Getting Press Coverage

Getting your story out there is an important part of the brand marketing you will need as part of your sponsorship acquisition efforts. This week you will learn about how to get press coverage as a racing driver.

In addition to this you will get some cautious advice on affiliate marketing, an attempt to find out why marketing partners are ignoring women drivers at the top tiers of racing, the opening of applications for the PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship and the costs involved in racing prototypes in Italy.

It is all part of this week’s edition of The Business of Being a Race Driver on Motorsport Prospects.

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The Business of Racing

The Racing Mentor has published tips on how to get press coverage as a racing driver. “When it comes to PR, most drivers think of getting featured in motorsport publications like Autosport or The Checkered Flag. While that’s great and could showcase your racing accomplishments to a wider audience, it’s important to think beyond that. PR isn’t just about motorsport coverage; it’s about creating brand awareness and attracting sponsors across various platforms.”

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Charge Motorsport explains the importance of not falling into the affiliate marketing trap. “When a property is trying to sell a sponsorship, they are offering a business more than just sales opportunities. They offer brand exposure, alignment with a particular audience, and the chance to be associated with certain values or lifestyles. However, if businesses push these properties towards their affiliate programs, the unique benefits of sponsorship are undervalued.”

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General Motorsport Marketing Advice & Resources

Steve Scheffel on LinkedIn asks the question, why are marketing partners neglecting women drivers at the top tiers of Open Wheel and Stock Car divisions? “Even with the increased support by corporations for women athletes and women sport leagues, there is virtually no legitimate funding for women drivers in motorsports in general and especially in the upper tiers of Open Wheel and Stock Cars. Why is that!?”

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The Costs of Racing

With the “New Era 2024/2028” project, the Italian Prototype Championship will complete its relaunch with a new car, the Wolf Raiden GB08, a car which is even more powerful, faster, and selective. In addition to this, the series is now open to fifteen-year-old drivers, for what Vroom Kart calls a faster and cheaper alternative to Formula 4.

“Another very important innovation, on a sporting level, is the opening up to fifteen-year-olds, who will thus be able to make the leap from karting and find a valid alternative to Formula 4. In addition to being on average 4 seconds per lap faster than the latter, the cost of the championship has been set at 99,000 Euros, which becomes 149,000 if you want to keep the car at the end of the season: in practice racing with the Wolf GB08 Raiden will cost exactly ¼ compared to Formula 4, which requires a budget of around 400,000 Euros.”

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Parella Motorsports Holdings (PMH) has opened applications for the 2024 class of the PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship. Entering the fourth year of the program, the scholarship looks to create a more diverse field while empowering drivers from a variety of backgrounds to participate in PMH-owned race series. Scholarship recipients will receive free entries for any PMH-owned race series, including Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA), The Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, Formula Regional Americas Championship (FR Americas), Formula 4 United States Championship (F4 U.S.), Ligier JS F4 Series, TA2 Club and Prototype Sprint Series Association presented by Hankook (PSSA). In addition to providing free entry fees, the program aligns recipients with a team of executives and mentors, while also providing them with a variety of media and fan engagement opportunities.

Drivers looking to join the PMH Powering Diversity Scholarship Class of 2024 are encouraged to visit SpeedTour.net/Scholarship to apply. All applications must be submitted by January 15, 2024. 

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