How to get racing sponsorship according to ChatGPT highlights this week’s edition of The Business of Being a Race Driver. Since everybody is asking the bot questions, I figured I would join in and ask the obvious on your behalf.
In addition to this, I look at the return of a program to support grassroots racers, a buyer’s guide to helmets and some racing opportunities you may want to pursue.
All this in this week’s The Business of Being a Race Driver.
The Business of Racing
From the Driver’s Point of View
ChatGPT has taken the internet by storm since its release in late November. For those who are not aware, according to Wikipedia ChatGPT is a prototype artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI that specializes in dialogue. The chatbot is a large language model fine-tuned with both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques. The base model that was fine-tuned was OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 language model, an improved version of GPT-3.
Inspired by yesterday’s post about how Samir Abid of Your Data Driven used ChatGPT to see if it could give good advice on tuning race tires, I posed this question to the ChatGPT bot to see what kind of answer I would get. “How do I get racing sponsorship?” The program allows you to ask the question twice so I did. Below you will find its answers. While the advice is solid, it is somewhat generic but I will let you decide how helpful it truly is.
How do I get racing sponsorship? (First Attempt)
Getting racing sponsorship can be a challenging task, but there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success. First, you should make sure that you have a strong racing resume that showcases your skills and accomplishments. This can include things like your racing history, your best race results, and any awards or accolades you have received.
Next, you should create a sponsorship proposal that outlines why a potential sponsor should support your racing career. This proposal should include information about your racing goals and objectives, as well as any specific sponsorship opportunities that you are offering, such as branding opportunities or VIP experiences for the sponsor.
Once you have your resume and proposal ready, you can start reaching out to potential sponsors. This can include contacting companies directly, attending sponsorship events and networking with other racers and industry professionals, and using social media to promote yourself and your racing career.
It’s important to remember that getting racing sponsorship is a competitive process, and it may take some time and effort to find the right sponsor for you. However, with persistence and determination, you can increase your chances of success and take your racing career to the next level.
How do I get racing sponsorship? (Second Attempt)
Here are a few steps you can take to try and secure racing sponsorship. First, it’s important to have a strong racing record and a professional image. Sponsors are more likely to invest in a driver that has proven success and a polished public image.
Next, create a sponsorship proposal that outlines your racing goals and accomplishments, as well as the benefits that a sponsor would receive by investing in you. Be sure to research potential sponsors and tailor your proposal to each one, highlighting how your team aligns with their brand and goals.
Finally, network with people in the racing industry and attend events where you can meet potential sponsors in person. It can also be helpful to work with a sponsorship agency that can help you find and secure sponsorship deals.
Overall, securing racing sponsorship takes a combination of hard work, persistence, and professional networking.
When you do get that company to agree to sponsor you, you will need a sponsorship contract. The Racing Mentor explains why you need a sponsorship contract. “Things rarely go as planned, so to protect yourself and give your sponsor peace of mind, you need a contract.”
Skip Barber Racing School has teamed up with RYNO Classifieds for the 2023 Racer Support Tour in an effort to support grassroots racers. The 2022 Tour provided $60,000 in weekly distributions to grassroots racers across the country who signed up for a free racer profile on www.RYNO.co. Whether racing on two wheels or four, dirt or asphalt, RYNO.co was all-in on building the support for racers’ passion. In its first year, there were just under 500 racers registered with 170k votes coming in from fans, friends and family members all looking to help their favorite racer win money week after week.
“I’ve been helping racers for over 20 years and this sponsorship program is my passion. We are putting up the hard cash to help racers get out there and do what they love week after week. RYNO.co doesn’t just talk-the-talk, we walk-the-walk and it shows. RYNO Classifieds started with a mission to bring a modern, grassroots-based online classified-ad system to racers, race teams and racing fans. Now we expand on that with the RYNO Garage launched at SEMA and the RYNO Racers Support Tour ’23 launching early next year.” said Ryan Maturski, RYNO Classifieds CEO.
From the Sponsors Point of View
The famous saying goes, “don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” because what happens if something goes wrong with that basket? What happens to your eggs? The same logic applies to your marketing strategy and where you choose to spend your marketing budget. A well-built marketing strategy has a healthy mix of assets involved, where the ability to remain flexible and dynamic is at the forefront. Those various assets can then be leveraged across different tactics through activation. Read more over at Putting all of Your Budget in One Asset on the Sport Dimensions blog.
General Motorsport Marketing News
The Sponsorship Collective answers the question of whether or not people should be using a marketplace for sponsors. Watch their answer in the video above.
The Costs of Racing
In their Safety gear for beginners series on the Hagerty Motorsports blog, Cameron Neveu recently focused on helmets.
“To help demystify the gear-buying process, we’ve assembled a series on safety equipment for beginners, with help from industry expert Chris Emery of The Racers Safety Source. “We believe in educating the driver to help them make the decision for their budget,” says Emery. “I’m not just here to sell someone the most expensive thing, because that might not be the best fit.” This series will walk you through the basics for each piece, from helmets to shoes.”
Racing Opportunities
Arrive Drive Motorsports, a full service road racing prep shop specializing in Formula and Sports Racers in the United States, have a number of open seats available. You can contact them here.
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former 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.