Newsham still looking for sponsors
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
DAVE Newsham is ready to launch another challenge for honours in the British Touring Car Championship, but in order to stand the best possible chance of competing with the top drivers he needs a significant increase in sponsorship.
The 44-year-old this week confirmed he had signed up to drive for Team ES Racing next season — a move that he hopes can see him up amongst the front of the grid after an indifferent debut last year where he struggled for consistency with the two teams he represented.
The deal has also helped to reduce Newsham’s cost to compete, but he still estimates at requiring around £150,000 to be "comfortable" financially for the season ahead.
Inverness driver Newsham is hopeful this figure will come down as he waits to hear if current sponsors want to continue their involvement with him, yet there is still much hard work to be done to secure the financial backing necessary to make himself a force at the very top level in motorsport.
"I am pleased that I have secured a very good deal with ES Racing, meaning it’s not going to cost me as much as I thought it might do this year, certainly less than last year," he said.
"I would say we have approximately a quarter of the budget needed to complete the season so far, so we really need to work hard over the coming months to find the rest.
"Companies are cutting back on advertising because of the way the economy is just now, but really this is the time companies should be spending on advertising to win business.
"I firmly believe we provide fantastic exposure for companies especially as the championship is growing massively.
"Last year, TV viewing figures were up a massive 36 per cent on 2010. Now, more than 18 million people watch the ITV coverage, with more than 120 hours of footage per season. This is more terrestrial TV coverage than Formula One will gain this year."
British Touring Cars may be increasing in popularity, but with businesses finding the going hard in the current financial climate, Newsham is aware of the need to offer packages that will appeal to a sponsors individual needs.
"We have taken into consideration the economy and adjusted our sponsorship packages to suit," he said.
"We now offer advertising starting from as little as £20 plus vat per race weekend with a commitment for the season 10 race weekends.
"This entitles one person to free access to the meeting of their choice with a VIP style behind the scenes experience, while they will also have access to all our newsletters."
The importance of sponsorship is not one lost on Newsham, especially as more money should give him a better chance of realising his dream of a podium finish.
"From my point of view, we simply can’t go racing without sponsorship," he said. "BTCC is the pinnacle of British motorsport.
"It is extremely professional and therefore costs a lot of money to run and race one of these cars. Each team employs approximately 10 members of staff and is a full-time business.
"That is why everything we do is to make our sponsors happy. We work very hard in making sure everyone has a great day when they come to watch us, and promoting them in the media.
"We provide very cost effective sponsorship, whether it’s corporate hospitality they want, or media exposure."
Having found a drive for the new season, Newsham hopes the lessons learned from the previous campaign can help him to feature more prominently higher up the grid in 2012.
"We learned a heck of a lot last year that will stand us in good stead this year," said the 2010 Elf Renault Clio Cup champion.
"If the car is competitive, then regular podiums will be our aim — we might even sneak a win. We came very close to a couple of podiums in our first year, so we think this is very realistic."
FOR further details about sponsorship opportunities with Newsham Racing, e-mail dave@norscottvending.co.uk, or contact (01463) 711471.
More information can also be found by logging on to www.davenewshamracing.com, while Newsham also has pages on Facebook and Twitter.
