Offseason racers and racing finances

bigpoppa

bigpoppa

Well-known member
Curious what pro racers, especially ones at the high levels do during the offseason? Im assuming some kind of training or peripherally related activities? (Dirt bike riding or cycling etc?)

Also how does the financial aspect of racing work? I’m assuming not every racer will be financially backed by Ducati or Honda and paid a salary? I understand some racers even pay for a spot on the grid?
 
bigpoppa said:
Curious what pro racers, especially ones at the high levels do during the offseason? Im assuming some kind of training or peripherally related activities? (Dirt bike riding or cycling etc?)

Also how does the financial aspect of racing work? I’m assuming not every racer will be financially backed by Ducati or Honda and paid a salary? I understand some racers even pay for a spot on the grid?
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Go some place warm and keep riding in circles
 
Most racers pay their own way (I sure do). Some of them have some backing from sponsors; often this is the family business. The really good ones get enough from sponsors for this to be their living. Only the absolute top of the top in MotoGP and World Superbike - and not all of the grid, even at that level - are actually paid for doing so. So, during the offseason ... they work their day jobs. When they're not doing that, they're training.

The need for racers to pay for a seat (and it's in the hundreds of thousands of euro per season) in Moto3 and Moto2 has been the subject of controversy; there's a fair argument that it's bad for the sport, and the cutthroat nature of competition is leading to unsafe behaviour on track.

I put together my own bikes, I build my own engines, I've set up my own suspension. Those without enough mechanical ability may be paying for professional engine or suspension work over the off-season.

I've always been my own mechanic and pit crew. Not ideal, but the situation is what it is. Most at a regional level are some combination of that plus friends and relatives hanging out for the weekend. Paying for people to do that ... or paying for multiple mechanics and team members, which is the case at higher levels of competition ... gets really, really expensive really fast.

For the last few years in CSBK, up until now, people were complaining that it was an eastern-Canada series. So, they added a round in Alberta for 2024. Now, they're complaining about the cost to get there and back. Complaining about that is indicative of the shoestring-budget nature of racing in Canada ...

Personally, I'm happy at the moment to be retired from working while not yet retired from (low-level, regional) racing. Means I have time this winter to actually do some training!
 
Factory pro riders will be heavily involved in developing next years bike in the southern hemisphere.
Not so well connected riders go back to working at daddy's farm

As to "payments"... every rider's contract is different. Some riders get contingency, some don't.

There is a lot less money in "pro" than most people think. There are only a handful of riders that are making good money. EVERY ONE else is paying to be in the big show... and I know of no more efficient way of converting cubic dollars into smoke and noise than racing.
Here's my un-popular opinion: Top tier pro racing is mostly theatre, top level amateur racing is where it's at (CSBK is mostly top level amateurs), which comes from a long held belief that money has ruined racing, all racing.
 
bigpoppa said:
Nice!
What does this training include?
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Well, given that I'm also on the mend from "long covid" (20 months - most symptoms have subsided but it's done some damage), I'm starting with walking 3+ km per day weather permitting. I'd like to start cycling, but I know my lungs are not there yet.

For the top level riders, bicycling is common, weight training is common, both arm and leg muscles need workouts. Dirtbike riding is another common one. That's on top of winter tests to develop next year's bike.

These are all younger folks ... they're mostly on social media. Find some and give them a follow. Jonathan Rae has a pretty good YouTube channel (and it's English language). Toprak Razgatlioglu does as many antics off track as on ... maybe more. Dominique Aegerter is pretty good with fan interaction.
 
From a skills standpoint, there's no real substitute for riding time. I forget the source, but I think Freddie Spencer once said he trained on his bike 2 hours every day as a kid, and things are a lot more competitive now at the world level. Dirt bike, super-moto and flat-track stuff like Rossi and his crew at his famous VR46 Motor Ranch dirt track, and Ohvales/MiniGP bikes on go-kart tracks, like Josh Herrin. Living in a climate where you can ride year-round is basically a requirement to be a world-class rider these days. They continue training hard throughout the racing season too - usually at least 2 or 3 MotoGP riders will miss a race because of dirt-bike training injuries.

At the shallowest end of the pool just doing trackdays, I find that I need to be on track at least once every two or three weeks during the season in order to continue significantly improving instead of plateauing or regressing. And that's mostly independent of fitness, it's just the minimum to keep my brain focused in the right area. Off season, the best I can do is jogging and stretching and try not to gain 10 pounds (again).
 
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During the winter I use the money from my day job to pay off the credit card debt from a summer of racing. I occasionally walk a few KMS around the neighbourhood. If the ice freezes this year I will likely be out on the CRF250.

Pro 6 Track days purchases are coming up this week.

Christmas and New Years is the time to start buying next years race licences as my gifts to my self.

Sponsors and supporters are being lined up for 2024, so if anyone wants to send a cheque to Burns Racing we'll be happy to accept. .
 
Interesting, so how does it work for non factory racers? If in the offseason the factory riders and teams go and significantly develop/improve the bike, does that leave the privateers at a significant disadvantage? Or does everyone riding a ducati bike, regardless of affiliation get the same bike(provided they can afford to buy them)?
 
Which series are you talking about? MotoGP? WSBK? SOAR?

but yes, privateers are generally at a disadvantage due to lack of $$$
 
bigpoppa said:
Interesting, so how does it work for non factory racers? If in the offseason the factory riders and teams go and significantly develop/improve the bike, does that leave the privateers at a significant disadvantage? Or does everyone riding a ducati bike, regardless of affiliation get the same bike(provided they can afford to buy them)?
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In MOTOGP most of the Satellite teams are on the previous years bike. For Example the Gresini racing team was on 2022 Ducatis in 2023. Next year they will have the 2023 version while the factory team will have the 2024. In some cases this is actually an advantage at the start of the season, as there will be lots of data for the 2023 model.
 
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