race car sponsorship

The Complete Guide to Motorsport Sponsorship

Motorsport sponsorship has changed over the years and this guide will show you exactly what you need to do to find success.

Getting sponsorship in motorsport requires dedication but a lot of drivers are still doing the same things that once worked and now don’t.

There’s hard work involved but the secret is consistency, especially once you’re all set up and in the swing of things.

In this article you’ll learn how to establish yourself in a way that makes you stand out over other racing drivers, the basics of sponsorship in motorsport, what works and what doesn’t, the kind of research you need to do before you pitch for racing sponsorship, how to build relationships with potential sponsors, how to send a pitch email, and how to get your sponsors to renew.

We’ll answer these questions:

  • How do I get motorsport sponsors?

  • How do I find companies to sponsor my race car?

  • How do I approach a racing sponsor?

  • Where can I find sponsorship opportunities?

  • How can I get sponsorship easily?

  • What companies sponsor racers?

We’ll also cover the steps needed to secure long-lasting motorsport sponsorship including:

  • How to stand out

  • Defining your value

  • Getting press coverage

  • How to research a racing sponsor

  • Building relationships

  • Sending a sponsorship email pitch

All the links in the ‘further resources’ sections are for free content from the podcast, blog, and YouTube channel. We’ve also included page references for the Get Paid to Race book (currently only available as an ebook)

Motorsport Sponsorship FAQ

How do I get motorsport sponsors?

Modern-day motorsport sponsorship is all about standing out. Not only are you competing against other racing drivers but also against all other marketing activities. You need to think about why a business would spend money to sponsor you. This all comes down to value. If you stand out and can provide value, it’s going to be so much easier to get sponsorship for motorsport.

Another element of finding and securing sponsors is building a strong network. The more relationships you can build in your chosen niche, the more people you’ll have to approach for sponsorship or introductions.

How do I find companies to sponsor my race car?

Think about those reasons you stand out. You might be operating in a specific niche (see below for more details) or area. These are great places to start. I tend to either look through my LinkedIn contact for potential sponsors or look at the exhibitors for trade shows and conferences.

Keep your eyes peeled as you go about your day-to-day life too, you never know what businesses you might come across that could be potential racing sponsors.

How do I approach a racing sponsor?

Once you’ve found the business you’d like to approach, think about what their goals are. Your approach should include details of how you’ll provide value to them. Make sure you’re emailing (or messaging) the decision-maker directly — rather than using a generic email address.

Where can I find sponsorship opportunities?

There are sponsorship opportunities wherever you turn but you need to think outside the box. There might be an opportunity in doing something with your local car dealer, an opportunity in the influence you have with your audience, or an opportunity in getting a brand in front of one of your existing partners.

Motorsport sponsorship doesn’t just have to be about hospitality and a sticker on the car. Look for brands that are actively trying to promote themselves and look at how you can add to that. As long as you can provide value, you’ll go a long way.

How can I get sponsorship easily?

The easiest way to get motorsport sponsorship is to build a network. It’s so much easier to close a sale with someone you’ve already built a rapport with. Look for opportunities to get introductions from others, show your value, and build your connections in a meaningful way. This might seem like a long process but it makes it so much easier to turn to those contacts when you need sponsorship or see an opportunity.

What companies sponsor racers?

There are so many businesses with sponsorship programmes. Take a look at this blog post for an updated list. But I wouldn’t rely on these to fund your racing career, there are better ways to find sponsorship. Read on for a step-by-step guide to getting sponsored.

The steps to getting motorsport sponsorship

Step One: Work out how you stand out over other racing drivers

Your personal brand is the thing that your fans will get behind but it’s also the thing that will show how you stand out over other drivers too.

It’s important at this step in the sponsorship process to think about your niche just as you would if you were a business. You are so much more than a racing driver so think about your interests and skills outside of motorsport. Whether it’s fitness, cooking, football, modern art, or something else, it’ll open up so many opportunities for you.

Podcast 034: How to find your niche

Step Two: Develop your personal brand

This is how you present yourself as a racing driver and show your value to potential sponsors.

Your personal brand should show who you are as a person and go beyond your racing. It’ll be the basis for everything you post on social media, how you write race reports, and more.

This might shift and change over the years, and that’s fine, but at its core, it’s about how you present yourself to your audience and sponsors.

For example, if you’re outgoing, love fitness, and do a lot of drifting, your presence on social media is going to be very different from someone who is a property developer moving through single-seater racing. 

Tips:

  • Make it very clear why you stand out over other drivers — a niche that goes beyond motorsport can really help you here.

  • Don’t be afraid to show your personality

  • Use all forms of media to showcase who you are: text, photo, audio, and video.

  • Be consistent — post regularly and stay on brand.

Further resources

Step Three: Become known as a racing driver

You don’t necessarily have to build a huge audience for sponsors to want to work with you but you’ll need some kind of presence that showcases who you are.

Of course, there are bonus points if you can build a loyal, engaged audience but they are other ways to secure sponsors too.

Create a two-way relationship with your audience.

Don’t just assume that because you’re posting nice pictures and updates, your audience will be interested. Ask them questions, create content that speaks directly to them, and get involved in discussions with them.

Consider what will be most impressive to the types of sponsors you want to target.

For example, if you’re targeting fitness brands, the decision-maker will want to see that you’re a source of inspiration and advice for your audience. To do this create content that gets people asking questions, create challenges that get people working towards a goal, or host events that gather your community in one place.

Tell your story in the press

Whatever your niche is, there’s probably a story behind it and this is something you need to start pushing in the press. By getting your name into the press, your message is spread further than your existing audience.

Tips: 

  • Always be thinking of ways to reach new people.

  • Make sure you engage with your audience.

  • Get involved in relevant discussions around motorsport and your niche.

  • Don’t just approach motorsport press for coverage. Consider trade magazines, local newspapers, and blogs too.

Further resources

Step Four: Think about what you offer

Offering hospitality and a TV audience isn’t enough. You really need to know how you can sell a partnership to a business, and that means understanding the basics of business and sales.

Consider yourself as a marketing agency pitching to a business. How are you going to justify the cost of what you’re offering? Are you going to help that business make more sales? Think about the problem you will help solve and the goals you’ll help reach.

Once you’ve got an idea of this, think about the features you’ll offer to help a business reach its goals. This can include hospitality, stickers on a car, events etc.

But these features don’t work alone. Once you have a list of what you’ll offer, think about the benefit of each – the direct impact that thing will have on the business and its goals.

Tips:

  • Don’t be afraid to think outside the box – you don’t have to do what every other driver has been doing for all of time.

  • Create a clear list of features and benefits that you can pick and choose from.

  • Some features will have numerous benefits.

  • Not all benefits will be relevant to every business.

Further resources

Step Five: Find the right prospects

Blanket emailing everyone in your local area won’t work, so you need to put a little time into researching relevant businesses. This is where your niche makes things easier.

  1. Start by making a list of the businesses you’d love to work with.

  2. Assess whether what you can offer will help them reach their goals in a broad sense.

  3. If they’re not quite right, ask yourself why.

  4. Start to search for similar businesses that might be a better fit (based on size/locality/product etc.)

  5. Go more into depth with your research to get a sense of their specific goals.

  6. Make sure you get the details for the decision-maker.

  7. Match those goals with what you can offer.

Further resources

Step Six: Build relationships

Building relationships is an often-overlooked part of the sponsorship process because so many drivers are eager to move things along too quickly.

Don’t skip this step because it could be the difference between no reply and a career-changing sponsorship deal. 

Building relationships can take a number of different forms: 

  • You might be going to networking events to build relationships with local business owners. 

  • You might be messaging lifestyle brands on Instagram. 

  • You might be getting involved in discussions on LinkedIn. 

  • You might be sending gentle emails before pitching more formally.

However you decide to build relationships with decision-makers, the goal is to warm them up to your pitch because a warm lead is so much easier to land!

Tips:

  • Go in with no agenda, otherwise, it’ll come across as disingenuous.

  • Ask questions to prompt a reply.

  • If you can’t think of anything to say or ask, consider whether the prospect is right for you.

  • Keep the conversation going.

  • People love to talk about themselves so ask questions and chat about them.

  • Once you’ve established a bit of a rapport (2-4 messages), don’t be afraid to link what you do to what’s being discussed.

Further resources

Step Seven: The pitch

If you’ve followed the steps above, you should know:

  • Plenty about the business to personalise your pitch.

  • What the business’s goals are

  • How you can help reach those goals

  • What makes you stand out over other racing drivers

  • Who you’re pitching to

  • Some information on the decision-maker

  • Insider info on the business

With all this information, it should be easy to write a pitch that really speaks to the business and its goals.

Tips:

  • Focus on the business’s goals rather than your life story.

  • Present the benefits you offer clearly and simply.

  • Ask questions.

  • Include references to your relationship-building conversations

  • Don’t feel like you need to include a shiny proposal document in the first instance.

  • Be sure to include a call-to-action so the decision-maker knows what you want them to do next.

Further resources

Step Eight: Get your sponsors to renew

Getting a renewal for a second year comes down to one small thing: Did you help your sponsor reach its goals?

If you did, then it should be pretty easy to get them to renew but if you don’t think you’re doing what you promised, this needs to be addressed early on. In fact, all the hard work of renewing a sponsorship deal is done during the race season when you’re carrying out your work. 

When you first sign a sponsor, make sure to set some goals for the year in terms of how you’re promoting them. This will be key in making sure they’re happy throughout the year.

Then, when it comes time to talk about renewal, you’ll have clear evidence of how you’ve helped them hit goals and milestones.

Tips:

  • Collect evidence throughout the race season – testimonials, statistics, etc.

  • Make sure to stay in touch with your sponsor throughout the season, even when you’re not actively working on something for them.

  • Update your sponsor with reports on the work you’ve been doing for them.

  • Collect this information together when it comes to talking about renewal.

Further resources

  • Get Paid to Race pages: 189-201

Bonus: Conquering your mindset

One of the biggest mistakes drivers make is getting too lost in their own heads. There are often so many reasons you shouldn’t push forward with your sponsorship goals and it’s so much harder to keep going than it is to quit.

But there are two big things that help you find success.

Hard work and consistency.

The hard work comes into sitting down and going through these steps. You’ll get rejections, and you’ll hit bumps in the road but if you put in the time, the successes will come.

Consistency is all about keeping going. No matter what you do, try and bring consistency into all elements of this process. Post on social media consistently, send out pitches on a regular basis, and do your follow-ups once a week.

In the same way, you’d be working hard on the track and looking for consistency from lap to lap, this applies to your approach to sponsorship for motorsport too.

Tips:

  • Don’t let imposter syndrome get the best of you. Try reframing any negative thoughts into something more positive.

  • Try and see the positive in every situation.

  • Find a champion to cheer you on, even when things are tough

  • Get some accountability

  • Take some time to write down your goals and plans on a weekly basis, it’ll help keep you on track

Further resources

Where to find more information on sponsorship in motorsport

Feel free to drop Racing Mentor a message on social media if you have any questions!