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492
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12/4/2007
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USA
Edited Date/Time
1/21/2012 1:48pm
I know there are some insiders that come on here that might be able to help answer a question I have. I've been wondering how much it would take to fund a top level MX/SX team. Say there was someone that has followed the sport for decades and was interested in possibly getting involved. What kind of budget would be needed to field a team consisting of two 250 riders and two 450 riders? I have seen a lot of different numbers thrown around, but nothing really specific. I don't think a JGR type arrangement would work for this particular person, so it would have to be done somehow with the help of a factory, possibly leasing bikes, buying parts, etc.
You have to take rider salaries into consideration....top10 guy,top20 guy,top5 guy...etc..
Mechanics,Drivers, & team manager salaries ect..
Practice tracks (MX track & SX track),equipment to groom them,a shop etc..
Not to mention insurance on championship bonuses etc...
And you aren't even at the races yet.
The travel is another expensive thing when you have a fully staffed 4 rider race team.
Tony Alessi recently claimed 1 million if they did this season out of their own pocket....with just Mike.
That is no salary obviously for Mike either (he wouldn't pay himself).
Not sure if that included them leasing a big rig....or not.
But they already have a lot of the stuff as far as tracks & equipment,motor coach,etc...
The Shop
DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
Someone else through out the 1.5 million recently for SX on Pulp also....
No offence guys, but the numbers I've seen thrown around in here on this topic (they have been similar threads in the past few weeks) are way, WAY too high.
That being said, it's also an almost impossible question to answer correctly with out being way more specific. You could do a two man west coast lites team (for the right two riders) nicely for $100k. Or you could go all out and spend $2 mil. There are SO many variables that swing it up or down drastically that it just can't be answered short and easy.
Paul
Rider flights 30 @ $500.00/$15000.00
Mech salary $40,000
Mech flights 8 @ $500.00/$4000.00
Rider per diem $100.00 per day (sx & mx) 35 days or $3500.00
Mech per diem $100.00 per day " " 110 days or $11,000.00\
4 bikes @ $7500.00 $15000.00
Parts $25,000.00
Leased Rig @ $1000.00 per month
Rig fuel $30,000
Driver $35,000.00
Driver Per Diem 110 days or $11,000.00
Rider contingency $50,000
Credentials $1000.00
Race Gas $2500.00
Race Shop @ $5,000 per month
Entries 30 @ $200.00 $6,000
$3M will do a good 450 program for 2 riders. You would need an additional $1.5-2M for the addition of 2 250F riders/bikes that were competitive.
2nd year cost would be a bit less and you could ammoritize it over a period of time to bring the per Year cost down. However, without some serious top flight riders you would be hard pressed to get any support from an OEM. There are already a lot of teams out there getting support. If you are paying/leasing everything well then you could get great equipment but you will still have to have top riders to even get the lease.
That's just the way it is.
i would gladly do something i love doing for $50,000 a year.
hey Old School Racer, considering "the guy above" was openly talking in another thread about his experience as the former Team Manager of Valli Motorsports, i'd say he knows a thing or two about racing costs.
same goes for that Paul guy.
Utmost respect for what they did this summer and what Regal did last summer.
Do you have a transport rig at all? Box truck, funmover, or semi? That alone is going to be a shitload of money depending on your choice or needs (wants).
You plan to offer a salary to the riders, or will it be incentive and earnings based?
Hell, are you going to make riders "bring something to the table," by way of cash or sponsors?
You going to pay airfare?
There are huge variables, so there is no set clear answer except to say "The cost of running a team is whatever you're willing to pay"
Pit Row
I would love to know what Pro circuit or Geico actually spends per season on engines alone.
It was cool hearing the Factory guys from Honda, Kawi and Suzuki talking about how well Regal's suspension and bike was running. You know when you hear those guys talking about how well another riders bike looks out on the track, you're doing pretty well.
Jim made that bike handle and run, and on their budget it was very impressive!
What are you trying to do???
Rlder salary $50,000 (not needed- very few riders are paid)
Rider flights 30 @ $500.00/$15000.00 (Buy ahead pay less....some can be driven to)
Mech salary $40,000
Mech flights 8 @ $500.00/$4000.00 (Dont you mean 30? - Buy ahead pay less....some can be driven to)
Rider per diem $100.00 per day (sx & mx) 35 days or $3500.00 ($30-$50 a day and some meals are cooked/fed at semi)
Mech per diem $100.00 per day " " 110 days or $11,000.00\ ($30-$50 a day and some meals are cooked/fed at semi)
4 bikes @ $7500.00 $15000.00 (not enough bikes for the whole year more like 10- as they are cycled they can be sold off and $$ put back into team account)
Parts $25,000.00
Leased Rig @ $1000.00 per month
Rig fuel $30,000
Driver $35,000.00
Driver Per Diem 110 days or $11,000.00 (unless you consider this a driver bonus....$30 a day for food and some meals are cooked/fed at semi)
Rider contingency $50,000 (sponsors not team paid)
Credentials $1000.00 (this is for 1 person....not enough.....X number of personel)
Race Gas $2500.00
Race Shop @ $5,000 per month
Entries 30 @ $200.00 $6,000
2 top riders.....$10M a year by the time you do development & testing plus the amount of paid employees just went way up.....not to mention riders salary + bonuses.
Paul
I would be willing to bet JGR is spending close to this NOW .....they do everything in house....employ several full time engineers, motor technicians, suspension technicians....... many other behind the scenes professionals that people never see but are there constantly working on ways to go faster. Come to Charlotte and go tour a top level NASCAR race shop.......its not a couple grease balls in bib-overalls that you will see. There are 50-100 professional employees.
For 2 top riders capable of winning a championship? Just their $2-4M each salary's will take a major portion of the funds......it will take $$$ to pull them from another team......and one hell of a team to back it up.
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