A race driver’s social media formula to best engage fans and sponsors headlines this week’s edition of The Business of Being a Race Driver.

In addition to that, I cover issues such as dealing with a sponsor’s right of first refusal, protecting your reputation, an inexpensive way to whet your racing appetite, and some racing opportunities you may want to investigate.

All this and more in this week’s The Business of Being a Race Driver.

The Business of Racing

From the Driver’s Point of View

Megan Meyer explains the social media formula you need to please your fans and sponsors.

“As a public figure, you stand in the gap between your fans and your sponsors. Your social media is the best place to bridge that gap by drawing fans in and keeping them engaged, while also meeting the criteria that sponsors are looking for in a brand ambassador. Fortunately, there’s some overlap between what your fans want to see and what your sponsors need in your social media content.”

To see and understand the formula, click on the link above.

Jess Shanahan at The Racing Mentor explains why your perfectionism is stopping you from making progress in motorsport. “I have ‘unrelenting standards’. This is a term coined by the type of psychology known as Schema Therapy. There are lots of other schemas you might fall into, but let’s look at how having unrelenting standards might affect you as you search for motorsport sponsorship.”

Power Sponsorship looks at the question, is first right of refusal the sponsorship equivalent of a ball and chain?

“First right of refusal is a valuable defensive benefit for a sponsor, guaranteeing them the opportunity to review and take up a new sponsorship at the end of the contract, before it’s offered to a competitor. If you are in a situation where you’ve got issues with a sponsor and they have first right of refusal, there are some strategies you can use to turn that situation around.”

In their latest installment of The Lifecycle Of An International Athlete, LawinSport looks at Protecting Your Reputation.

“The reputation of an athlete is a precious but fragile thing. It is usually established, at least initially, largely on the basis of performance – you succeed and you are lauded accordingly. But once an athlete becomes well known to the general public, the scrutiny and interest changes and intensifies. No longer are you just judged on what you do in the sporting arena; you are now cast as a celebrity and every aspect of your behaviour and private life becomes a potentially newsworthy subject for a media monster that has to be fed.”

From the Sponsors Point of View

Sport Dimensions looks at simplifying the motorsports sponsorship formula.

“Purchasing a property with a smaller cost leaves you with budget for your business units to use the property, integrate with the property, and drive business from the property. When you spend 100% of your budget without considering activation programs, often what you are left with is an expensive billboard and your team on the sidelines praying for results. Once the glamor wears off, you might not be so happy with that. We heard from SD President, Todd Stonis, on the topic and he underscored this industry trend:

“Unfortunately, many companies over-invest in the property and lack adequate funding to support activation programs which are the real drivers of return on investment.”

Sport Dimensions also looks at how to align your marketing strategy with the right platform.

“When you invest in any type of marketing program, zooming out to understand the full scope of what you can do with it right from the start can be extremely valuable. While running digital ads and accessing traditional media still play an important role, sponsorship brings your brand to life and gives you access to an entirely new platform. You just need to make sure it is the right one for your brand and the audience you are looking to engage with.”

The Costs of Racing

Road & Track argues that BMW’s M4 GT4 Program is the cheapest, easiest and least intimidating way to get into a race car.

“Still, as an enthusiast it’s only natural you’d want to, maybe someday, drive a real race car on a real race track. If you’re reading this it’s likely a childhood dream for you—I know it was for me. BMW’s one-day M4 GT4 Experience program is able to make that a reality for relatively little money. The best part is, it makes driving a race car way less intimidating than you think.”

Racing Opportunities

2022 British GT4 Champions Steller Motorsport have drives available in their race winning Audi R8 LMS GT4 & GT3 cars in the 2023 British GT Championship and potentially other UK & European events such as the GT Cup, GT Open and possibly the Le Mans Cup. They have top flight driver coaching available, testing in the UK and Europe, data and video analysis, hospitality for up to 200 VIP guests, competitive budgets including insurance and many other options together with full Audi Sport Customer Racing support.