Dempsey Le Mans
09-21-2013, 11:08 AM
#32
Rennlist Member
I thought the series overall was pretty good... There was tremendous "product placement" - such as the training scenes on his Specialized bike, or his comments around how great it was to drive a Porsche! But despite that, I think it accomplished it's purpose - raise money (now & future) for his brand.... Nothing wrong with that...
Apart from the racing, I was intrigued to learn of his real relationship with Tully Coffee as a spokesperson...
-B
Apart from the racing, I was intrigued to learn of his real relationship with Tully Coffee as a spokesperson...
-B
09-21-2013, 11:44 AM
#33
Rennlist Member
Thanks for the info!
09-21-2013, 02:53 PM
#34
09-21-2013, 06:03 PM
#36
Advanced
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: adamstown md
Posts: 96
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm surprised to see such a positive reaction here.
Most of my friends complained about how it was primarily about Dempsey crying about how hard it is to find sponsors. They said that the whole show seems a sponsorship gimmick- he can easily afford to pay for his racing like most of us do, we who have NO CHANCE of getting sponsors like he does, as we are not famous and idols to the opposite sex. When I do an IMSA race, it takes months of my income to cover it. Many feel that he should either pay for his racing, accept that sponsorship is very limited even though he has it easier than other drivers, or get fast enough to get paid for racing, like Patrick Long, etc.
A quote from a friend:
"... To come up 90k short and skip VIR. Why not reach into his pocket to pay that? Dempsey makes $350k every week for 24 weeks a year PLUS anything outside Grey's Anatomy. A WEEK. "
Just another viewpoint.
Most of my friends complained about how it was primarily about Dempsey crying about how hard it is to find sponsors. They said that the whole show seems a sponsorship gimmick- he can easily afford to pay for his racing like most of us do, we who have NO CHANCE of getting sponsors like he does, as we are not famous and idols to the opposite sex. When I do an IMSA race, it takes months of my income to cover it. Many feel that he should either pay for his racing, accept that sponsorship is very limited even though he has it easier than other drivers, or get fast enough to get paid for racing, like Patrick Long, etc.
A quote from a friend:
"... To come up 90k short and skip VIR. Why not reach into his pocket to pay that? Dempsey makes $350k every week for 24 weeks a year PLUS anything outside Grey's Anatomy. A WEEK. "
Just another viewpoint.
09-21-2013, 06:58 PM
#37
Really enjoyed the series, seems like Joe Foster has been with him for some time. I never heard them say he never went to La Mans and it is a TV show after all.
In 2009, he raced a Team Seattle Advanced Engineering Ferrari F430 GT in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans's GT2 class, and finished ninth in class, 30th position.
2009 Italy Advanced Engineering, United States Team Seattle, Ferrari F430 GT2 ,LMGT2
Co-Drivers:
United States Don Kitch, Jr.
United States Joe Foster
2013 United States Dempsey Del Piero-Proton, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR LMGTE-AM
Co-Drivers
United States Joe Foster
United States Patrick Long
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Dempsey
In 2009, he raced a Team Seattle Advanced Engineering Ferrari F430 GT in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans's GT2 class, and finished ninth in class, 30th position.
2009 Italy Advanced Engineering, United States Team Seattle, Ferrari F430 GT2 ,LMGT2
Co-Drivers:
United States Don Kitch, Jr.
United States Joe Foster
2013 United States Dempsey Del Piero-Proton, Porsche 911 GT3 RSR LMGTE-AM
Co-Drivers
United States Joe Foster
United States Patrick Long
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Dempsey
09-24-2013, 02:57 PM
#40
Rennlist Member
09-24-2013, 03:50 PM
#41
Rennlist Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Minnetonka, MN
Posts: 483
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
the take away I got from the "documentary" was that even for someone with a lot of media attention it is still very difficult to get sponsorship for motor racing, specifically sports car racing.
Even as famous, long standing and successful as Brumos Racing has run into sponsorship problems.
There's a really interesting commentary in the latest issue of F1 Racing magazine talking about how the sponsor parties and events were way down in number at this year's Monaco race although the numbers of such events were apparently up at Singapore. The writer commented that it did not bode well for the future of F1 if sponsors were losing interest.
It's interesting that Dempsey/Del Pietro racing's principal sponsor was Tully Coffee, which Patrick was a partner in, until his recent litigation and settlement in August with Mike Avenatti, the guy who was supposed to be the third driver at Le Mans but was cut to be replaced by PL. As with amateur racing it would appear that many of the pro teams are funded by businesses owned by someone closely connected with the team.
With regard to the cost of doing Le Mans, I have it on fairly good authority that Robertson Racing spent $2M two years ago when they ran at Le Mans in their Ford GT. Essentially self funded by the Robertsons with absolutely no factory support from Ford - at least Dempsey got driver and technical support from Porsche in return for a ton of publicity for Porsche.
Even as famous, long standing and successful as Brumos Racing has run into sponsorship problems.
There's a really interesting commentary in the latest issue of F1 Racing magazine talking about how the sponsor parties and events were way down in number at this year's Monaco race although the numbers of such events were apparently up at Singapore. The writer commented that it did not bode well for the future of F1 if sponsors were losing interest.
It's interesting that Dempsey/Del Pietro racing's principal sponsor was Tully Coffee, which Patrick was a partner in, until his recent litigation and settlement in August with Mike Avenatti, the guy who was supposed to be the third driver at Le Mans but was cut to be replaced by PL. As with amateur racing it would appear that many of the pro teams are funded by businesses owned by someone closely connected with the team.
With regard to the cost of doing Le Mans, I have it on fairly good authority that Robertson Racing spent $2M two years ago when they ran at Le Mans in their Ford GT. Essentially self funded by the Robertsons with absolutely no factory support from Ford - at least Dempsey got driver and technical support from Porsche in return for a ton of publicity for Porsche.
09-25-2013, 01:53 PM
#43
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
He visited the PorschePlatz at COTA this past weekend. He was blown away by the packed crowd (who did not know he was coming) and their enthusiasm for Porsche. The folks who did the documentary stopped by the next day to say thank you and how impressed they were with PCAers and the Platz area.
I gave him a PCA window sticker. Told him it was light weight and may be a good luck charm for a podium finish....they finished 3rd.
btw, he is now a PCA member
I gave him a PCA window sticker. Told him it was light weight and may be a good luck charm for a podium finish....they finished 3rd.
btw, he is now a PCA member
09-25-2013, 03:19 PM
#45
Burning Brakes
