As Tiger Woods and other sportspeople have discovered in the past, sponsors don’t take kindly to a sportsman forgetting who pays the bills. They don’t want their names tarnished by unacceptable behaviour. Mars Chocolate North America, owners of the M&M’s brand, is the primary sponsor of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota that Busch races, it has withdrawn its sponsorship from Busch’s car.

A smart sportsperson knows that there is a whole lot more than winning to being successful and the ‘complete package’.

Watch on You Tube .

Links:

www.dcshoes.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ7R_buZPSo

(Ken Block Gymkhana Two The Infomercial)

www.monsterenergy.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8lSbpAHRnk

(Ken Block’s Ford Fiesta Under the Spotlight)

Apart from serious burns to his hands, and the demolition of his primary race car, the accident set the Brad Jones Racing operation back light years after the team were forced to start with a clean slate and little background on two ‘new’ cars for Karl over subsequent rounds. Testament though to the close knit Albury-based operation, they worked tirelessly to attain data and knowledge of the ex-Walkinshaw Racing Commodore which was to becomes Karl’s new ride, as Karl did on his recovery and preparation ahead of the second half of the season.

The result though is always on the score-card, and at Ipswich, Karl found the form that had eluded him since race one at Perth to set his fastest ever qualifying time, and return himself to the top ten in race one.

From the outset Karl found a comfortable balance with the car, as he set about improving his lap times ahead of qualifying for the first of the twin 22-lappers set for day one, the two races scheduled to run 15 minutes apart increasing the pressure on race teams up and down pit lane.

By the close of qualifying though, Karl proved yet again how quick he can be on the soft tyre compound, recording the fifth fastest time (1:10.1268), just three tenths of a second off pole-man, Craig Lowndes (1:09.8034) and only two one-hundredths slower than championship leader Jamie Whincup.

Despite understanding the real value of qualifying, and that it was the race result that would ultimately count, Karl was reflective on the time, and admitted that it meant more than just a top five starting position.

“Look, I’m really happy, the changes the team made to the car helped a lot so this gives us a good chance for a strong race result for sure,” he admitted.

“But it’s also exactly what I needed for my confidence. Ever since Perth my confidence has been creeping back up but it was definitely dinted. It’s only human to have doubts and questions after a crash like that but qualifying fifth today has lifted a weight off my shoulders.”

A strong start saw Karl battling with Whincup into turn one, the FDSR pilot forcing the points leader wide, allowing him to jump into fourth as the chasing pack merged on the leaders.

Karl held his ground and continued to run at the pace of the leaders, before starting a mid-race battle with Steve Owen and Greg Murphy, which allowed Steven Johnson to close. In an effort to gain valuable championship points and keep himself in contention for a strong race two start, Karl settled for ninth at the line.

“We worked the rear tyres hard that time, so [we’re] looking for a quick adjustment to hopefully help for race two.”

Another strong start saw Karl back in the thick of the lead action, before contact from Alex Davison at turn four turned the Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing Commodore around, necessitating an early stop for tyres.

Restarting from position 23, Karl focused on the job at hand and charged, working his way through the field to 16th by race end, although he was clearly frustrated by the early race contact.

“To be blatantly turned around by Alex Davison was disappointing,” he shrugged with disappointment, “but to finish 16th was a huge recovery. I think the team is pretty happy going into tomorrow.”

Early in Sunday’s qualifying session for the afternoon’s 65-lapper, things were looking promising, with Karl holding P6. A stop for fresh rubber promised much, but varying temperatures on the new set saw Karl lock a left front on his hot lap, which put an end to any challenge inside the top ten.

“Sadly the tyres didn’t come up to temperature at the same rate, and I just grabbed the left front, and that’s all it takes with these soft tyres, you have to be pinpoint accurate.”

Testament to Karl’s comment was the fact that the full field of 28 cars was covered by just nine tenths of a second, the void between P11 to the tail of the field; four tenths..

Battling from further back than he would have liked, Karl got caught up with Warren Luff and Tony D’Alberto early in the race, so the team elected to pit late in the cycle in an effort to jump them later in the race, Karl holding down P2 by the time he pitted on lap 26.

Unfortunately he rejoined in a similar position, but on fresher rubber, made short work of Luff, Jonathon Webb, D’Alberto, and then title contenders Will Davison, Mark Winterbottom and Lee Holdsworth to take 16th again at the flag.

“The car felt really strong during the race today, We have really made some positive steps forward this weekend. I got punted off early in the race by D’Alberto which slowed our progress in the first stint but we just kept pressing on and came up with a solid finish in the end.

“The steering was bent throughout the race but despite everything the car felt so strong. It was looking after its tyres and the steering might have been out, but it felt good; the best race car I’ve had in the last few rounds.

“To start 26th, get taken out and come back to 16th is really good. We’re very happy with that.”

The Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing team now prepares for the first of the enduros, where Karl will be joined by David Wall for round 19 of the Championship Series at Phillip Island for the L&H 500 (September 16-18).

2011 V8 Supercar Championship Series – Race 16,
Coates Hire Ipswich 300, Queensland (August 20, 2011)
1. Craig Lowndes (Holden) – 22 laps
2. Tim Slade (Ford)
3. Jamie Whincup (Holden)
4. Rick Kelly (Holden)
5. Steve Owen (Holden)
6. Greg Murphy (Holden)
7. Lee Holdsworth (Holden)
8. Steven Johnson (Ford)
9. Karl Reindler (Fair Dinkum Sheds Holden Commodore)
10. James Moffat (Ford)
———————————
2011 V8 Supercar Championship Series – Race 17,
Coates Hire Ipswich 300, Queensland (August 20, 2011)
1. Craig Lowndes (Holden) – 22 laps
2. Jamie Whincup (Holden)
3. Tim Slade (Ford)
4. Rick Kelly (Holden)
5. Steve Owen (Holden)
6. Steven Johnson (Ford)
7. Greg Murphy (Holden)
8. Shane Van Gisbergen (Ford)
9. James Moffat (Ford)
10. Mark Winterbottom (Ford)

16. Karl Reindler (Fair Dinkum Sheds Holden Commodore)
———————————
2011 V8 Supercar Championship Series – Race 18,
Coates Hire Ipswich 300, Queensland (August 21, 2011)
1. Craig Lowndes (Holden) – 65 laps
2. Tim Slade (Ford)
3. Shane Van Gisbergen (Ford)
4. James Moffat (Ford)
5. David Reynolds (Holden)
6. Garth Tander (Holden)
7. Fabian Coulthard (Holden)
8. Alex Davison (Ford)
9. Steven Johnson (Ford)
10. Jamie Whincup (Holden)

16. Karl Reindler (Fair Dinkum Sheds Holden Commodore)
———————————
2011 V8 Supercar Championship Series (points after race 18)
1. Jamie Whincup (Holden) – 1895 points
2. Craig Lowndes (Holden) – 1797
3. Shane Van Gisbergen (Ford) – 1502
4. Rick Kelly (Holden) – 1418
5. Steven Johnson (Ford) – 1345
6. Garth Tander (Holden) – 1321
7. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) – 1321
8. Will Davison (Ford) – 1302
9. Alex Davison (Ford) – 1255
10. Lee Holdsworth (Holden) – 1140

26. Karl Reindler (Fair Dinkum Sheds Holden Commodore) – 644
———————————
2011 V8 Supercar Championship Series Calendar
Rnd#1 – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi (February 12) – KRR DNF
Rnd#2 – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi (February 13) – KRR 11th
Rnd#3 – Clipsal 500, Adelaide (March 19) – KRR 19th
Rnd#4 – Clipsal 500, Adelaide (March 20) – KRR 17th
Non-champ. – Australian F1 Grand Prix (March 24-27) – 18th / 19th / 15th
Rnd#5 – ITM 400, Hamilton, NZ (April 16) – KRR 17th
Rnd#6 – ITM 400, Hamilton, NZ (April 17) – KRR 13th
Rnd#7 – Trading Post Perth Challenge (April 30) – KRR 7th
Rnd#8 – Trading Post Perth Challenge (May 1) – KRR DNF
Rnd#9 – Trading Post Perth Challenge (May 1) – KRR DNS
Rnd#10 – Winton Motor Raceway, VIC (May 21) – KRR 20th
Rnd#11 – Winton Motor Raceway, VIC (May 22) – KRR 23rd
Rnd#12 – Skycity Triple Crown, Darwin (June 18) – KRR DNF
Rnd#13 – Skycity Triple Crown, Darwin (June 19) – KRR 25th
Rnd#14 – Sucrogen Townsville 400 (July 9) – KRR 22nd
Rnd#15 – Sucrogen Townsville 400 (July 10) – KRR 24th
Rnd#16 – Coates Hire Ipswich 300 (August 20) – KRR 9th
Rnd#17 – Coates Hire Ipswich 300 (August 20) – KRR 16th
Rnd#18 – Coates Hire Ipswich 300 (August 21) – KRR 16th
Rnd#19 – L&H 500, Phillip Island, VIC (September 18)
Rnd#20 – Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, NSW (October 9)
Rnd#21 – Armor All Gold Coast 600 (October 22)
Rnd#22 – Armor All Gold Coast 600 (October 23)
Rnd#23 – Falken Tasmania Challenge (November 12)
Rnd#24 – Falken Tasmania Challenge (November 13)
Rnd#25 – Norton 360 Sandown Challenge (November 19)
Rnd#26 – Norton 360 Sandown Challenge (November 20)
Rnd#27 – Sydney Telstra 500 (December 3)
Rnd#28 – Sydney Telstra 500 (December 4)

Kark Reindler is proudly supported by Brad Jones Racing, Fair Dinkum Sheds, Wilson Security, Biante, Thompson Aviation, Westrac, EMT, JSW Drilling, National Tyres, Yale, Focus Bikes, ZIse and Sponsorxchange.com .
For further information please contact Media Manager Damon Hill on 0411 669 910, or damon@signatureseries.com .

www.karlreindler.com

After a six week mid-season break, it’s action stations in the V8 Supercar Championship series as the blue-ribband events on the annual calendar approach in the weeks ahead.

For Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing’s [FDSR] Karl Reindler, the break has allowed him to reflect on the season to date, and prepare his fitness ahead of the forthcoming enduro rounds, scheduled for immediately after this weekend’s series return for the Coates Hire Ipswich 300.

“On the racing side of things we’ve had a ride day in Sydney and a test day at Winton, both of which have been great for keeping my eye in, not to mention a couple of appearances here and there,” Karl confirmed. “I did have a chance to enjoy a break, and went to visit my brother in Beijing, then went on a snowboard trip to Falls Creek and generally keep up with my fitness. I feel refreshed and ready to get back on track in Queensland.

“Our test day at Winton was very positive. We re-visited a few things that we’d tried earlier in the season, and made a lot of progress with the car from all the information gathered. It’s nice to take the time off mid-season to assess everything and make order of it.”

It seems only yesterday that the world was watching in awe of the huge crash Karl had on the start line at Barbagallo, on what to that point had been his best weekend ever in the championship series. After mounting a recovery over subsequent rounds where the Brad Jones Racing team were forced to prepare two cars for the FDSR driver, a return to the series will surely see hopes high after a chance to reflect on how close the team have come to the top five..

“We were fast last year at Queensland Raceway, but ran into some mechanical problems during the race. It’s a circuit I know very well and my confidence is back to where it should be from before the accident, so there’s no reason why we can’t be back up the pointy end if we get on top of the car quickly enough.”

The big talk for the series return is the race format for Saturday, which will see two sprint races separated by a 15-minute break, putting both teams and drivers under pressure to perform, but does it force a change in strategy?

“It’s an unusual format, but it shouldn’t change things too much,” Karl said. “I think it’s nice to mix things up a bit more though, so I say bring it on.”

Coates Hire Ipswich 300 – Race Schedule
The following times are Australian Eastern Standard Time

Friday August 19, 2011
Practice 1; 10:30 – 11:00am
Practice 2; 12:20 – 12:50pm
Practice 3; 1:40 – 2:10pm
Practice 4; 3:20 – 3:50pm

Saturday August 20, 2011
Qualifying; 12:00 – 12:20pm
Race One (V8SC Series Race 16) – 22 laps*; 3:15pm
* 22 laps or one lap after 3:45pm
Race Two (V8SC Series Race 17) -22 laps**
(race two start 15 minutes after the completion of race one)
** 22 laps or one lap after 4:45pm

Sunday August 21, 2011
Qualifying; 11:20 – 11:40am
Race Three (V8SC Series Race 18) – 65 laps***; 3:05pm
*** 65 laps or one lap after 4:45pm

———————————

2011 V8 Supercar Championship Series (points after race 15)
1. Jamie Whincup (Holden) – 1683 points
2. Craig Lowndes (Holden) – 1497
3. Shane Van Gisbergen (Ford) – 1317
4. Rick Kelly (Holden) – 1244
5. Mark Winterbottom (Ford) – 1201
6. Will Davison (Ford) – 1200
7. Garth Tander (Holden) – 1190
8. Steven Johnson (Ford) – 1165
9. Alex Davison (Ford) – 1110
10. Jason Bright (Holden) – 1043

27. Karl Reindler (Fair Dinkum Sheds Holden Commodore) – 516

———————————

2011 V8 Supercar Championship Series Calendar

Rnd#1 – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi (February 12) – KRR DNF
Rnd#2 – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi (February 13) – KRR 11th
Rnd#3 – Clipsal 500, Adelaide (March 19) – KRR 19th
Rnd#4 – Clipsal 500, Adelaide (March 20) – KRR 17th
Non-champ. – Australian F1 Grand Prix (March 24-27) – 18th / 19th / 15th
Rnd#5 – ITM 400, Hamilton, NZ (April 16) – KRR 17th
Rnd#6 – ITM 400, Hamilton, NZ (April 17) – KRR 13th
Rnd#7 – Trading Post Perth Challenge (April 30) – KRR 7th
Rnd#8 – Trading Post Perth Challenge (May 1) – KRR DNF
Rnd#9 – Trading Post Perth Challenge (May 1) – KRR DNS
Rnd#10 – Winton Motor Raceway, VIC (May 21) – KRR 20th
Rnd#11 – Winton Motor Raceway, VIC (May 22) – KRR 23rd
Rnd#12 – Skycity Triple Crown, Darwin (June 18) – KRR DNF
Rnd#13 – Skycity Triple Crown, Darwin (June 19) – KRR 25th
Rnd#14 – Sucrogen Townsville 400 (July 9) – KRR 22nd
Rnd#15 – Sucrogen Townsville 400 (July 10) – KRR 24th
Rnd#16 – City of Ipswich 300 (August 20)
Rnd#17 – City of Ipswich 300 (August 20)
Rnd#18 – City of Ipswich 300 (August 21)
Rnd#19 – L&H 500, Phillip Island, VIC (September 18)
Rnd#20 – Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, NSW (October 9)
Rnd#21 – Armor All Gold Coast 600 (October 22)
Rnd#22 – Armor All Gold Coast 600 (October 23)
Rnd#23 – Falken Tasmania Challenge (November 12)
Rnd#24 – Falken Tasmania Challenge (November 13)
Rnd#25 – Norton 360 Sandown Challenge (November 19)
Rnd#26 – Norton 360 Sandown Challenge (November 20)
Rnd#27 – Sydney Telstra 500 (December 3)
Rnd#28 – Sydney Telstra 500 (December 4)

———————————

TELEVISION SCHEDULE SEVEN NETWORK
Please check local guides for confirmation;

Saturday August 20, 2011
3:00 – 5:00pm: Qualifying, Race 1 and Race 2 (Channel 7)

Sunday August 21, 2011
4:00 – 6:00pm: Qualifying and Race 3 (7mate)
10:30 pm – 12:30am: Qualifying and Race 3 (Channel 7)

RACE REPLAYS – SPEED CHANNEL (FOXTEL Channel 505)
Please check local guides for confirmation;

Saturday August 20, 2011: 9:00 – 10:30pm (Race 1 and 2 Highlights)
Sunday August 21, 2011: 1:30 – 3:00pm (Race 1 and 2 Highlights)
Sunday August 21, 2011: 10:00pm – 12:00am (Race 3 Highlights)
Monday August 22, 2011: 7:30 – 9:00am (Race 1 and 2 Highlights)
Monday August 22, 2011: 9:00 – 11:00am (Race 3 Highlights)

———————————

Karl Reindler is proudly supported by Brad Jones Racing, Fair Dinkum Sheds, Yale, Wilson Security, Thompson Aviation, Westrac, EMT, JSW Drilling, National Tyres, Herbalife, Fitness First, Focus Bikes, Zise and Sponsorxchange.com.

For further information please contact Media Manager Damon Hill on 0411 669 910, or damon@signatureseries.com .

www.karlreindler.com

http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/2011/06/16/u-s-open-sponsorship-sales-trend-consistent-with-other-sports/

Last week HTC-High Road boss, Bob Stapleton announced the end of the world’s most successful team of the past four years, in terms of wins achieved. Despite the success, he simply couldn’t find the money needed to run a Pro-level super team. Perhaps HTC decided to quite while they were well ahead.

While HTC-High Road was closing its doors GreenEDGE, a new team from Australia, was signing riders for its 27 man squad. But the demise of HTC-High Road, and a lack of a co-title sponsor for GreenEDGE, is indicative of just how tough a market it is to sign corporate sponsors.

For 2012 it is unlikely that we will see: ‘GreenEDGE presented by BHP’ or Qantas or whatever corporate you can think of that has around 7 million euros to become a co-title sponsor. It will probably appear as GreenEDGE, backed by Jayco Caravans in the form of Gerry Ryan, who has agreed to underwrite the team to the tune of some $60 million Australian dollars over the next three years.

If you look at the super teams – each needs a budget around Euro20m – many rely on wealthy ‘patrons’. In the current financial climate it is people like BMC Racing team owner, Andy Rihs, and the Ryan family that keep professional cycling in business. This begs a question regarding the commercial viability of the current Pro Cycling Tour business model, your only as good as your weakest rider, right now that is the economy.

Following on from the brilliant use of the Tour de France by Skoda to promote its ‘simply clever’ station wagon, Nissan, in its fifth year as the official automotive sponsor of the Team LIVESTRONG Challenge series, is bringing the dubiously named ‘LEAF’ model to the event. Nissan sees a fit between the healthy lifestyle mission of LIVESTRONG and its electric car.

At this year’s two-day event of running and bike riding, Nissan will use an interactive “Innovation for Endurance” display inviting spectators to learn more about electric vehicles. Nissan have also encouraged participation through a bike challenge and t-shirt design competition. The 100% electric Nissan LEAF will be on display and visitors can also enter to win a new LEAF.

This sort of sponsorship activation and promotion explores an interesting link between an eco friendly vehicle and the health conscious people who are likely to attend this event. It’s smart marketing to see a connection, and a likely source of prospective buyers for the product.

LIVESTRONG http://www.livestrong.org

NISSAN http://www.nissan.com

Image: http://recovoxnews.blogspot.com/2011/07/livestrong-challenge-rides-into-davis.html

Danica wins at Motegi

V8 Supercar Driver Karl Reindler explodes in Perth

A client and friend of mine was recently involved in one of the biggest and most spectacular motorsport accidents seen for a long time. After the fire was out and the smoke had settled (excuse the pun) I thought it would be good to dissect the event and talk about the positives.

A client and friend of mine was recently involved in one of the biggest and most spectacular motorsport accidents seen for a long time. After the fire was out and the smoke had settled (excuse the pun) I thought it would be good to dissect the event and talk about the positives.

No doubt the most important outcome is that the drivers involved, Karl Reindler and Steve Owen, are both ok. Karl suffered 2nd degree burns to his hands but will make a full recovery.

What did happen immediately following this dramatic accident is that the amazing footage of the fiery crash went international via social media, You Tube, Facebook etc. Within 30 minutes the footage was being shown on breaking news updates both in Australia and New Zealand. Soon after this Asia, Europe and North America were all seeing headline footage of this spectacular event.

Six hours after the event Karl was walking out of hospital to speak to the media. During the same six hours that Karl was lying quietly and painfully in the hospital bed, he had generated over 10 million dollars in media exposure for his sponsors. Fair Dinkum Sheds – Karl’s major sponsor – got a large portion of this exposure. Global Security, a division of Wilson Security, and WesTrac also received significant exposure from the incident. None of Karl’s sponsors would have ever wished for this accident to happen to their driver, but it did highlight the fact that there is truth in the old saying: “If you can’t win the show, be the show”. Conservatively it is estimated that these sponsors received 100 times their sponsorship investment in media impression value in the 24 hours following the crash.

So what does this type of publicity do for Karl Reindler the athlete? Given that, thankfully, Karl was able to leave hospital on the day of the crash, it provided him the opportunity to tell his story of survival, allowing people to put a face to the name they had been hearing about. This public recognition is a large part of what corporate marketing partners are looking for when they sponsor athletes, public awareness directly creates brand association awareness. Yes, Karl still needs to get back in the car when he is fit again, and continue to show all the promise he did on the Saturday before the accident in order to please his sponsors on track, but there is no doubt his commercial value off track is exponentially greater after the crash than before. For many years to come the images of this crash and the desire by the public to meet the man that miraculously survived the “fireball” will provide great value for Karl’s sponsors.

Motorsport is dangerous; it says so on the back of the ticket. Motorsport marketing though is a dynamic and powerful tool utilized by companies all around the globe to create great long lasting impressions for their brands going far beyond the signage.