Ladies, I need your help

[weathergrl]

I'm struggling to find Sponsors, and as always its not the talent, its who you know that gets you in. Right now I'm trying to get into the R2 Fiesta Program, but recently heard that Team Oneil signed a contract with a fashion model/actress and will be teaching her to Rally rather than going with any of the women currently in Rally America or SCCA Rallycross. Very Discouraging and Disheartening. :'(

-->I personally would have much rather seen a woman with talent who could use the money (like Brianne Corn) be given an opportunity like this. But it just reiterates the point of its not your talent, its who you know to get you in.

If you have contacts with anyone who would make a good sponsor for a Rally America car, please let me know. Brianne's plans are to run in Open Light, and I will be running G2 unless I can swing this R2 program.

Brianne and I have saved up for years to do this, and I just can't afford this program at the moment on my own dime. Its the opportunity of a lifetime but it will slip through my fingers if I can't get some sponsors going in the next month or so. The bad part is getting started in Rally America its difficult to find sponsors for nearly 20-year-old cars, along with parts, etc. Its almost a catch-22. You have to have support to be able to keep going and get more support.

Thank you for your help and ideas.

-- Christy Carlson
christycarlsonracing.com

[Jonathan]

Christy - I wish you the best of luck in what ever series you choose to contest.

Its not so much "who you know", its more a question of how well your sponsours think you will do in "Public Relations" that perhaps maters the most, although driving ability is indeed still part of the equation as well.

Katherine Legge has been stuck in a dead-end job driving outdated Audis in the DTM series for the past three years. While she is likely very well paid for her efforts, she isn't being taken seriously and career is basically at a stand-still. It sucks, but she is still thought to be very "lucky" to be where she is.

[weathergrl]

Thanks for the words Jonathan. I am thinking of starting a group for amateur female racers to connect them with sponsors that they might not otherwise meet and provide them with the opportunities to succeed. I'm looking here for ideas on sponsors specifically aimed at women that would be well suited for the racing environment. Although I am discouraged a bit at the moment, I am hoping that our driving ability will shine through when it counts, on the stage.

I know that there are other women who have loads of talent that simply don't have the connections they need to 'break out', or even get started. I want to enable those talented women any way I can.

Does anyone have any ideas?

[Sugarpie]

Christy, I wish you the best as well. Thats B.S. that they'd rather teach someone who fits some inane cookiecutter "ideal" of what beauty is and hope she can be taught instead of using someone who is damn good specially when there are so many gorgeous girls who do this. ITs obvious they didn't really take the time to look around. Sounds like an empty marketing campaign on behalf of ONeill to me.

[CamaroWRX]

Christy, do you know Jen and Marcus Merideth? Maybe they can help out, since they are in the automotive industry, in the heart of it. Jen was even on Junkyard Wars once, as the team's engineer, so she might have some contacts.

[xxthat girlxx]

Sugarpie/weathergrl - there is more to this than meets the eye. I met Erika Detota at WBM a couple years ago and she RAVED about Team O'Neil, the help/support they had given her and more. She voiced to me that they wish more women would become involved in this sport and were looking to do their part make it happen. Erika, can you chime in with any insight?

I am all about helping in a small way to rally to have women taken seriously in this industry/hobby/etc. But I will be clear when I say that it will take a bunch of ladies banding together to cause waves. Hopefully other ladies on this site will be interested in doing something.

Please remember, that even though it's not "rally," doing things like all female meets, growing this forum (and other women based enthusiast groups), getting involved in scoobies for boobies - these are things that people take note of. These small things add up to a bigger picture and will help the great good of women looking to go places in this niche.

I do not know anyone/any company personally, but I'll keep my eyes/ears open.

[weathergrl]

I went to Team Oneil at no charge back in 2008, was in a class with Aaron Ekinaka (Dirty Impreza) and Mark Piatkowski (MAP rally). But it was SCCA that selected me for the opportunity, Team Oneil gives one course to SCCA to give to one competitor every year at the National Rallycross Championship and I got it in 2007. Ever since then I've been saving and waiting for the opportunity to be able to get into Rally, and focused on trying to win as many SCCA events as I could, to be as well-rounded a driver as I could be. Well-chosen SCCA co-drivers that could provide constant feedback, building up my own car, learning as much as I could about the mechanics, etc. I'm just lucky enough to have Lincoln in my backyard so travel isn't an issue with SCCA events.

I purchased a cheap rally car (92 Sentra SE-R) complete with a cracked transmission case, worn Silverstone rally tires and barely functioning KYB AGX's for shocks, took it down to Texas this November and took home 2nd overall in the second coefficient 1 rally (first Rally America event ever, thanks to an experienced co-driver Adam Kniepp). And Brianne, had she been able to finish, would have taken home first place!!!! Erika has been a co-driver and is on the east coast so she is more well-known than we are. Brianne and I are known to the SCCA world.

I loved the course Tim offered but I wasn't treated any different than any of the 'guys'. I loved having Chris Duplessis and Tim as instructors, very very impressive drivers.

I know that my budget and my car are the issue at the moment in stopping me from doing better/more events/getting the seat-time I need. Which is why I am asking for help. I want to make sure that we go out and represent what female drivers are capable of in Rally.

[weathergrl]

Christy, do you know Jen and Marcus Merideth? Maybe they can help out, since they are in the automotive industry, in the heart of it. Jen was even on Junkyard Wars once, as the team's engineer, so she might have some contacts.

Could you send me some contact info Karen? Thanks!

As for the Scoobies for Boobies campaign, I'm in. My mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2006 and is currently in remission after radiation/chemo/etc. Can I get the logo in a vector format to run on my Solo 2006 STI?

[Karen, Pat L. is going to LOVE running a car that says Boobies on it.. lol.. small price to pay for driving a woman's car.]

[xxthat girlxx]

Getting that course from Team O'Neil is a great start free of charge.

Christy - I wrote back to your email.

[CamaroWRX]

Could you send me some contact info Karen? Thanks!
I'll do what I can when I get home, since the contact stuff is via Facebook, and I don't have FB access at work.

[Karen, Pat L. is going to LOVE running a car that says Boobies on it.. lol.. small price to pay for driving a woman's car.]
:lol:

[MoN]

Christy I wish you the best of luck in your rally endeavors, and hope that you can find the sponsorship opp that you are looking for and deserve. I wish I could help, but I am CLUELESS when it comes to rally and know of no-one that could help you. But as Sarah knows, Im always down to help out with any charity events, So Im all in on the bandwagon for creating waves :D, if there is anyway that I can support, let me know. :)

[jessickascarling]

Good luck with this!!!! Keep us updated on your sponsors :)