I agree, it's not that someone is sponsored or not, and as I pointed out earlier, there are people with deeper pockets than sponsor companies.
Which is why spec everything comes back into play. ETS didn't spec tyres, ESC, motors and gear ratio for nothing.
Sure, you will say, what about batteries ? Well, I guess the gain from a top end battery selected and breathed upon by unicorns are minimal and easily offset by driving and setup.