The opportunity is one of those that do not come round twice in a lifetime: winning a 60,000 euro budget to race in any championship of your choice for 2012. The championship can be Formula Fiat Abarth Italia, Formula Renault Europe or even Formula BMW Pacific. It doesn’t matter which championship that you will be racing in. The money is cash for you to use. You will have to carry our sponsors logo on your car throughout the season. The programme was devised by Global Racing Schools, the only motorsport sport agency in the world that offers drivers with professional driver trainers with top trainers in the world.

The 2011 Formula Racing Shootout Program is a project which searches for talented drivers to provide financial support for a whole season. The driver who will eventually win the prize, will of course have to prove his worth on the racetrack: in fact the winner will be chosen after careful selection process by group of experts who will assess the drivers speed, but also focusing on the behavioural and physical aspects of each element. Then the equation is pretty easy: a driver, investing Euro 2,200 in registration fees can take part in the selection test race (a two-day event) and race towards his dream of being awarded a substantial budget to race in the chosen formula. If the driver makes it past the first round, he will need to pay 990 euro for the 2nd round. After that everything else is covered. The first addition of this prize was held in 2010, and was so popular that the prize has been increased by 10,000 euro compared to last year; we will see the results this year.

USEFUL INFORMATION

The circuit which will be used to select drivers of at least 14 years of age, and who have not reached the top three positions in any formula series during the last three years, is Le Chatre, near Chateauroux, France. The car that will be used during the test is a Formula Renault 2004 and the dates for the selections have already been established:

21-22 April 2011
28-29 April 2011
5-6 May 2011
4-5 July 2011
18-19 July 2011
25-26 July 2011

After the first stage with three practice sessions on both days, a list of the selected drivers will be drawn up, and these will qualify to race in the semi-final. The best drivers selected from the semi-final will then go through to the finals and race for the prize of 60,000 euro. The official dates for the finals have not been set yet, but the deadline to register this contest is March 30, 2011. For further information, more details on the program and registration procedures, please contact Daniel Charles, CEO of Global Racing Alliances.

E-mail: Charles@GlobalRacingSchools.com

In Motorsports, sponsorship and advertising is a multi-billion dollar business.  Sponsorship is a very important aspect of racing that few know how to tackle. Without it there will be few that will be willing or able to fork out their own funding to continue racing.  So the question that many drivers tend to ask is

“How can I get sponsored in racing?”

To answer that question you must put yourself in the shoes of a potential sponsor and think about what their objectives are. Of course, this varies from company to company but here are some objectives that most sponsors will be thinking about:

-       Reaching out to potential customers

-       Give them a reason why you should be sponsored and not some other driver or sport

-       Making valuable contacts through the sponsorship to help the sponsors and yourself
Now the first step is to think about how as a driver you will be able to meet the objectives of these potential sponsors. When you’re able to think about the options you can offer as a driver then sponsorship will start coming your way or at the very least look more achievable.

We aim to tackle the issue of sponsorship with an in depth guide of what you can do to secure sponsorship for yourself.

Create Exposure for yourself

Why do you need to create exposure for yourself? The reason is simple, if nobody knows you, nobody will want to sponsor you. Reaching out to clients is something that most companies will be looking. So the key here is to make yourself known as a driver.

You need to be in the news, you need to be mentioned as the person to speak to for information in racing. Make yourself the iconic figure person for any motorsports information. The key here is that the more exposure you gain, the better a potential consumer of the sponsor will be looking at you.

Let us look at some ways in which you can build up your profile:

1)     Hire a PR Agency to work on getting you press release for your race results and development. If sponsors see you as a potential champion, they will approach you first.

2)     Write for free on any medium you can find. Be an active person on the racing related forums answering any questions anyone has. Offer to write for free on racing magazines.

3)     Have a website to promote yourself and your services

4)     Offer your training services for free to car manufacturers and dealers to support any marketing activity that they may be conducting. If someone is holding a safety driving experience, offer your services.

5)     Offer your services to racing schools to be an instructor. The better you teach the better you can learn too. You can also use this in your resume for the future.

Come up with a sponsorship proposal

A sponsorship proposal is key to securing funding for your racing. This is what you present to potential sponsors when seeking sponsorship. If you do not have the necessary flair for language or graphic prowess, consider hiring someone to come up with the proposal for you.

Brand positioning is what every potential corporate sponsor will be concerned about when deciding on sponsorship for a driver. The brand of the company must always be associated with the best possible that can be represented of the sport.

So that means that you need to prove to them that sponsoring you in the world of motorsport is far more value for money than golf, tennis or any other professional sport for that matter. Here is how you can do it:

What needs to be in the proposal?

1)     Background information about yourself

2)     Your racing career thus far

3)     Your plans for the future

4)     Highlights that you want to talk about

5)     Offer them a presentation on the lights and glamour of sponsorship in the motorsport world

6)     Talk about the series that you are in, the coverage it receives from the media, the demographics of the people interested in the series. This requires in depth research.

7)     Offer case studies in your proposal of other companies that have benefited.

8)     List clearly the ways in which the company you are approaching for funding will benefit from sponsoring you. Ensure that your sponsorship proposal is tailored to each company that you are approaching. Nobody wants to read a generic sponsorship proposal. All companies want to know how they benefit.

9)     Show the companies you approach why it is value for money to sponsor you rather than doing their own marketing campaign for their product or service.

10)  Offer the sponsor a planned route for the sponsorship. For example, if you need 3 Million in sponsorship, make sure you plan out when do you need it and how are you going to receive it.

11)  You can plan a full marketing campaign for your sponsors too. Work with an advertising agency to link up with them to come out with a proposal for your sponsor on how to spend their advertising money with you inside the marketing mix.

Networking and building relationships

Networking is a very powerful tool, and often forgotten by drivers. Be friendly and approachable, and don’t wait for things to happen. Get out there and build the relationships that you need to be successful. Networking with the right people can save you a lot of time and effort, even money when you need to get something done.

1)     Talk to the media people who are covering the events you are participating in.

2)     When writing articles for magazines, newspapers for free, get to know the editors better.

3)     Speak to other team managers and drivers and find out who they know and why.

4)     Be very close to your country’s motorsport authority to offer free driving coaching to support any racing activities they have planned. You will be more popular with the association’s management staff and they will provide you with very valuable contacts for people that can help you out.

5)     Talk to drivers in specific about other forms of motorsports. If your karting buddy is doing Formula BMW too, show him support by attending his race. Most of the time attending another friend’s race will lead them to introduce you to some key people. Think about this, if your friend has the funding to race in a higher level of motorsport, the money has to be coming from some source.

6)     Basically you need to not keep to yourself. Talk to people and be interested in their lives and make a conscious effort to be involved in it somehow to get closer to them. The closer you are to them, the more likely they will help you out a little when you run out of money for racing.

We do hope that you have a better understanding of how to gain sponsorship to fund your racing career.

Location: Leicester, United Kingdom

Contact: info@globalracingschools.com

There are hundreds of driver development programs in the world starting from simple kart training to advanced formula car or stock car racing programs. So how do we differ from the rest of the pack?

We have partnered with several top teams in the formula racing industry to offer this exclusive program to you so that can help you reduce your time efforts and accelerate your learning curve. What we’ll do is to put you head-to-head in a sprint race format with top racing experts watching your every move to decide which driver is best? We are going to assess drivers from all over the world, choose the most talented and do our best to take you all the way to Formula 1.

If you want to prove you’re the best up and coming driver in the world and you want a chance to get the funding to make it all the way to Formula 1, then you need to enter into our program today!

Everything you go for a race weekend, you spend anywhere from Euro 8000 – Euro 20,000. Why not spend your money wisely and let yourself be spotted by the top top industry players so will only need to pay an amount once and thats it?

Look at it in terms of a long term investment that will require an initial deposit so that you can get through your entire career without worrying about your financial backing!

Driver Development Process

Management

Fitness training

Technical training

Media training

We will use our network of media professionals to ensure you are fully trained in how to make best use of the media. This will include how to present yourself in interviews and how to produce your own internet content.

You will also attend classes with the world famous Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where you will be taught how to communicate with others and express yourself effectively – two important aspects of a successful career.

How it works

We will be assessing drivers in line with the techniques used by our top race coach which is the private coach for several F1 drivers like David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen. He coaches many current F1 drivers and works closely with Williams and McLaren F1 Team. So we have the expertise to know what makes a future champion and spot it at its seed stage.

We use standard Renault Clio Sport hatchbacks and Fiat 500s to work with you to set the fastest time possible around the circuit, the same format that is used to select the drivers for Honda F1’s young driver program. Training will also be provided on the day itself to bring out the best in your performance.

9 drivers will progress to the “Final” which will take place yearly in Wales. Each driver will spend a full day in a Formula BMW specially prepared by Raikkonen Robertson Racing team. Each drivers will have three sets of new tyres in the afternoon to make sure they do the best job they can.
The whole process will be a test of key skills such as driving ability, communication, stamina, technical understanding, problem solving and the ability to learn. There are 2 rounds to the program. If you get through the 1st round, the cost for Finals is free.
The “Final” will take place in Wales on the 23rd, 24th and 25th of November 2009. The panel of judges will choose a winner that shows most promise.

2010 – Formula BMW Europe

The main part of the prize for 2010 is a full season of Formula BMW Europe with the Raikkonen Robertson Racing team. You will start testing with Raikkonen Robertson Racing as soon as possible after the Final.

Your prize will include the budget to compete with Raikkonen Robertson Racing at the Formula BMW World Final in 2010 if you are invited to participate.

Formula BMW Europe is one of the most prestigious junior series in the world. It is also special in that every round of the series takes place at a Grand Prix. Past champions include Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel and Nicolas Hulkenberg.

The Reward

After your go through the assessment as the top winner, we want to ensure that you have the funding to go all the way to Formula 1 without any budget related problems or delays.

To achieve this, we will pay for your first season of Formula BMW Europe immediately.

Next, we will raise the funds for you to reach F1 with a public share issue where investors can buy a share in your future career earnings. All along the way, you will have the best support, advice and resources available to help you achieve your dream.

Our Race Instructors will work with you to develop the training to suit you

The first year will see you race in the Formula BMW Europe series, with Raikkonen Robertson Racing. We will also fund you to take part in the Formula BMW World Final if you are invited to participate.

You will receive a salary, coaching and full support and development so that you only need to concentrate on racing and not on funding availability.

In order to raise funds to sponsor your racer we will register you as a company and have a Initial Public Offering (IPO) for you so that investors can buy shares in you as an investment.

How it will work?

The process begins immediately after the announcement of the winner in November 2009. We will set up a public limited company in your name and begin the expensive process of organizing the IPO, which will cost in the region of £100,000.

Although we don’t plan launching the IPO before September 2010, we want to have all the preparation done just in case there is sudden public interest in you which would help sell the stock. Therefore, we want to be ready at a moment’s notice to act if the market dictates.

During your Formula BMW season in 2010 we will build up a database of fans and investors using our contacts, the media and the internet.

It’s up to you to show the world that you are the Next Big Thing. We will promote the IPO, but investors must believe that you are worth the investment!

At the right time, we will launch the IPO. It is planned to have the whole IPO completed in plenty of time to start testing with Carlin Motorsport for the 2011 British Formula 3 International Series.

Training:

The assessment will be held together with the most professionally teams in the world letting you harness the expertise of world quality race coaches. If you will like us to train you prior to this race training so that you perform the best at this program, it is possible for us to arrange something.

We will be able to provide you with the training in developing you into a highly tuned driver so that you’ll be able to excel at the assessment. We have a list of programs in various locations ranging from 5 day intensive formula car program to 4 day intensive 1 on1 Karting Training.

Your training and assessment program will be done by our team of highly qualified instructors

So this program will be developed around your current skill and financial level to plan your career path for the next 5 years. We will plot out every step of the way for you so that you will achieve your Formula 1 goals.

Using our team of instructors from all aspects of racing globally, we will fit you into the right team at the right time to conduct the right amount of training. That way we give you the highest chance to coming out on top for the assessment process against other drivers.