Details of the 2025 USF Pro Championship Scholarships have been announced and I have the details this week in The Business of Being a Race Driver. I also have advice on dealing with the media, how to find and network with centi-millionaires and much more!
The Business of Racing
From the Driver’s Point of View
Facing the media is the last thing a driver wants to do after a disappointing race, but the best drivers are as good in front of the camera as they are behind the wheel. RACER’s Marshall Pruett joins Alexander Rossi, Pato O’Ward, Scott Dixon, Scott McLaughlin, Marcus Ericsson, Laurens Vanthoor and Jordan Taylor to give their tips on how to handle the media. You can watch the video from Safe is Fast above.
I highly recommend following Megan Myer’s Motorsport Marketing Tips Instagram feed. It is filled with useful and actionable sponsorship and marketing advice. You can follow her feed here.
MotiV8 Training is conducting a free webinar today (September 24th, 2024) on 10 things you can do now to gain sponsorship. This is what is included:
- Workbook outlining those strategies.
- Question & Answer time available at the end.
- Replay available if you can not attend but you must register to receive the recording.
More details can be found here.
At the 2022 #Motocross #Sponsorship Summit (recorded live at Troy Lee Designs on August 26) Lew Lewis, Team Manager of Jeremy McGrath Motorsports (2013 – 2020) talks about starting out with local sponsors in the video above.
Riccardo Tafà, MD of sports marketing firm RTR Sports explains how to win sponsorship for motorsport.
“In the world of motorsport, securing the right sponsorship deals can be the difference between victory and defeat. Crafting a winning sponsorship strategy, involves more than just slapping logos on cars; it’s about building lasting partnerships that drive mutual success on and off the track. This article delves into the intricacies of this dynamic landscape, uncovering the key elements that contribute to an effective sponsorship strategy across motorsports.” Read the article here.
If you don’t have the money to race, find those that do. Sounds simple enough but where are they? You need to research and network in order to find them and part of that research could and should include the various wealth reports from Henley & Partners.
“Over the past decade, the accepted benchmark for ‘super-wealthy’ status has risen dramatically, from USD 30 million in the late 1990s to a staggering USD 100 million today, says Dr. Juerg Steffen, Chief Executive Officer of Henley & Partners.”
Here are a few current reports to get you started.
- Mapping the Centi-Millionaire Boom
- Where the Ultra-Wealthy Are Investing Right Now
- Centi-Millionaires on the Move as Tax Agenda Evolves
From the Sponsor’s Point of View
Sports Marketing firm Sport Dimensions explains how to integrate sponsorship as part of your marketing strategy.
“The traditional “sponsorship” model is rapidly fading, where vanity metrics such as impressions and views are no longer doing the trick to justify sponsorships’ high-profile expenditure and nature. We are all for that progression; it is about time some meat got added to these programs. A lot of that meat comes in the form of B2B programs operating behind the scenes, something sports offers brilliantly to brands doing all sorts of beautiful things.”
Sean Driscoll of Motorsport@Work looks at the dilemma of a first time motorsport sponsor. “We can therefore conclude that there is strong evidence that a sponsorship led marketing campaign will reach out to the market and will increase brand awareness very significantly, and more importantly influence customer action. However, one thing is very clear, if a major brand is looking at a ‘first’ time venture into the world of motorsport then there is indeed a dilemma for them.”
Read the full article here.
The Costs of Racing
The 2025 calendar of events for USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire was unveiled last Tuesday. The schedule for the three rungs comprised of USF Pro 2000, USF2000 and USF Juniors will once again provide the rising talents in open-wheel racing with premier venues to showcase their skills with over $1.43M in prize money and awards on offer.
For 2025, the USF Pro 2000 champion will receive a scholarship package valued at $546,500 to advance to INDY NXT, with the USF2000 champion’s package valued at $405,050 to move up to USF Pro 2000 and the USF Juniors champion’s package at $249,675 to progress to USF2000.
Skip Barber, the Official Racing School of USF Pro Championships, will continue to offer its Formula Race Series champion a scholarship valued at $100,000 to advance to USF Juniors. RACER has all the details.
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.
