In motorsport, talent can only get you so far. For many young drivers, one of the biggest obstacles they face when starting their careers is one they never thought of when they dreamed of following their heroes: money.

Of the 19 drivers that competed in the Brands Hatch Indy round of the 2016 British Formula 4 championship, four weren’t racing in the series by the time the paddock returned to Brands, whilst five other drivers only competed in selected rounds.

Though not all absences can be put down to funding problems, the series has started a training course to keep a “healthy” grid size throughout the year.

The first 15 drivers to register for the 2017 British F4 championship will have access to an online sponsorship acquisition training course.

“The course will further ensure that British F4 drivers don’t have to be from the most affluent backgrounds to succeed on track and enhance the affordability of the UK’s highest profile junior single-seater series,” senior manager at Ford Performance Europe, Gerard Quinn, said.

The course was created by marketing exponent, Brian Sims, in partnership with Autosport. It will use case studies from Sims’ own career to help drivers who need to acquire sponsorship understand how to make arrangements work best for everyone.

Sims guarantees his course will increase a driver’s chance of getting sponsors on board.

“Sponsorship acquisition is actually very simple, but people find it so difficult because they go about it in completely the wrong way,” he said.

“Drivers will learn how to equate a company’s need with what they can offer so that they can provide a personalised proposal based on the prospective sponsor’s needs.”

Sims also shared four main reasons why sponsorship can be attractive to sponsors:

“Ford’s involvement gives huge credibility; the championship is on a realistic level budget wise – it’s affordable unlike so many other series; drivers compete on a level playing field in identical machinery; and finally British F4 offers a fantastic environment to develop B2B relationships.”

Drivers who want more information about the course or to compete in the championship should email championship coordinator Eve Lake-Grange at e.lake-grange@racingline.com

Feature image credit: Caroline Rhea

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