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I guess I don’t follow what you mean by culturally upperclass. I’ve been a part of this sport for 30+ years and have been to a crazy amount of races, both motocross and harescrambles. Most of the people I’ve met are your typical middle class to upper middle class families. Business owners, teachers, nurses, welders, loggers, cops, lawyers, engineers, construction workers, etc. you know, the people who make the world go around. Obviously sometimes you’ll see some very wealthy people at the races. But very rarely will you see “poor” families.
Either way, lots of people with lots of different backgrounds definitely enjoy this sport.
They need to attract fast food, or family restaurant franchises. That's Moto..
Late 70,s Kentucky fried and Pepsi sponsored moto in Australia.
A lot of bogans, rednecks, and hicks. That might not be all of the participants or fans but it's a sizable amount. And getting back to what set this conversation off - they're not demographics elite companies want to be associated with or appeal to. Personally, seeing professional riders and ex pro-riders rail against an SMX Pride Month post shows you how far much of the moto crowd has to catch up to the rest of the world and other sports. That would never ever happen in F1. Hence, why moto continues to get sponsored by bogan companies. Nor would the elite companies mentioned earlier want to be associated with the political leanings of much of the American moto community/fanbase.
There are some differences here between the American definition of middle class and understandings from other Western countries. Welders, loggers, and construction workers would all be considered working class.
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Not cool man. You gotta put a warning up before posting stuff like this. The F250 one made me spit coffee on my phone. Thanks a lot
Has Redbull pulled race funding to go to its F1 Engine program? Building F1 engines in house has to cost a pretty sum. Especially now theyre lower down the constructors champs and the less money it entails
Why on earth would Red Bull pull out of supporting KTM in MotoGP but continue supporting them everywhere else? It would make absolutely no sense whatsoever.
I had to look up what a bogan even is. “an uncouth or unsophisticated person regarded as being of low social status”
You’re right. The companies like Rolex won’t advertise in this sport because it’s not within their demographics.
All im gonna say about your pride month rant is you obviously don’t know many extremely wealthy people 🤣 it ain’t us “bogans” (low social class) peasants who have issues with the gay community.
Anyways, there are way more less “elite” companies who are worth a lot more money than companies like Rolex (worth 11 billion). Give me Tractor Supply (worth 32 billion), Caterpiller (191 billion), John Deere (132 billion), Philip Morris (250 billion), PACAR (52 billion), Penske (12 billion) Grainger (42 billion) Auto Zone (67 billion), O’Reilly Auto (86 billion) It’s funny, these “elite” companies who target wealthy people are worth far less than those companies who target us “bogans.”
You are right about the tank shrouds, but what about the side of the tractor trailer? Plus, in these days of social media, exposure on there is valuable so a savvy team with cooperative riders could probably do very well for a large sponsor in that space. Or being the title sponsor of events and series? I'd say having your name plastered all over a stadium is pretty good visibility.
No worries and I didn't take it like that - apologies if it seemed defensive, just wanted to be clear I was working off (foggy) memories and that no one should take it as completely accurate, just the general topic.
Heck, at my age I'm lucky if I remember what I walked into the room to get, much less the minutiae of something like this from 30 years ago. 😄
All about ROI. If they can keep sponsoring moto evens for 10% of the MotoGP budget but get 25% of the return, why wouldn't you do that?
Ford is their technical and financial partner, covering a lot of that cost.
Reminder:
Monster Energy Beverage is still the best growth stock this century. Better than Nvidia. Better than FAANG. Better than anybody:
Because the ROI on all the off-road racing is possibly stronger than their ROI for MotoGP with the KTM relationship. They supported KTM in all their off-road racing ventures pre-MotoGP and saw value in that.
I would venture to guess the MotoGP investment from Red Bull is higher than all their off-road motorcycle investment with the brand. KTM is in a weird spot with MotoGP where they may keep racing, but might not be in the position to develop the bike at a rate to stay near the top. At one point, KTM was making the most progress towards Ducati in that arena, as Honda and Yamaha slipped backwards.
However, Honda is turning their program around quite a bit, and the Aprilia program is very strong now as well. They might be able to get into either of those programs for cheaper (or just sponsor their riders) and get better results/visibility.
It might make sense from some angle, but I agree: if they had to cut a team or two they would likely try to retain their "premier" branding partnership and cut the "lesser" ones.
What I would do if I were RedBull and needed to save $ is try to decrease my total spend on each property, but still be involved in all the sports. They seem to be deeply invested in all sorts of action sports; so far as to have their own TV production company for them. I don't think they would decide to get out of any of that unless there's a gigantic rebrand involved. In that case, it's ALL on the table.
I know MotoGP isn't exactly your cup of tea, but even with zero development this year, KTM is still more competitive than Honda. Here are the current manufacturer standings. The top finishing KTM has beaten the top finishing Honda 8 out of 13 times this year.
But also, Honda is making larger moves behind the scenes. They literally took KTM's main engine guy just recently. Yes, KTM is head this year because they had a better package already. However, as we've seen time and time again in F1, just one year or so of little to no investment, derails the following year or two more.
KTM hasn't won a dry race since I believe...2021?
KTM's satellite team (Tech 3) is being sold to Guenther Steiner, who has a turbulent history with Red Bull.
Pedro Acosta is losing patience and could try to move on from the program. It looks like doors are closed for 2026 for a move, unless a certain someone tries to get out of his Ducati deal.
I sadly don't get to watch MotoGP racing like I do with moto, but I digest the silly season and inner workings of teams and staff like I do with F1 and our sport. There's a lot in play that can affect KTM's position in MotoGP next year, and Honda is making a lot of the right moves to get back into a winning way.
Also, it will be very interesting to see how the Misano test works out for Yamaha with the V4 finally being brought out for their race contract riders to test, instead of just the hired test team.
I believe Honda's last dry MotoGP win was at Misano in 2021, as well (with the great Marc Marquez at the controls). Honda might turn their team around in the future, but at the moment they are still the 4th place team. There was quite a bit of hype preseason about changes Yamaha made and we can see how that has turned out this year. I don't expect KTM to improve with no development, but it seems strange that Red Bull would want to jump ship from the 3rd place team to the 4th. If they can't land Ducati or Aprilia, they might be better off just taking their bat and ball and going home.
Pit Row
I can’t bro forum rules😂😂😂 I live in a small west Kentucky town and the people here that like mx are fiends for 6.0 powerstrokes cause “they got that rasp u no?”
They can be the sister team to the factory effort in the other thread I mentioned “McDonald’s sweet tea factory kawi” lol
It should be noted that sometime around 2008 Coca Cola started allowing Hansen energy (Monster) to use their bottling and distribution services. This helps tremendously with cost/ distribution and allows them to be sold in Coca-Cola exclusive retailers, which is huge because it basically gave Monster no competition. Then in 2015 Coca Cola bought somewhere around 15% stake in Monster. It's safe to say, without Coca-Cola, Monster would probably not be as big. I can bet Monster does nothing without the ok from Coca-Cola.
You make some good points.
What's going on with Bagnaia?
I have no insider info, but I bet the Factory Ducati Team has two Marquez brothers on it next year.
I always thought this sport was a good fit for manufacturers of heavy equipment, pickup trucks, motorhomes and campers, and sports/nutrition drinks
Honda, Alex Rins, won at COTA in 2023. In general, the KTMs have been quite a bit better.
Bagnaia DOES NOT like the 2025 Duc. I expect the ‘26 to trend closer to the ‘24 version. I don’t think Marc Marquez ever rode the ‘24, as he was on the ‘23 last year. But he is the only one of the three who can make the ‘25 work well. It will be very telling if he tests a ‘24 at the Misano test.
As for KTM, there was talk late last year about getting out of MotoGP to reduce costs. Nearly half of their $90m+ racing budget is in the MotoGP paddock. That might not be a luxury they can continue to afford. RB leaving could further force their hand. Or, as mentioned earlier, RB indicating they are leaving KTM MotoGP might be because KTM has chosen to leave. Honda lost Repsol shortly after Marc left and needs a main sponsor. My prediction, 2027 Repsol/Red Bull Honda with Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta. Repsol gets its Spanish riders, RB gets Marc back, and Honda dominates with the new 850s.
should be a Jack Daniels or Wild Turkey KTM.
" if they had to cut a team or two they would likely try to retain their "premier" branding partnership and cut the "lesser" ones. "
Can you explain this a bit further? Who's premier and who's the lesser ones in your eyes?
Ford is providing much of the funding for that
Repsol Honda is no longer a thing? Damn. I used to drool over those bikes.
Fentanyl KTM Factory Racing
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