Alan asked each girl who they were representing and each responded with the name of the driver, until he got one girl who answered XYZ model agency rather Yvan Muller

[redshoes]

That's the one. Jason Plateau was in there as well as I recall.

[BobHWS]

Originally Posted by gridmodels

Does anyone feel that the popularity of having glamorous girls at motorsport race meetings is waning?

...Or is it just that the teams and organisers cannot afford to have the girls there and that's why we don't see so many?

Clara

I think, and I certainly hope that the association of glamorous girls with motorsports and cars will never go away. If it does, then I'll have to find a new hobby.

But based on my recent experience at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, I think the tradition is still very strong in Formula 1, especially in fun-loving, laid-back cities like Montreal, where the girls were more plentiful and beautiful than ever this year.

I will be posting my F1 Babe photos from Montreal 2005 within a few days. In the meantime, here's a sneak preview:

Montreal F1 Babes 2005 Sneak Preview

Montreal F1 Fashion Show Babes 2005 - Sneak Preview

[Wilbo]

wasn't that the time Alan asked each girl who they were representing and each responded with the name of the driver, until he got one girl who answered XYZ model agency rather Yvan Muller

That's quality!!!!

I tell you what "gridmodels" lend me two for Brands GP next weekend for my publicity etc and I will let you know what I think, if successful we could have a deal. Send me a PM with prices please so I know for future reference.

Seriously though a few mates of mine (drivers) have met there current girlfriends/wives through the gridline up and autograph sessions etc! one cheesely winking to his now girl on the grid! I don't know about you but I have more pressing matters on my mind like monitoring water temp and thinking about the next few corners/laps!

[Slippy Diff]

Anyone would think some of you lot feel threatened by good looking girls............