ON
TRACK WITH RICK PEARSON No. 38
By Rick Pearson
Wow! How tetchy can a guy get when he's not been on the circuit for a couple of weeks? My usual withdrawal symptoms were not helped by a visit to the Powertour at Thruxton last weekend. I was very impressed with the organisation; especially compared to the last time I saw it (Snetterton last year) and it now more than holds it own against the TOCA tour.
Thruxton is one of my favourite circuits and I really fancied a go in one of the 911 SuperCup cars that now feature in the Michelin Porsche Cup! But as usual by this stage of the season, finances are getting a bit tight and despite all the generous support my sponsors have shown so far this year, I am far from convinced that we will be able to make the next round at the Nurburgring.
Since Assen saw us finally finding a set-up on the ActiveShop Clio that I could drive and trust (only for it to rain in the race, thanks!) this feels like a desperate shame. However, this is the way of the world. With economies in the US and Europe struggling a touch and with companies stock-market valuations being damaged by falling share prices, it is completely understandable that they are reticent to commit to sponsoring racing cars.
Too many drivers labour under the misconception that the Corporate World has unlimited money to burn and owes them a racing budget, but in this tough economic environment it is critical for us that we put together an attractive package for 2002. If the final couple of races of 2001 fall by the wayside while we focus our efforts on securing a long-term relationship with a suitable sponsor, then so be it.
Weekly I hear tales of fathers mortgaging their houses for sons who are slightly better than the average touring car driver, but will never really amount to much and who will never have secured the necessary works drive before all the money is gone. Only a week ago, The Times ran an article by Jeremy Clarkson looking at the financial commitment necessary to get a child into F1 via Karts, Formula Ford and F3. It is times like this when I am glad I am not aiming to be an F1 driver and that I am racing a saloon with which the public can identify as opposed to yet another single seater.
I am quite philosophical and if I can't create a package that a sponsor can see as good value for money, I will never manage to sell the deal and therefore I won't race. At this time of year, the only approach is to try and make contact with potential sponsors and leave the nitty-gritty of the deal until after the calendar has been finalised, television coverage announced and teams have revealed the seats available.
How to approach a sponsor though? Fortunately, either of the series in which I am hoping to race in 2002 offers television coverage, Clio V6 provisionally as part of the Eurosport Super Racing Weekend, British Touring Cars on BBC Grandstand. The value of this coverage shouldn't be underestimated as without it, you have very little direct marketing value to offer the sponsors: Around 2 million people watch the Touring cars each week; the program offers around 20 minutes of coverage for each of the 12 rounds. Nearly 4 hours of coverage in front of a prime UK audience that is then syndicated around the World.
A crowd of around 15,000 people attend each race, each of them earning above average and extremely brand loyal. To get your corporate identity across in front of an audience this large would be very expensive even before you consider the added benefits of on the day hospitality for rewarding customers and staff, trackside promotions etc.
So armed with this knowledge, we write letter after letter to potential sponsors, as there is no substitute for a bit of hard work. But when the score sheet looks like Letter Sent: 250 Positive Replies (even slightly, toe might just squeeze through the door positive): 0 It's easy to get demoralized. But I have a great team around me in my tireless press officer, Rebecca and team manager, Mark Fish. Plus it's 6 months until drives will be finalised for next year and a couple of significant mergers or acquisitions in the City could change stock-market sentiment in just a few days making Corporations more positive and marketing budgets a little more flush!
The statistic that is always scary when the sponsor hunt starts is that of all sponsorship deals done, 97% occur where there was a prior relationship. So if you are starting out on that long road to F1 stardom, you better hope Dads pockets are deep or those of his business associates are! I'll leave you with that thought! Until next time take care.