Motorsport Content Creation
“In the modern professional athlete industry, just being good at your sport is only half of the job. You must also have a large fan following and be attractive to commercial sponsors. Motorsport even more so than other disciplines, due to the high cost of participation...The best way to build a following in the modern digital landscape is through organic social media content”
The brief:
For modern athletes, just being good at your sport is only half of the job. You must also have a large following and attract commercial sponsors. In Motorsport even more so than in other disciplines. The high cost of participation: an affordable racing series will require low-six figure budgets to run for a full season. Elite Motorsport GB4 racing drivers Alisha Palmowski & Fin Harrison both needed to build their digital profiles to further their careers as professional racing drivers, whilst also growing an audience to advertise and attract new sponsors. The best way to build a following in the modern digital landscape is through organic social media content; notably on Instagram, TikTok & LinkedIn. After previously working with Alisha Palmowski’s team to create a TV pilot on teen racing drivers, they reached back out to us as she stepped up to to open-wheel GB4 racing, the first rung on the ladder to Formula 1. Alisha’s GB4 stablemate Fin Harrison also joined us for the 2024 season.
The Solution:
Per race meeting, we create a hybrid multimedia package for our drivers, comprising of: short form vertical video, documentary coverage, and stills photography. The exact deliverables vary depending on current social media trends, but centre around: a 45-second vertical ‘micro-doc’ reel, photography of the cars & drivers winning podiums, and transition reels or mini-games played between drivers. The aim of all content created is to show off their personalities and build a parasocial relationship between audience and athlete. This one-way relationship is the key reason why social media influencers have been so successful at building deep passionate fanbases entirely organically, as viewers feel like they are just ‘hanging out’ with a friend, rather than being pushed an overly polished sales message.
A deep dive on the Silverstone GB4 Race Meeting 27-28 July:
Like many open-wheel racing events, GB4 race meetings consist of: Qualifying (15min) & Race 1 (20min) on the Saturday, and Race 2 (20min) & 3 (reverse grid) on Sunday. Your qualifying result determines your starting position for race 1 & 2. As race 3 is a reverse grid; the faster you are, the further back you start. Complicated motorsport rules aside, the single-make GB4 championship regularly leads to very close racing, and equally unpredictable results. In the 2024 season, there have been 8 race winners out of a total of 21 different drivers. Early on the morning of the 27th July, a team of three Lamplight camera operators (Tim, Callum, James) headed up to Silverstone, the home of British motorsport. We touched base with our drivers at the Elite Motorsport garage as mechanics bustled around, warming up the formula four-level cars for qualifying.
We then headed out trackside to film our pair of bright yellow cars for the short 15-minute qualifying session. As Silverstone is a very large FIA grade-1 track, it requires copious amounts of walking to get around. We focused on two trackside locations before heading back to the Elite Motorsport garage to capture fly-on-the-wall documentary coverage with Alisha. Tim went to entertain business contacts at the British Racing Drivers’ Club, courtesy of Lamplight’s sponsorship of Alisha Palmowski. The rest of the team headed back to the media centre to back up footage and edit social media reels. An hour before the first race, the team headed down to the Elite garage to continue documentary coverage of Alisha, plus create social media clips of the drivers suiting up, putting helmets on, and getting into their cars. We followed the cars over to the assembly area, before heading trackside to capture social clips & documentary footage of the race. After the race, we filmed podium celebrations with the drivers and debrief interviews back at the garage before heading home.
On the Sunday morning, the three Lamplighteers returned to Silverstone to film race 2 before heading into the media centre to continue editing & delivering content for social platforms. In the gap between races, we filmed a social media driver challenge ‘how many hi-fives can you get in 2 minutes.’ The vertical reel comprised a split-screen image of both drivers followed by a camera operator each as they sprinted around the Silverstone paddock (attempting to) hi-five everyone they passed. Fin 10, Alisha, 41. A decisive victory for team AP. Fin then proceeded to channel this loss into a winning drive in race 3 as he covered Tim in sparkling wine atop the Silverstone podium. The camera team filmed final weekend interviews with both drivers before packing up and heading home. Another successful weekend at the racetrack.
