Marketing RallyCross (or other motorsports)

My argument against a coursewalk is simply time.  A course that takes 160 second for a front-runner car to drive takes a loooooong time for spectators to walk.

A pre-drive makes a lot more sense.

In reply to ProDarwin :

We do both.  Doing tech from about 8 to 10 usually means no opportunity for a course walk, and we generally don't do one for the afternoon.  Unless you are helping set up the course (himt hint hint!!)

rothwem said:

 

But would adding more people really make it more fun?  Doesn't less people=more runs?  The fun of rallycross seems to be the grassroots nature of it, with junk cars going sideways around a race course.  

 

Amen.  The reason I have been going to LESS rallycrosses is because of the already limited seat time.

Lof8 - Andy said:

rothwem said:

 

But would adding more people really make it more fun?  Doesn't less people=more runs?  The fun of rallycross seems to be the grassroots nature of it, with junk cars going sideways around a race course.  

 

Amen.  The reason I have been going to LESS rallycrosses is because of the already limited seat time.

To me, more people = higher probability of competition = more fun.

Going to a 25 person rallyx with a shallow talent/car pool and winning your class by minutes != fun.  Battling it out with multiple other drivers for top time is a ton of fun, even if it results in 20% less seat time.

Also, I have never been to a small event that didnt have improvements it could make that would speed things up tremendously.  In many cases things can take longer due to the lack of people.  Not enough people to do a rolling worker change, not enough people to have an off heat for lunch, etc.

Lof8 - Andy said:

rothwem said:

 

But would adding more people really make it more fun?  Doesn't less people=more runs?  The fun of rallycross seems to be the grassroots nature of it, with junk cars going sideways around a race course.  

 

Amen.  The reason I have been going to LESS rallycrosses is because of the already limited seat time.

And that's the inherent issue with the SCCA where they're situated in a place where they are appealing to two different groups of people. Those who want to slide their beaters around in an empty field for a while, and those who want real competition...while sliding their cars around in a field. Neither group is specifically wrong, and neither group can support the events on their own, which means they have to coexist which requires some compromise. That all said, at the participation numbers rallycross draws, more people is generally better as long as the region can handle it. More and better workers is the main thing. Better event organization. OVR does pretty well for a small rallycross region, but I'm pretty sure most of their events end up with 20-40 people and about the same or less seat time as a detroit event with 65 people. And honestly there's a decent amount of room for improvement in Detroit's operation efficiency too.

In reply to ProDarwin :

More people means more workers means you aren't trying to cover a 50-75 yard section of course, including manning the radio and flag, all by yourself. More corner workers allows longer, more technical courses, which is more fun.  You can't have a good course if you only have 4 corner workers per heat.

Knurled. said:

In reply to ProDarwin :

More people means more workers means you aren't trying to cover a 50-75 yard section of course by yourself.  More corner workers allows longer, more technical courses, which is more fun.  You can't have a good course if you only have 4 corner workers per heat.

Exactly.

Longer setup and takedown as well.

Double the manpower can really change an event and many times it does not come at the expense of seat time.

How many people here have been to a 50 person autox that had a (much) E36 M3tier course and barely any more seat time than a 300 person autocross?

In reply to dps214 :

I've been to OVR rallycrosses where we got 20 timed runs.  We usually shoot for 12 but drop it to 10 if we get a large turnout.

The sites we have available to us are not conducing to having 4-5 cars on course at the same time like we used to have, so we usually end up with runs in the 40-50 second range at the one site and minute-80 second range at the other.

We also only run two heats and take a lunch break, so we don't do the rolling changeover the way Detroit does it.  It's a much more laid back expeience and you get to hang out with your friends more and maybe chow down on some home cookin'.  Although as the general tech inspector guy I do wish more people showed up before 5 minutes to driver's meeting

ideas in no set order:

1) get with 2 tire suppliers, one being a rally tire distributor in North America and the other being a snow tire manufacturer. Have them each provide 3 sets of tires and $3000. A magazine will have 3 staffers each purchase a vehicle to be run at rallycross events at The Firm where that maximum budget is to be $2000 (with the exception of a second set of wheels) one of the 3 vehicles will be FWD, one RWD and the other AWD. Who is to purchase what drivetrain format will be selected from a hat. At the events the drivers will switch from the snows to the rally tires before their last run of each session and provide feedback regarding the difference as to grip, steering response in addition to comparing raw times. Bonus if you get the SCCA to kick in funding to have the magazine take the vehicles to Nationals or at least a National Event to see how the budget builds stack up against seasoned drivers in cars with years of preparation and refinement. Showcase in a tangible fashion that it doesn't cost much to run mid pack or better. 

2) encourage clubracers with tired old non competitive ITA, ITB, and ITC cars to throw snow tires or gravel tires on them and to come out. Talk to a regional SCCA sponsor about sponsoring a subclass for any logbooked clubracing car, where the winner gets a gift certificate and is featured on their social media. The drivers in this subclass will have already been spending their money with this vendor, will already know and be familiar with them, so it's really that rallycross community that benefits in gaining numbers. Speaking of which, want to know how you reach the clubracers? Volunteer at the events, flag, do tech or timing. But get a group of rallycrossers active in volunteering at club racing or HPDE events. It'll provide an opportunity to talk rallycross with them, engage them and personally invite them out to an event. It'll also help make in roads with that local regional sponsor about sponsoring that subclass and the rallycross program suddenly won't be the redheaded stepsister within the SCCA region, some of those deeper pocketed clubracers may even know some landowners with potential rallycross sites. 

3) Invite out a local celebrity or "influencer" out, take them for a ride, give them a tutorial, then have them run the course, recording it and their honest initial reactions to their followers. It's fun. Get a local athlete or media personality to come out with a venue and outlet via social media that shows them having FUN doing it and people will believe that they can have fun doing it as well, instead of thinking that it's something that just us quirky car dorks enjoy. Then even pivot it to educating about how driving in lower traction conditions greatly improves your ability to control your vehicle in all situations, making you a better, safer driver. 

Knurled. said:

In reply to dps214 :

I've been to OVR rallycrosses where we got 20 timed runs.  We usually shoot for 12 but drop it to 10 if we get a large turnout.

 

The sites we have available to us are not conducing to having 4-5 cars on course at the same time like we used to have, so we usually end up with runs in the 40-50 second range at the one site and minute-80 second range at the other.

 

We also only run two heats and take a lunch break, so we don't do the rolling changeover the way Detroit does it.  It's a much more laid back expeience and you get to hang out with your friends more and maybe chow down on some home cookin'.  Although as the general tech inspector guy I do wish more people showed up before 5 minutes to driver's meeting

You're right I did generally enjoy the operation and general atmoshere of OVR events more (once we acclimated to the real schedule of events versus the published version). I was just using the data I had available to demonstrate that more people doesn't necessarily mean less seat time or a worse experience. Yes I know I said I liked OVR events better but most of the things I disliked about detroit events were their own peculiar way of doing things and could be improved without really slowing anything down. The main point was that having more than 20 people made it easier to start the event less than two hours behind schedule and keep things moving pretty quickly. At summer detroit events it was pretty common to get 10-12 runs and be done at a reasonable time.

Two other items of note.

Regarding social media outlets for recruitment and marketing. Most people that like or follow on instafacespace are already familiar with the program or found out via word of mouth or some other outlet that's referring them to check there fo more information and scheduling. Setting up a free Google page will generate more raw leads and is a more attractive outlet to steer potential sponsorship partners. It also allows you to provide promotions directly for those sponsorship partners that show lead sourcing that you guided a customer or sale to them. 

Secondly, when conversations within the rallycross and autocross community deteriorate into discussions about manusha about the benefits of a course walk versus driving a course and classing rules, you loose new people. I get it maximizing seat time is important. However the easiest way to address those concerns is to hold a planning meeting that's not at an event or an awards banquet for concerns to be discussed. Know what tends to happen at those meetings? The people who bitch and squak the loudest about things throughout the year don't show, because they don't actually care enough to come out. Those who do put in a plan of action for the upcoming season and run it. Giving an assigned time and location to address concerns going forward is a quick way to separate those with ideas and concepts to help grow the sport versus those who are toxic and merely complaining. Keep it simple and have fun. 

captdownshift said:

 

Regarding social media outlets for recruitment and marketing. Most people that like or follow on instafacespace are already familiar with the program 

Buuuuttttttttt if you video a few runs, and tag the drivers, all of the drivers friends should see it, and maybe they become interested.

gearheadmb said:

captdownshift said:

 

Regarding social media outlets for recruitment and marketing. Most people that like or follow on instafacespace are already familiar with the program 

Buuuuttttttttt if you video a few runs, and tag the drivers, all of the drivers friends should see it, and maybe they become interested.

Yeah.  I'm far from a social media expert, but I would imagine with the right tags, Rallycross pictures and videos are going to show up on car-guys' (who are completely unfamiliar with it) instagram feeds.

In reply to gearheadmb :

Rather then video from a static corner. Regions should have a suction mounted GoPro to mount (with permission of course) to some of the faster drivers vehicles for a run in roder to create this media content to share across various platforms and they'll own the content for other marketing and promotional use, instead of relying on drivers uploading then sharing. I don't know of any regions that have taken this step (I'm not saying that there aren't ones who haven't, just saying I'm unaware not any who actually have). 

In reply to captdownshift :

It has to be in car, mounted in the back. The only rx videos that don't make it look boring are ones where you can see the what the drivers hands are doing and seeing the tach is good too. Knurled does a good job. Drone video would be cool too.

gearheadmb said:

In reply to captdownshift :

It has to be in car, mounted in the back. The only rx videos that don't make it look boring are ones where you can see the what the drivers hands are doing and seeing the tach is good too. Knurled does a good job. Drone video would be cool too.

Though Knurleds vids make it sound like he is driving a box of really angry beesm

I think this is a discussion that could go on until the end of a time.  A variety of camera angles is best, and a skilled editor to put them together.

Out of car lets you see what the car is doing, in car lets you see what the driver is doing.

Both are useful and entertaining.  This is why I bought a Soloshot.  Have not used it yet though.