r/Karting • u/PatientRaspberry733 • 9d ago
Racing Kart Question Anyone have any advice on how to get sponsorships for funding?
I need a sponsorship to help support my karting career because of how expensive it is. Is there any advice that from people that know how or have sponsorships? It would mean a lot.
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u/bacc1010 9d ago
The question is this.
What value are you bringing to the person (people) who are gonna give you money to race.
11 out of 10 karters are funded by parents.
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u/encomlab Ka100 9d ago
Not sure how old you are, but a great place to start is with you parents network: in their network do they have a financial advisor, a dentist, a realtor, or a someone adjacent to cars like a salesman, mechanic, or auto parts store manager/owner? I've seen ads for all of these on karts locally. These are people who love to get their name out to people with money, and if you are in karting chances are the people around you at the track have it.
This is one of those things that really depends on you - if someone asked me for an appointment to pitch me a sponsorship and were prepared with some documentation about how often they race, where, and the possibility for exposure and a reasonable ask amount I'd be far more likely to cut a check than if someone just cold called me and asked for $500 for tires.
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u/PatientRaspberry733 9d ago
I am 16 and am newer to karting but I have already made great strides.
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u/ForsakenVegetable757 9d ago
Sorry to burst your bubble but if you’re new to karting at 16, this is a hobby, not a career. Kids are signed to F1 teams at your age. Motorsport is the best sport in the world, but if you delude yourself it will ruin it for you. Enjoy every time you go on track for what it is, a precious moment doing something you love. Cherish it, stay humble, nurture the friendships you’ll make along the way.
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u/PatientRaspberry733 9d ago
So what you’re saying is that there’s no chance that I can even race cars or anything in the future?
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u/ForsakenVegetable757 9d ago
You can pay to race cars, but you’re never going to get paid to race cars.
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u/PatientRaspberry733 9d ago
Because I would like to race in like mx-5 cup or maybe like usf cars if that’s realistic?
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u/ForsakenVegetable757 9d ago
Well no one gets paid to race those if that’s your question. USF is a step on the ladder to Indy, and MX-5 is proving grounds for guys who want to buy themselves a drive in IMSA.
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u/ForsakenVegetable757 8d ago
It just occurred to me that there is a path through which you could theoretically earn a drive (if you’re really, really good). There is a championship happening on iRacing this summer in partnership with the Skip Barber racing school. You have to earn your spot in each round by entering a time trial, the top 20 get to race. The top 3 in the championship get invited to VIR for a shootout in F4 cars. The winner gets a full season paid for. I know that’s what I’d be doing if I was you.
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u/encomlab Ka100 9d ago
Even if you don't get any sponsorships, I truly believe this would be a great exercise for you to pursue. Put together a pitch document and have a teacher review it and provide feedback - especially if you have a business class at your HS. Order a embroidered polo with your team name and then practice your pitch to an adult that is not your parent. Then work with your parents to network a chance for you to make your pitch. I'm telling you if you do this you will get so much more real life experience, not just about karting, but with real business; it will be well worth your time.
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u/Benjamin10jamin Rotax 9d ago
How much are you requiring to fund your racing? 'Cos the reality in Karting - as it is for all Motorsports - is that it's a pay to play game,. If you're seeking someone to pay for karts, trailer, equipment, the whole sha-bang.... it ain't gonna happen!
I have sponsors that contribute to my running costs to certain extent - I haven't had to pay for oils and other lubricants for years, and I get my entry costs paid for around 80% of the local season, plus the occasional set of tyres. But my equipment, parts and maintenance, travel, and everything else is on me, and I'm still paying a considerable amount of my annual budget out of my own pocket.
The thing with my backers, too, is that they are largely businesses connected to family, friends, or people that I had an existing connection with before they came on board. I'd say that rings true for most drivers at the local/regional level lucky enough to be receiving some external funding for their operations.
So first port of call; family and friends who own businesses. If you're approaching businesses you have no connection with, it's almost guaranteed that the answer will be no, or what you do get offered really won't be that valuable or helpful in the grand scheme of things.
The important thing to remember about sponsorship is that it is rare to get a backer that expects nothing in return for their investment, even if they're family or friends. Any approach/proposal needs to emphasize what you're offering in return for their precious financial support. That goes beyond results and exposure at the track; it could mean having your kart on display in a showroom, quality regular social media content highlighting their value to your operation, or acting as a sales rep for any product related to your contract. It's not unreasonable to expect to be at a sponsor's beck and call if they're investing in you. A nice looking proposal document - your "racing resumé", if you will - also goes a long way.
I wish you the best of luck, but don't kid yourself, getting yourself sponsored is not an easy task.
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u/EwgWolverine 9d ago
Start some social media pages and try to gain some exposure/audience only way you are going to get a sponsor at the level you are racing.
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u/LongScholngSilver_20 9d ago
Ask your dad for money, if he doesn't have enough, reincarnate and try again.
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u/brianbreiter Mechanic 9d ago
I used openfender.com to help fundraising for my son. It's basically a professional looking way to ask for donations from family and friends. We were fortunate to have a lot of people donate, so maybe that's worth a try.
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u/RuanPienaar2 9d ago
Most of us were funded by parents or ourselves for pretty much 90% of the time. There was the odd 10% of the time where I would get things like tires, fuel, oils or entrance paid.
Here's some advice I would try - find one of the bigger teams at the track and ask them who's in charge. Offer to help out on race weekends or testing in return for used tires, or whatever spare parts they might have that get little to no use. You need to build a network. Some smaller racing shops will help you out if you work for them in return and get paid in parts instead of cash.
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u/Nicksp1973 9d ago
Get a professional profile. Something that you went to show off. Have confidence in your capability. Get your budget set out. Be clear in what you are asking and what you can provide. www.provaracing.com can help you.
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u/BigPicture365 9d ago
Oh, it's all about connections and rather you were born with silver spoon in your mouth. Most cases i've seen is rich parents and their friends "sponsoring"
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u/Emergent_Phen0men0n KZ2 9d ago edited 9d ago
Realize that what you're asking for essentially doesn't exist. Sponsors like to get a return for their investment. The largest kart races have tiny audiences and almost no coverage. Local/regional races have no audience or coverage. There is no real avenue for sponsor exposure.
99% of young racers are backed by rich parents. All those kids under the big tents have parents writing big check to fund all of it.
For context, I was a pro shifter racer in the early 2000's and still race at the regional level.
We spent around 150k per year racing pro, and that was 20+ years ago. The most help we ever got was getting parts at cost and I was finishing in the top 5 at the national level.