I think in Australia a lot of the manufacturers pay a lot of the expenses for teams, but they push more and more every year for the teams to get outside sponsors.

As for getting sponsors and what they get out of it, I think in Australian racing a lot of companies (say Cool Air with TC) get involved because they love the sport.

For companies like Rockstar then it's a direct involvement in action sports and moto fits in well, while with Woodstock and Honda I think that was just good marketing and proposals by Yarrive and his company. Since they have Woodstock on board they seem to be happy, and do a fair bit away from the track too (visiting bottle shops etc).

I think live television prime time on Saturday nights with Super X must help the teams push their worth too.

One thing I guess we should remember is that I heard for the money a company could pay to get naming rights to a whole team in bikes, that ammount would only get them small space on a V8 Supercar, so I think I'd rather spend my $$$ on an entire bike team than having a tiny sticker on the rear bumper of a V8.

I could be wrong but this is just what I heard last year from a team sponsor.

AG ,
Do you know if there are certain requirements to run your own team ?
For example could I buy 2 bikes through my company get a rider and ride myself and call myself a team ?
At the end of the day I see it as a good tax dodge.......
Another thing , for 2 riders what do you think it would cost to run a team for a year ?
Cheers.

Ha midlife1 , I believe there is much more to it than a company name and two riders. logistics to move a team or truck around. Mechanics team personal , PR for the team unless your company has deep deep pockets and that before you even start a bike or buy go fast bolt on pieces.

Tax dodge sounds good to anyone but to make it easier and have other companies come on board they want results
the cost for a year would depend is your team racing oakdale club days or a super x series

sounds like a excellent idea for a story Alex

Just curious to know how much money a sponsor would need to put in to enable a team to be competitive..
My simplified description of a team and what is required derives from myself being uneducated in this area.
I can't seem to find any information out there on what it takes (financially ) to run a team.

I agree FiveOne , it would be a good idea for a story !!

Well I couldn't say exactly how much a team costs, but two bikes and a rider would be much different than a full on race team with two Open riders, two Lites riders and an Under 19s rider or two. It depends if you were in it to win or just have a bit of fun in the sport, which isn't unreasonable.

If you want to win the Opens your top champion rider alone would cost over $100,000 just for sign on, while Lites would be about half that. And then you have to pay bonus money and expenses etc, but that's really only with a very serious national race team. They asked Craig Dack on the latest MXTV how much his team costs to run, but he didn't really say.

Apart from the race bikes you need to have good practice bikes, good suspension and bolt on arts, and a good engine builder t's almost endless. But of course, nothing is impossible and it is possble to start off small and build up.

But I must say I'd rather run a motocross team than a superbike team! Their tyre bills are enough to send you bankrupt haha.

ahhhh tax dodges are illegal Midlife
you need a woman rider? I am up for it . . . i drive a manual car so a bike would be easy

Well , knowing you are a lawyer maybe you can offer some advice ?

Send your resume in to me and I will consider you for a position on my team. lol.......The pay isn't too good but at least you can get up and close to all the boys in the pits !!

magic words . . . boys in pits
I think you will find that running a team is not just bikes in back of van - it's giving up your life to travel round the country, staying in dodgy hotels, sweating to find sponsors, sweating to keep them happy, dealing with the physical and psychological issues which face the riders when they win, when they lose and when they are injured. I think you should give up on the idea. It's too hard.

No dont give up, I believe it would be well worth all the hard work.

Gee Mrs b , I would hate to have you represent me in court or in any other legal matters.....

Just give up ?? No future for you in MX....lol.

i don't do court.
We can start a new thread on this - some lawyers are "front end" - they don't go to court, they draft agreements Some are "back end' - that's where the sh*t hits the fan - they go to court. I am front end. I will never represent you or anyone in court.
I never give up but I don't start something which is impractical.

That's a first ..... for a lawyer !!

So what makes you think it is impractical for me to start a team ? Other people have done it........
All I need is a rider that can draw a bit of attention and I'm away.........Oh yeah , and shit loads of cash......

who do you have in mind?

Not sure.... Any idea's ?

I think you need to get a rider who is out of contract . . . you really need someone who knows more about this industry than i do! lol

I think it's worthwhile starting a team if you were committed...look at Konsky a few years ago. He started out and now he is the factory team with a massive semi and huge sponsorship. Once you start getting the sponsors with dollars on board then it changes from a tax dodge to you making money from it. Or you could go in full bore from the start like MXRAD!! That team is massive for their first full season, but it's awesome for the sport.

ask either if they do it for the money - i guarantee you the answer is no
ps - how do you know about Konsky's massive semi?

Haha I don't know. Of course they don't do it for the money entirely, but it would be nice to get return on the investment - it's not all fun and games. It's hard work.

I know of a good freestyle rider if anyone is interested

Midlife and Ashcan as riders with Viagra as the main sponsor LOL :D

what about couch rider like you?
Do you ride Doova?

pfffft, Im sure midlife would want someone that doesn't spend half the race on the ground lol. I'll be the team manager

i will be the brains behind the operations
two people running an mx team who can't ride - i like it

I will be the PR manager lol.