New member here, looking for advice

[kpick]

Hi All,
I’ve been a lurker here for a year and just finally jumped in.

My partner and I have been in the custom bike business for some time now and are now in pre-production on a “Vintage” racer.

We are building a Bugatti / Brooklands inspired open wheel, two-seater with an all aluminum body and BMW Boxster motor.

We are thinking to make our opening splash at the Mexican 1000 (norra.com)
as we are both ex Baja racers.

We are considering selling the “racing experience” to a team. We would offer a three day pre-run of the course then complete support during the three day rally/race.

At the end of the race the car is yours.

My question is this. Do we sell to a single person with a higher buy in cost (somewhere near $27k) or should we sell four “seats” for $6,750 each with drivers and navigators switching off ever hundred miles or so. At the end of the race we would have a little time trails and the winner takes the car home?

FYI, the retail value of the car is $25k.

We would be doing this for exposure and not to just sell a car.

Please help us realize this dream. The educated feed back from this forum is a real help to us.

Thanks in advance,
Kevin

[Mitch G.]

Kevin, great to have you on board. What an interesting project. This is my opinion of your challenges ahead. First, the Bugatti, or old European race car appeals to a different segment of vintage racing. All of us race car types take a interest in most all old race cars, but road racing has it's own segment of fans. Most dirt and paved oval fans have little interest in vintage road cars, for the most part. In my opinion you need to explore advertising in magazines that appeal to that segment, ie "Victory Lane" from the same publisher as "Vintage Oval", and "Vintage Motorsport". This would be your fan base publications. The less people involved the better, selling a portion to 4 people lowers the price per person for sure, but complicates the entire experience, again just my opinion. You may think about offering a "racing experience" on a smaller scale, maybe a smaller road rally of some kind, less intimidating than the Mexican 1000? It's a great project your undertaking, and I wish I had that kind of ambition, good luck!

[Quick Time]

Kevin,

Fun idea should be rewarding. I think Mitch dialed in on your target group and going smaller scale. Also as everyone knows the economy is working against any of this type venture. The days of throw away money with no end in site are gone, at least for a number of years. My guess is the Petty Experience should be suffering. I noticed the Fri NASCAR Truck series did not fill the field, one short and they had four or five first time driver entries. Money is drying up quickly.

Be aware of these issues before starting a new big step venture. Welcome to ARM!!!

Chuck