Sponsoring

06. May 2007Truth be told, a RaceTruck without sponsors stickers’ is a bit of a sorry sight. But to find sponsors is getting more and more difficult. It’s not enough anymore when, during the winter break, drivers and team bosses canvass their partners to get the necessary wherewithal for the next season. Even now, with the first round already over, even top teams and their drivers are still on the lookout for sponsors. On the windscreen of Gerd Körber’s MAN there is a huge blank (logo) space. Jochen Hahn is advertising his fan-sponsor website on his windscreen, although the team Hahn Racing could certainly think of a better use of this most valuable (logo) spot on a RaceTruck - it’s in plain view most of the time and very rarely gets broken. Lutz Bernau strikes a new path, and considers approaching potential sponsors with a small brochure.
Bernau, who was European Champion several times, is also sure that many of those who have the last say in the decision about the allocation of financial means, do not know a lot about truck racing and its potentials. With Cepsa, Bernau has got kind of a general sponsor for Antonio Albacete; however, Jean-Philippe Belloc’s truck is financed by several bigger and smaller sponsors the team boss and driver have to strive for themselves.
For Gerd Körber it’s even more complicated this year, because, due to his switch to Egon Allgäuer, he had to part with some long-term sponsors, as there are some corporations with the Allgäuer Team who have more ancient rights, and two "rival" companies with the same branch of trade sponsoring the same team, that would be quite unusual in motor sports.
Jochen Hahn, however, tries something quite new in truck racing. He has installed a website www.Jochen-Hahn-Sponsor.de where not only companies, but also fans can book advertising space of various sizes for only a few Euros.
When it’s difficult even for the top drivers to get sponsors, of course it’s even harder for the many other teams and pilots. To quote Lutz Bernau, the special and extraordinary atmosphere of truck racing is the ideal field for sponsors to offer something out of the ordinary to customers and VIP’s. In the end, companies will certainly profit by sponsoring - however, they don’t know it yet.