Nova F1 Racer

iTrader: (3)

Hmmm.... Just some pondering thoughts.....
There are a couple of areas that racers like me ( people who race more than a couple of times a year at local tracks ) would want to go to some of the bigger events but know thay have no chance against the sponsored drivers in the stock motor class..
Let's take this a little deeper.....
How many races/events that post rules points to ROAR rules and products that are ROAR qualified/certified?

I would hate to see event names turn into something like this...
"The ROAR Trinty-Tamiya-Traxxas-Tekin-Xray-Tower Hobby-Ebay-Craigslist-Drano" Rally" Race...

And what about race entrants? This hobby is slowly losing people because there is a preception that the "beginner" class is for racers just starting out and not the factory/sponsored drivers.

I don't know what to do but I think ROAR has to take the lead on these issues.. AND we need the vendors to be a part of this as well..

Lets face it kiddies, we are ALL in this together..... Lets find a way to make it better for all racers....

And now back to your orginal net surfing....

westerdude42

I think the most important point to be made is this. Without sponsorship no track will go to the effort or put out the resources necessary to put on a major race. If there are no major races to cover there is really no reason to have the magazines that are out there now. If you want your sponsored drivers to have a place to go and race then there need to be "sponsored big races". If you want to advertise in the magazines there have to be "sponsored big races" for them to cover. These races are great ways to get your product exposure and to sell your product, and the only question is do you want to have your "Tekin" sponsored driver win the whole thing, only to have his picture in the magazine next to a giant "Novak" sign because they sponsored the race.

Advil

iTrader: (19)

Sorry Dawn, perhaps I did miss read your post. Unfortunately my point still stands. From an investment standpoint....what RETURN does an investor gain when sponsoring a ROAR National Event or any other large RC event. The investment must have a ROI otherwise...why invest. Don't get me wrong....I stongly support "most" of what ROAR does....I just think that when someone (ROAR or the Event Venue) is asking for dollars, certain questions must be answered. The most important (and the reason we see no investment from outside our industry/hobby) is what is in it for the companies that invest with their advertising dollars. If those involved could "quantify" that...well...I think our industry/hobby could see investments from other non-related industries. This is one of those things that could seed growth for ALL!

Randy Pike

It's great to see all the good points...Nice. I think that a large problem to these events is poor attendance. It's great to get the fastest drivers together for Nationals. What I see as the issue is that the "grass root" privateer attendance is horrible.

I like the points standing idea(s). Some way to rank everyone. I just think that there are a lot of "pro" drivers not stepping up to the Mod ranks. I'm not going to name anyone, but they're all out there. This is a problem even at non National events. Since Roar membership is required maybe that is where we can register it all. Not sure how but something should be done.

I'm all for the fastest drivers being the fastest guys in the classes but at some point how long to they stay in the "slower" classes.

tallyrc

iTrader: (12)

oh come on, you think novices trying to break into the hobby are really scared off by the guys in stock pulling laptimes just off those of 19t and mod in some cases? you mean a GFX, case of motors and case of new batts didn't come with your ready-to-run?

SWTour

iTrader: (9)

Art,

I think one of the reasons we don't see more "Non-R/C" sponsors...is possibly the lack of the right approach.

Too often we look for sponsorships from within, even though the sponsor pool is pretty tapped out most of the time.

Why is it...a race promoters first thought for a sponsor is going after one of the major R/C mfgs like NOVAK - TRINITY - XRAY - PROTOFORM - HPI - ASSOCIATED - TEKIN - SMC - PRO-MATCH - HUDY - etc. Same with drivers, they always want to be added to the TOP Tier teams.

I've always found it was easier and better to look for companies who are NOT oversaturated in a market already... THEY get and/or have more to gain by getting into a NEW market.

If you are on the WEST COAST - help bring a Mid-West or East Coast company WEST... and vice versa if you are no the East Coast.

Have those companies/sponsors TRACK sales in your region to see if their sponsorship is actually working and increasing thier sales in that market....(when they can...I don't know if they can get that info from the Distributors like HORIZON, etc. )

As for outside companies... Large companies like Energy Drinks, Soft Drinks, Pizza, or other Fast Food, we'd never get past their NATIONAL Marketing companies front desk, but individual francises can do local sponsorship deals most of the time. But there are other companies, but most of the time we're too lazy to do the legwork to find them...and keep them.

(Kinda the same for getting magazine coverage for a race...if you want it...you have to do it YOURSELF)

NovakTwo

Good question. After sponsoring, or co--sponsoring, many races---going back almost 30 years---my observation is that there is zero return on investment from sponsoring races.

westerdude42

I watched Novak sponsor and support many drivers and teams at SIR's 24 hour Enduro. As a direct result almost all of the guys running brushless at SIR are running Novak. I decided on Novak over other brands based on this, the overall quality of their products and the support and help that was given at this race. There might be more return than you think, but sponsorship alone won't get it done. You also have to have a good product and good customer service which you do.

JayBee

iTrader: (31)

GREAT example Chris That is the PRIMARY reason I have a 13.5 & 10.5 system for my MI3's. Plus it's purple............

Kraig

iTrader: (81)

So my question then is why do you keep doing it? Wouldn't the money spent on sponsoring an event better be served by helping out people at big events who use your product with support? As a racer it is always nice to see a representative from the company at a race so that I know if I have problems they will do what they can to help.

I sponsored a few events back in the day and I didn't see a ROI. When I did some print ad's I saw more response from that.

I know it is a double edge sword, you are dammed if you do and dammed if you don't.

NovakTwo

As a general guideline, Novak will only sponsor a race that we also plan to attend. I agree that there is good will and some return on investment (or, most likely, return of investment ) when Novak reps attend races and actively support customers.

If the financial choices were: sponsoring the race, sending an employee to enter the race, or providing a support person, Novak would opt for sending the tech support person.

So, to answer your question "Why.." Sponsoring a fun, popular race may add a heightened sense of awareness that Novak is attending and available to help the racers and customers.

Michal101

iTrader: (13)

NovakTwo,

I think you hit the nail on the head and I also think that is what Jim (Tekin) is pondering as well (Jim, please correct me if I am wrong). Why spend the extra dollars to be one of the major sponsors and also pay some of your racers to attend not only to race, but for true “hands on” customer support? Why not just spend the same amount and send more drivers for representation? The sad part is that I have raced at many ROAR national events and I could not tell you who any of the major sponsors were for any of those races.

I am a sponsored driver for Tekin and I am no where near National “A” ability most of the time, however, my main focus when attending national as well as local events is to help fellow racers with their r/c car and equipment and NOT just Tekin products! Racing is secondary. Shoot, I have missed heats before just to help a kid get his car ready for his next race. To me that is the true return on your investment.

ROI (Return on Investment) is just that…RETURN ON INVESTMENT!!!

westerdude42

Valid point with just one problem, if there is no sponsorship there will be no race to send your driver too. If this were really lucrative to the host sight more than one application would come in each year.

Big B

iTrader: (4)

Is there a happy medium to this, it's hard to say. I haven't attended a National event yet, the ROAR nat's up here at SIR in July will be the first. I don't plan on racing this year because it's not in my budget, but I do plan on attending everyday. From a spectators standpoint, I can tell you I would like to see Team Techs there to awnser questions about products, also I would like to see the latest and greatest products. Did buy my car and equipment based on who sponsord the last big event, no, will that ever happen, probably not. I based what I bought mostly on performance and price, who makes the best charger out there I can afford. Also I went to the track an awful lot before I bought a car, and I looked around, at what people had in there pit spots, and what was working on the track.

Michal101

iTrader: (13)

westerdude42,

Just my point! As previously posted, this explains the popularity with the Novak race, Snowbirds and Scotty's Vegas race and the dwindling attendance at the ROAR national events.

Big B,

"I would like to see Team Techs there" that is exactly what the Team drivers are supposed to be there for and not just wheeling the car.