ME Racing Debuts in 2023

Yup I like NFTs, Crypto and AI as much as the next old guy, but what I really like is driving, at the track and more specifically, racing and coaching. Having made it to an age where I can enjoy it with my son, Massimo, just makes it even better. With the help of our friends – one, in particular, to whom we are indebted - we are building a new car and taking the opportunity to create ME Racing with a full program to engage friends, competitors and sponsors at the club racing level. We plan to have a blast and want to bring as many folks along with us as possible. This intro is more at how we want to support our sponsors than actual fun. If you’re a potential sponsor it will help you get to know us.

ME Racing will be running a BMW 525 in the National Auto Sport Association Northeast region (NASA NE) ST4 class. ST4 is a horsepower to weight ratio class so folks can run whatever car they want as long as it fits the rules. Sponsorship-wise, the first and most important question for me and Massimo is why would anyone lend us a hand.

Well, racing and track driving is our hobby. It’s not a business. We love the track and being part of the NASA NE family. We see this season and the years ahead as an opportunity to do more than thank the people and companies who are in the racing and track day driving business and help us enjoy our hobby. After years of self-sponsoring in Spec e30 through my lifestyle business RepartoCorse.com (custom bike fitting and coaching) we're stepping things up to create a program we think can benefit our supporters as well as help us enjoy our track days even more.

I think it’s important to point out that we don't just race. I am the Chief Classroom Instructor and Massimo is a lead volunteer. He helps organize who's volunteering and oversees grid for just about every session he's not racing. Social media in the past has been mostly personal for us and although racing and track driving is our hobby, with ME Racing we will be leveraging the good will we've built up over the years (20 in my case and close to 15 for Massimo who's been attending NASA NE events since before he could drive.) Our volunteer roles and standing in the NASA NE community will allow us to do word of mouth advertising with enthusiasts who should be customers of our sponsors.

We attend every track day and race weekend in our region so we have more opportunities to share who supports us than if we were just racing. I have about 25 new high performance driving students in my classroom every day that we're at the track and that adds up to around 500 drivers over the course of the season. When we add in the other Driver Education groups, my fellow instructors, our volunteers, and fellow racers there are very few of the 200-300 folks attending an event that we don't interact with during the course of a weekend.

ME Racing will of course have a social media presence dedicated to track driving. We'll have a good base to start with from among our track friends, and although it might be old school, we'll be sending reports to our sponsors after every event. But wait, there’s more! In addition to the usual social media platforms, I use RepartoCorse to blog about coaching and driving and post to LinkedIn which is an underutilized platform in the grassroots racing and motorsports arena that will add a layer of professionalism. (See https://www.linkedin.com/in/edcangialosi/)

Although track driving and racing is our hobby it doesn't mean that we don't take it seriously. I work hard on my classroom presentations and Massimo keeps everyone smiling in grid while checking that drivers have what they need to be safe on track. I keep classroom content fresh while working in the things students need to be safe and I seek out other voices and perspectives. When I need some advice I rely in my fellow instructors, but I can also reach out to coaches at the top of the sport. These people include Ross Bentley and Jim Kearney. If you're a sponsor I'd be happy to ask either of them or anyone that makes NASA NE work to let you know what would be getting in a partnership with ME Racing.

Developing the ME Racing program is going to be a big part of how we say thank you to everyone and provide value to anyone that is a supporter.