Posts
15458
Joined
12/28/2008
Location
Wildomar, CA
US
Fantasy
45th
Edited Date/Time
11/14/2017 5:54am
Well, that's one less truck and a few less rides for the 250 West Coast series in 2018.
https://motocross.transworld.net/news/barn-pros-racing-out-2018-season/
https://motocross.transworld.net/news/barn-pros-racing-out-2018-season/
To my knowledge the Barn Pro's team only has one semi truck. Getting rid of the rig for something smaller would for sure help them save some money.
Help the teams out. Team was pluralized.
Getting rid of the semi races will help the teams out.
The Shop
Yes, Barn Pros had one semi and it wasn't a true built up one, more like an empty shell of an old drag race trailer with some extra cabinets thrown in it.
You'll see two more semis in the pits this year as TPJ has gotten their hands on two of them for 2018.
Just a general comment about semis vs box vans, not pointed at anyone, just something I thought I'd throw in here:
Sponsors really put a lot of weight into pit presence...what you're able to provide for professional look and the ability to connect with attendees. In today's sponsorship land, the ROI for a sticker on a jersey and bike doesn't go very far, brands want to see activation, stuff they can do with this people attending the races. Many teams that are sponsor driven, not OEM driven, need to carry displays, do giveaways and such at the races to collect emails and other personal information which can be reused as a marketing tool.
What's the general joe-blow more likely to visit? The box van in the back of the pits with a small ez-up and nothing to look at, or the big rigs near the front with contests, displays, more bikes to look at, more staff to chat with, etc.
While I do agree that some smaller teams need to look at the price of the exact setup they're using and if they can really make sense of the investment, ultimately the size of the pit presence and professionalism of it is a necessary evil if the team wants to expand and get to the top level. If the team is running off industry sponsorship and someone who's spending the money for the love of it, what they show up in isn't as big of a deal. If you're a team running on corporate dollars and have to show a sold ROI, then pit presence becomes very important.
bummer to see them out and hopefully they come back.
It's a driver and upkeep that can be pricey.
Plus the wrap for a semi isn't cheap...but a sponser should of course be covering that
After hearing about it this morning I popped the owner an email and he responded back and said they had lost a big sponsor so they had to pull out but he did say they will be back in 2019.
I have heard to many horror stories about teams still trying to do it and scrape in the funds from new sponsors and they fold up a couple races in so IMO Barn Pros did the right thing and earlier enough the riders and crew have time to work on another team.
If a team does not have a BIG Professional presence they do not attract the crowd.
trailer for Supercross, for around or less than a new Sprinter...which would still be blank inside.
Bummer for Barn Pros, hopefully they can get back at it.
Back in the day , i was a weekend warrior for a decent UK Superbike Team, used to do set up and tear down, a bit of spanner work on the friday before the proper guys turned up ,and then 2 days looking after guests.. and we had loads.
The team started with a few backers at £5k a pop, one owner/rider, and 2 techs, and grew to 3 riders in 2 classes, with a proper catered hospitality and all the trimmings. They pulled money in when the Factory Yamaha effort ran out of a converted horsebox, and struggled for money.. we never gave out free tickets, just went to the gates and paid for guests and visitors as they arrived, so we didnt spend £3k on passes that nobody used cos it rained and they never came.
Great business model, each £5k guy got the same treatment after 5 years as a guy who put in 5 times that , because they were the foundation.. i even think they turned down a full budget sponsor , because they didnt want all their eggs in one basket , and to lose a lot of loyal sponsors in the bargain.
Pit Row
15k for a wrap is more reasonable. Race trailers go for something like 250k. Can't see it being 150k for a wrap. If the company is charging that for a rig a regular sprinter van wrap would be like 30k. Makes no sense. If people are paying them that kind of money and they continuously get work, good for them but people going there are idiots.
Might be time for me to get in the graphic/wrap business.
We pay an exhibit company (typically higher than a sign shop) $15-20k to wrap our semi trailers, and $5-7k for the tractor. Tractors are about $140k new, and these teams get a lot of years out of them then pass them around to the smaller teams. Featherlite and Kentucky Race Trailers are expensive new but reasonable on the used market, and you know these teams aren't all buying all new stuff every season. I've seen that Volvo pulling the Kawi trailer around for a decade.
Just because it is 53ft long doesn't make it that unreasonable, like a Sprinter...lol
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