Is it common for WERA racers to get sponsors? Do you have to be able to perform at a certain level in order for sponsors to be willing to work with you? What is the run of the mill sponsorship deal? Free maintenace checks at the local bike shop in exchange for putting their name on the bike? Discounts on tires for logo placement? Is it extremely hard to get sponsors or are there companies out there that are willing to do this for amatuers? Sorry if this is n00b question, but well...I'm a n00b.
tire discounts can come from contingency, some riders put a local bike shop name on the bike for discounts at the shop, some racers have their employer/their business logo on. In "club racing" like WERA, sponsorships takes many forms. :up:
Contingency usually requires you to be able to place at a certain position in a race, correct? Or does it vary from sponsor to sponsor?
Yah that helped a little doing that...I'm figuring this out, thank you. I'm trying to avoid putting my wife's CPA firm on the side of my bike, if I can help it.
What Fuzzy said. It can take many forms. My employer let me go to the races without burning vacation time 3 seasons back when I was doing the Crew Chief thingy in the national endurance season in exchange for the company name being on my bike and being listed as a sponsor on the endurance team stuff. Although I don't know if we ever listed it there. My employer didn't care. The employees liked seeing the pictures of the race bike so no one cared what the real deal was. Other than that it just depends on how good you are AND who you know. If you have talent a do fairly well then shops and distributors will start giving you breaks on cost and eventually give you some stuff for free.
the best way to get sponsorship is really quite simple................ win the lottery and sponsor yourself!!!!!! haha I am sponsored by a local shop and get a discount on parts, tires at the same price as track vendors, and other minor things........nothing huge but every little bit helps if you are just starting off it is kind of hard to get sponsorship because you have nothing to show for yourself other than saying "yeah im fast and you can put your name on my bike and give me stuff" Other than that I am sponsored by my bank.........account that is, haha, and it usually hates me by the season end, actually halfway through the season
Be professional and give sponsors a reason to sponsor you. Often visibility can be more important than results. (This coming from someone who still needs sponsors himself)
you should see the sponsor that jim johnston got at jenning over the weekend! at the start finish line
heh... ...yeah I have heard that sponsorship is not always about how well you finish, it can be more putting together a program that makes sense for your sponsor in some cases. Thanks for all the advice, it was very helpful.
apparently that sponsor helped my bike gain a little extra speed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klHNH_3yXE8
yeah but he got passed by a slow old fat guy (me) all weekend long the only time in my life i'll be able to pass him repeatedly so i'll take it while i can get it. everyone beware - the NC Shocker Crew has started early this year!
You can get some pretty good support from places like Lockhart with no results. Their prices will save you a lot of $$ in the long run. I also think that with club racing local dealerships and shops care more about your image then your results. At least thats how I think I stumbled into the sponsorships I got. Just be outgoing and network. Networking is KEY!
www.sponsorhouse.com Good place to start.... a bit late to get some of them but there are some avail....... LP is always a good one too.....
