Drivers - It's time to boycott

[ManWith NoName]

Here is a letter I have just sent to Autosport magazine. I doubt they will print it as it is too controversial but I feel it is important for people to know the truth and my reasons why drivers should stop being pushed around by organisers and learn that we should strike as we are the most fundamental part to any racing meeting -

<START>
Back in March 2000 I read the exclusive headline in Autosport that there would be free club racing at Brands Hatch. This is apparently due to happen in 2002. However, since then Brands Hatch has been taken over by Octagon and I now read about the increase in circuit hire costs which will no doubt see a sharp rise in race entry fees. This is quite frankly disgusting but of course expected from a company which has no interest in sport whatsoever (despite what it tries to tell you) but is more interested in its brand name. I know this as I have worked for Octagon and know the overpaid directors couldn't care less about people at grassroots level in sports. Instead they only care for the high end (Grand Prix and Superbikes only) and I get the impression that they would rather see grass roots motor sport dead so they could concentrate on their branding at a higher level.

This behaviour is illustrated by a recent event that happened to me. All my racing career I have been financing myself and it is hard work. I have never raced in anything but club races despite excellent results because we all know you need money to start with to race in a good category. However, recently I had been offered sponsorship to race in two races this year from a local branch of a very big national company. If all went well from these two races then I could be looking at a larger sponsorship for next year. This company had in mind using the race events alongside corporate meetings they wanted to hold, ie management conferences and sales meetings. They wanted to hire a room at the circuit to hold these in which would cater for about 100 people. They were not interested at all in lavish hospitality, just something simple. So I went to get prices from Brands Hatch Leisure (now Octagon Motorsports) and quite frankly the prices I was quoted were way out of anyone's league. The cost for the room hire and simple buffet trebled the amount I needed to race in one event. Because of these ridiculous high prices, the sponsor changed their mind and decided to only sponsor me for one race and not hold any management conferences at the races. This I feel may be out of sympathy and I fully blame Octagon as they may have caused me to lose my sponsor for next year (as they may not wish to get involved now) and indeed Octagon in all their stupidity have lost a very good sale.

It's about time we drivers stood up to people like Octagon as they cannot run their "show" without us. In America drivers are paid to put on appearances at races but Octagon are determined to rinse the drivers as much as they can. This isn't right - we are the entertainers and we should be helped out.

I feel drivers should take action by not turning up to any Octagon circuit this year and effectively strike. That way Octagon will take more notice in us, rather than worrying about whether they can change the kerb colour at Brands Hatch or if they can have concertina structures at the back of grandstands.

If they ploughed more money back into the sport rather than paying some over priced creative agency to come up with the far from imaginative slogan for their new Brands Hatch and other circuits brands, "the Homes of British Motorsport" then it could only benefit the sport in the long run. After all if no British drivers come from grassroot level, then no British drivers will go up the racing ladder towards Formula One and hence no big ticket sales at an Octagon run event like the British Grand Prix.

Sadly I feel this will not happen as there are simply too many 'rich kids' in the sport and as they are not paying the bill themselves, they have no idea how much an extra thousand quid can hurt a club racer's pocket. But I do wish drivers would take note and stop giving in to bully boy corporate giants who far from spending their time watching sports events are too busy jetting off on their personal jets to foreign countries to discuss more branding issues after spending the whole trip getting drunk. I did mention I worked for Octagon once - hence I know this to be true.
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[Truckosaurus]

There was a similar letter in Autosport a few weeks/months
ago from a bloke who tried to rent a small suite/box at
Brands for his young son's birthday party. I believe that
it was going to be on a normal club raceday so the boxes
would just be sitting empty, but Brands still insisted he
paid the full corporate rate - which he obviously had to
decline.

[yelwoci]

Well Put,

I have been involved in clubman racing (saloon cars) since the late 80s and have always been displeased with BHL as was.

I'm currently putting together a corporate entertainment package and expect BH to charge the same as the rest put together.

I won't be driving at the poxy Indy circuit this year.

I'm also glad they didn't win the Gp as I don't believe it is possible to make Paddock safe for a F1 cxar without destroying the circuit for the rest of US.

IanC

[Santi]

We have, at Spain, some proverbs to call what are they doing, "Bread today and hungry tomorrow", or "to kill the hen of the golden eggs".
It's absolutly necessary to care the basic sportman, more yet in a as expensive sport as motor racing. How many future stars are they burning? Most of World Champions started in club races.
What would you think if a humble football'd cost 100 pounds?