2008 MR2 Mk1 Club National AGM, 12th Oct

[tonigmr2]

just read the rest of the page and it seems as if we need to know who is a mk1 club member and races and who will race all the races.
not getting at Toni but as she says Whoa.
she may or may not be the best person for maximum exposure. its exposure we need and someone commited to every race and with a good chance of winning is what is important. Toni may give us this , i dont know. she is an obvious choice but not the only one surely.

Well I am planning to race all the double headers...and I've had it hinted they are possibly going to all be double headers next season. We'll see I guess. As for winning, unfortunately no-one can guarantee that, not even Lewis. I do agree though, if there are other MK1 members they may also wish to carry stickers (note, I have not been offered any money out of the MK1 club so don't think it's about that).
T

[waynestoyotamr2]

Kev - its a logical point, were certainly not putting all our eggs in one basket and only backing Toni - were looking at other things aswell, starting right at the top, liaising with the actual organisers of the MR2 Racing Series and breaking it right down to a granular level such as the specific teams/drivers etc.....

[cartledge_uk]

Kev - its a logical point, were certainly not putting all our eggs in one basket and only backing Toni - were looking at other things aswell, starting right at the top, liaising with the actual organisers of the MR2 Racing Series and breaking it right down to a granular level such as the specific teams/drivers etc.....

Be advised.

Out of the 2 MR2 racing series, one gets very bad press. The other one (750mc) the mk1's will have their own race in the 750mc race series next year, thats the best option IMO

[anna]

I race in the 750 formula, and are lucky enough to have our formula sponsored by Premier Choice Group.

As a series sponsor, they have stickers on all of the cars competing, the formula is advertised as the 'premier choice group 750 formula', and their sponsorship goes to fund prizes for the winners in the championship.

They also turn up to each event with post race food and beers, and use the event to wine and dine their guests, and allow their guests access to chat to the drivers (it's such a chore to be fed and watered )

So it is possible, and it does get coverage. Particularly if you did similar and had 'Mk1MR2 club MR2 Championship' (or whatever the name of the series is now )

But that does all cost money - and not an insubstantial amount. I'm sure Robin Knight at 750mc can give you all the information you need.

In terms of sponsoring cars/drivers, motorsport is expensive, so expect pay to secure advertising space on a car.
In my formula it's not possible to advertise on the cars at all (except for the formula sponsor) in order to keep the formula 'cheap' (i.e. they don't want sponsors to throw lots of money at selected individuals - the formula is about self builders, and driving ability, not how big the sponsorship cheque is).
To give you a ball park, Demon Thieves scheme (which i'm not eligible for due to the sponsorship rules in my formula) offer sponsorship to 2000 people, and the deal for doing so the chance to win £200 vouchers (possible to win more than one - someone won £2500 in a season).
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/content/d ... ory_id=204
And that's just for decals on a car.

[waynestoyotamr2]

Some really good info coming out here!

Am aware some negative vibes surround one of the series - I am probably confusing the two, but I had in mind that the good people to be involved with were:

http://www.mr2championship.com/

At the end of the day, its for the club and its members, and any prospective members, so if we here about organisations mis-treating members then we will re-evaluate being involved with them, and this applies to anything, insurance, spare parts supplier, or racing series!

[anna]

Some really good info coming out here!

Am aware some negative vibes surround one of the series - I am probably confusing the two, but I had in mind that the good people to be involved with were:

http://www.mr2championship.com/

At the end of the day, its for the club and its members, and any prospective members, so if we here about organisations mis-treating members then we will re-evaluate being involved with them, and this applies to anything, insurance, spare parts supplier, or racing series!

Who race in a series run by 750 motor club
http://www.750mc.co.uk/

If you want to sponsor the series, you would need to contact 750mc - (see the Robin Knight ref above), and as Patrick is the mr2 championship 'rep' i'm sure he would be able to put you in contact (see patricks post above).

[kaiowas]

Whilst I'd like to see the club get greater coverage I'm not comfortable with anything which involves using club money to fund (even if only partially) someones hobby. As I see it if people are prepared to support the club by carrying club stickers then great, it's appreciated but beyond providing the decals and a free membership there should be no financial outlay by the club.

The club isn't a commercial entity and shouldn't be approaching this as a 'sponsor'.

[anna]

The club isn't a commercial entity and shouldn't be approaching this as a 'sponsor'.

Oh - apologies - that's what I thought was being suggested.
Ignore what i've said.

[kaiowas]

The club isn't a commercial entity and shouldn't be approaching this as a 'sponsor'.

Oh - apologies - that's what I thought was being suggested.
Ignore what i've said.

It was certainly mentioned and I've no idea what is being discussed behind the scenes so I wouldn't dismiss your post just yet. I was just generally making my opinion heard.

[waynestoyotamr2]

More good discussion!

Its fair to say that the club does not have the resources to be pumping money into sponsorship. Although long term it might be an option, so its good to know the background involved.

What we will be looking to do is perhaps rely on a bit of generosity from the drivers and also service exchanges, ie a membership to the Mk1 Club or an article in the magazine in exchange for some stickers on the car etc....

Its good to see that people have some feelings about this - just goes to show the club is still alive!

[System-G]

What we will be looking to do is perhaps rely on a bit of generosity from the drivers and also service exchanges, ie a membership to the Mk1 Club or an article in the magazine in exchange for some stickers on the car etc....

Good luck. It's not how motorsport sponsorship works really though...

I Don't know what a race day costs an MR2 driver, but the Caterham Roadsports we ran this year, it cost each driver in the region of £2k for a double header. That's before any accidents (light or severe). It did include transportation, testing & full trackside support (entry fees, fuel, tyres etc...) and with 1 mechanic per car.

I'm sure there will be one or two drivers who are prepared to have a free sticker, but to be the main sponsor of a car, you will need a sizable contribution I would have thought.

[vix]

Does anyone know what the DC does for Sara Wherry? It would be interesting to know, get experiences from a similar club doing a similar thing so we can actually assess the budget before blowing cash willy nilly.

[waynestoyotamr2]

At the end of the day, making an effort to try and make something happen for the good of the club is better than nothing - so I am going to at least give it a go!

If we get some knock backs, hey ho - but I will at least give it a try!

Lets see how we get on.

[anna]

At the end of the day, making an effort to try and make something happen for the good of the club is better than nothing - so I am going to at least give it a go!

If we get some knock backs, hey ho - but I will at least give it a try!

Lets see how we get on.

Make sure you have your 'business plan' sorted though. By that I mean that you have a clear understanding about what is in it for the driver. I'm sure if you wondered around with some free stickers you might get one or two drivers to take them, but if you are reliant on the drivers 'doing you a favour', then that should be tempered with what you expect from them.

[tonigmr2]

Does anyone know what the DC does for Sara Wherry? It would be interesting to know, get experiences from a similar club doing a similar thing so we can actually assess the budget before blowing cash willy nilly.

I have been told they paid her race entries, but I don't have that officially for sure. If they did, that represents a £2K investment!

T

[Lauren]

For the first year of the mr2 challenge the Mk1 club paid the entries for drivers of the mk1 club car. A few of us shared it. Like Toni says though it is a fair old chunk of cash which i doubt that the mk1 club has in reserve.

Plus you need to remember that you will hardly get any publicity, you'd be lucky to get into autosport (I did but that was because of my other racing associations).

Having stickers on the race cars only has a very limited audience in terms of promotion for the club, i'd look elsewhere in all honesty.

IMOC have never really considered any form of 'sponsorship' in the mr2 series simply because it wouldn't be worth it.

[vix]

I do agree with Lauren, there is a limited audience at races and most of them know about the club and are either in it or don't care!

It's nice to have club presence, I try and do this at Snetterton, and it gets people interested in the cars, and they can talk to us spectators whilst the drivers are busy, but I've never come across another mk1 owner who didn't know about the club.

I have let my opinions on this be known to Stuart, and since been left out of all other discussion it seems!

[waynestoyotamr2]

Vix - you're crucial to the plans, sorry you do not feel that you are currently part of them.

At the moment were merely bouncing ideas around - nothing more, nothing less.

I am working on an overall sales and marketing plan, which the committee will be privvy too and I will of course invite feedback on.

Perhaps my mistake is I have put a few of the ideas out there too early, without fully developing any of the plans in any more depth than just the initial idea.

[Lauren]

Perhaps my mistake is I have put a few of the ideas out there too early, without fully developing any of the plans in any more depth than just the initial idea.

Well I wasn't going to say that you hadn't thought it through properly....

But what I will say is that it doesn't make the club look fantastic when you bounce around ideas that are clearly flawed. However, in saying all that, perhaps somewhere like here is a good place to try those ideas out, but I would suggest that you guys have a good think about future ideas before releasing them for feedback.

Its good to see you are enthusiastic though.

[waynestoyotamr2]

I am not sure any of the ideas are "flawed" as such!

But accept its probably something that needs to be sorted out in the background, rather than on another clubs forum!