We write to you in this festive period to wish you the very best time whether that be at home or away.
For the 2019 competitors I’m sure you will have already seen that costs are rising in 2020, this is the result of price increases by MotorsportUK for licenses and permits. Additionally, circuit hire has increased in some places more than average going into 2020. Ultimately these costs must be passed on to the competitors, however we have done our upmost to limit the cost rise whilst still providing the same level of quality and service to which you have become accustomed.
We are incredibly grateful to the offer we’ve received from 750 Motor Club, who continue to service our requests and are providing us with the best possible value track time at the circuits. This is no mean feat considering we’ve asked for them to cater for our grids which are one of the largest in the UK Motor Racing events.
Autosport Show
We announced this week on social media that we’ve secured some exhibition space at the Autosport International on 9-12 Jan 20. There will be a tri-Service display on the stand with a car and representatives from each Service. There will also be a race simulator for visitors to try. If any of our competitors or supporters are interested in visiting Autosport please get in touch at the earliest opportunity as we might be able to help out with access tickets.
Registration Costs
2019 Competitors will have noticed the registration fee has increased to £100 and whilst the fact that this is lower than most civilian series isn’t an excuse for the increase, we feel it pertinent to explain the reasoning.
Post 2019 season there were requests from numerous competitors for additional awards (per race rather than per weekend) and also an end of season dinner night. Additionally, we’ve made some investment to reduce waste in and around the hospitality. With that in mind, competitors will receive re-usable drinks cups with registration packs and we’ll stop supplying bottled water, which more often than not on have a few mouthfuls drunk before being left in and around hospitality. Don’t worry though, for those who don’t register in time to receive the full registration pack, you will be able to use disposable cups for a charitable donation.
Our competitors and supporters have expressed interest in an end of season formal awards dinner. We were very pleased to announce previously that we’ve booked the British Racing Drivers’ Club clubhouse for the evening after the Birkett. Keith secured the booking and Sarah (Mrs Attwood) has volunteered her services to help arrange the evening. The evening will serve as our awards dinner but also as a charity fundraiser for Royal British Legion. There will be a mixture of single Service traditions that will be fully briefed beforehand and port fines will be replaced with RBL donations. We are working hard to secure some guest speakers to entertain and present the awards.
Entry Fees
We have very recently received the draft budget from 750 Motor Club that is now being worked into a financial plan to ensure the events are both affordable and deliverable. Our choice of circuits work well for high entry numbers and we’re determined to keep the costs as they were in 2018 and 2019, with the exception of a double driver which increases to reflect the extra permit charge. N.B Our entry fees are unlikely to rise from 2019 to 2020.
We are determined to continue to provider shelter and hospitality at the events and we’re pleased to say that Max Coates doesn’t have any calendar conflicts with our 2020 calendar. These additional benefits at events will be modular based on how many entries we receive.
Payments
We are continuing with MyClubHouse and Stripe for championship registrations and race entries. At the request of competitors we purchased the token module for the site to allow competitors to spread the cost of their races, unfortunately hardly anyone took advantage of that capability. This facility is still available and we encourage people to use this to spread the cost.
Sponsorship
Sponsorship remains one of the top priority areas of attention during the off-season and we’re interested in any organisation that can lower our operating cost in return for hosting or brand representation and/or hosting. Any profit raised from sponsorship/marketing will directly subsidise the competitors.
We can offer fully tailored packages for either goods provided or financial. These can be for single events or for the full season and we will ensure that the maximum exposure possible is experienced for any sponsor. If anyone has any business contacts or leads, do let us know.
Profit
We operate not for any profit, or personal gain. Any money made through the promotion of our events is either shared to competitors as subsidies towards future events (or shop purchases) or it gets reinvested in the championship to help us provide the best possible service to the competitors and sponsors.
In 2019 we profit shared at the first race weekend, the 2nd weekend made a loss (due to mechanical issues in testing and an additional race), the 3rd weekend subsidised the 2nd weekend and the 4th weekend made profit which was invested in aligning for 2020 and beyond.
Conclusion
We’d like to thank our 2019 competitors and as always our volunteers, officials, supporters and sponsors. We look forward to welcoming some new drivers onto the grid in 2020 and reaching out to any organisation who might be interested in joining our championship in partnership for 2020.
We wish you all a fantastic Christmas period and look forward to seeing you in 2020!
Chris & Keith