Racing sponsorship proposal template, with an annotated example

Most racing sponsorship proposals fail for the same reason. They spend four pages on the driver and a paragraph on the buyer. The racing sponsorship proposal template below turns that round, so that almost every line is about the business you are asking. Copy the structure, fill in the [placeholders], then read the annotated motorsport sponsorship proposal example to see why each section earns its place.

Start from the same place the governing body does. Motorsport UK's funding toolkit treats sponsorship as a business deal, reminds drivers that a company "will not give you free money", and warns that a sticker on a car is not a clear return. Each section of the template is there to answer the one question a business owner brings to the table. What do I get for this?

The racing sponsorship proposal template

Paste this into a document and keep every section short. A useful test as you write is to ask whether a section would change between two prospects. If it would not, it is probably about you rather than them.

1. Cover

• [Company name] x [Driver name]: [season year] partnership proposal
• Prepared for [contact name, job title], [date]
• One line: [the outcome you are offering, in their terms]

2. Your goal, as we understand it

• [What the company is trying to do this year: hire apprentices, launch a product, win trade customers in a region]
• [Who their customers are]
• [Why motorsport and this driver could help with that]

3. Who we are

• [Driver name], [age], [series and class], [base town]
• [Two or three facts the reader can check: results, years racing, licence grade]
• [One sentence on character: why people follow this driver]

4. The audience you reach

• [Social followers by platform, with the date you checked]
• [Typical spectator numbers or broadcast/stream details, with source and year]
• [Local or trade audiences: school, club, supplier network, community]

5. Season calendar

6. Partnership packages

7. How we will measure it

• [What you report: content views, posts featuring the brand, guests hosted, leads from an event]
• [When: a short written report after each round and an end-of-season summary]

8. Terms and next step

• Term: [one season / two seasons with renewal option]
• Payment: [schedule, e.g. 50% on signing, 50% before round X]
• Next step: [a 20-minute call on [date] / a visit to [circuit] on [date]]
• Contact: [name, phone, email]

Packages a sponsor can say yes to

Sponsorship decks commonly use three levels, from a top tier with every benefit down to an entry tier, as SlideModel's guide to sponsorship decks describes. In motorsport the three are usually title, official and supporter, with an in-kind option alongside. Two rules make the table work.

The first is to price each package by what it delivers. HMRC's internal manual on the purpose of sponsorship says that a payment set by what the sponsored person needs, rather than agreed on its commercial merits, points to a non-business purpose. Its page on sponsorship as an advertising expense explains why that matters to the sponsor, because it can affect whether the cost is deductible. A proposal that says "we need £8,000" is weaker than one that says "this package costs £2,000 and includes these six things".

The second is to offer more than space on the car. RTR Sports' advice on motorsport proposals lists hospitality, simulator sessions, show cars, PR and B2B opportunities and content made for the sponsor. It also notes that goods or services supplied in kind can stand in for cash.

Annotated example: Sam Example, 19, club racing

The example below is fictional. Sam Example is an invented adult driver, Example Van Hire Ltd is an invented company, and the package prices are made up to show the method. The racing and licence costs come from published sources.

The situation

Sam is 19, has done two years of arrive-and-drive karting and wants to move into endurance racing in a team-run Citroën C1. One UK team quoted £3,100 plus VAT per driver for a 3-hour C1 race shared by two drivers in 2026, with the team providing everything except race gear, according to CAT Driver Training's guide with Rabsport. Before racing, Sam needs a Go Racing starter pack (£115) and the ARDS test (about £290), both listed on Motorsport UK's starter packs page.

Four races at that rate come to £12,400 plus VAT, or £14,880 with VAT at 20%. Add the starter pack, the test and race kit, and Sam sets a season goal of about £16,500. The target is a regional commercial vehicle hire firm, [Example Van Hire Ltd].

Cover

Example Van Hire x Sam Example: 2027 partnership proposal. Prepared for [Operations Director]. Putting your vans in front of the trade customers who go racing.

Why it works: the line under the title is about the sponsor's customers. A reader who stops here still knows what is on offer.

Your goal, as we understand it

You opened a second depot this year and want more trade accounts within 30 miles. Your customers are builders, landscapers and small hauliers. Club racing paddocks are full of people who run small businesses and tow on weekends.

Why it works: it shows homework. Motorsport UK advises researching each company's goals and leading with what you can do for them. The audience claim is something the sponsor can check for itself at a race, not an invented statistic.

Who we are

Sam Example, 19, from [town]. Two seasons of arrive-and-drive karting, ARDS booked for [month]. Racing a team-run Citroën C1 in four endurance rounds in 2027.

Why it works: it is short and every claim can be checked. There are no claimed championships, because Sam has none yet. A first season is a fair thing to sell, as long as you sell it honestly, since it means the sponsor is there from the start.

The audience you reach

Instagram [number] followers, TikTok [number] (checked [date]). Local paper has covered Sam's karting twice. Sam's college motor vehicle department has agreed to follow the season.

Why it works: every number is dated and the reader can check it. RTR's advice is to name a source and a year for audience data, and to label your own figures as your own.

Packages

Why it works: each price sits next to a list of things the sponsor can count. Sold in full, the tiers come to £17,000, a little over Sam's goal, which leaves room if one slot goes unsold. The in-kind line gives a hire firm an easy first yes that costs it little in cash.

How we will measure it

After each round: a one-page report with photos, the posts featuring your brand, views, and names of guests hosted. End of season: a summary and a renewal conversation.

Why it works: it promises only what Sam controls. It does not promise new customers or a return figure, because nobody can guarantee those.

Terms and next step

One season, option to renew for 2028. 50% on signing, 50% before round 3. Could I bring the car to your depot for 20 minutes on [date] to show you the livery mock-up?

Why it works: there is one clear ask, with a date. A visit to the depot is easier to accept than a meeting in an office.

Before you send it

Run through these checks on the final draft.

• Read it from the sponsor's chair, and delete any sentence that would make sense in every proposal you send.
• Check every number has a date and a source.
• Put the price on the page. Hiding it makes the reader do the work.
• If the sponsor is a family business or a friend's company, make it a real commercial agreement with a contract and deliverables, and suggest they ask their accountant about the tax position. HMRC's guidance on sponsorship purpose is the page their accountant will know.
• Take financial advice before any sponsorship money arrives, and declare it as income. Motorsport UK's toolkit says an accountant can help you get this right.

GridFuel can split a season funding goal into title, official and supporter packages from your profile, then track which ones are sold and what you owe each partner.

Where the proposal fits

The proposal rarely travels alone. Many drivers send a short sponsorship deck or an introductory email first, then the proposal once someone says "tell me more". The sponsorship letter and email templates cover that first contact and the follow-ups. For the wider process, from building a list to signing, read how to get racing sponsorship. If you still need names to send it to, start with which companies sponsor racing drivers and fill in section 2 for your first three prospects.