Reporting Results

In my last article I touched briefly on the importance of race reports as they relate to getting new sponsors. True, they can be helpful when pursuing new sponsorships, but their intended purpose is to allow sponsors you already have to know how your season is going, and serve as a chance to promote your sponsors in the media.

There are a few ways you can go about designing and submitting your race reports, and that's what this article will cover. I will break the process down into three stages: Layout, Content and Distribution, which mirrors the way I go about putting together the race reports.

Some riders find it easier to farm out the process of writing their race reports, which is fine. I write reports for several Ontario riders. It works out well for both parties as they receive professional quality race reports/press releases to send to sponsors and media outlets, but do not have to put the time required for them to achieve these results on their own. On my end, I get paid for my work and enjoy a little bit of publicity and exposure. Ultimately, the needs of the rider(s) and myself are met by our arrangements.

I have included two examples of press releases I have made for the 2010 season. One was for Lockhart's Suzuki rider Chris Van Hove, and the other for Yamaha/Machine Racing Off Road's team of Brian Wojnarowski and Adam Millson.

Yamaha 09-13-10
Press release for Yamaha/Machine Racing's Wojo and Cheeseburger.

Content:
Content is the most important part of the report. It should be concise, include one to two images, all of the sponsors (in my .pdf files I name the sponsors in the final paragraph of every report, as well as include their logos in the layout of the file itself.). Be logical; start at the beginning of the race and go through to the end, then let your sponsors know when you'll be racing next, and then thank everyone who needs to be thanked.

Try to be a little more creative than “It was hot. Got hole shot. Led whole race. Won. Thanks.” When I write the text (otherwise known as “copy”) out in a word processor before putting it into the layout, I usually aim for 250 to 350 words for a single day event, and 500 to 750 for two day events (such as the CECs or the Cord).

Because I am not the rider, I use third person to describe the events that went on. I would suggest that even if you plan on writing your own race reports, that you write your copy in third person. It looks more professional and impartial, in my opinion. Avoid over using slang words where possible, and under no circumstance should you swear!

That said, there are some riders, Guy Giroux for instance, who writes in first person. Many people love his race reports because it's like talking to him. He gets away with them because he is Giroux. People know how his voice sounds, the patterns of his speech, and are able to put his reports into that frame when they read them.

Your best bet is to simply write in third person, and make sure that you proof read two or three times. Try reading it aloud; you're more likely to catch awkward sentences and bad grammar that way.

Remember: This is your link to your sponsors; you want it to be as good as it possibly can be.

Mansfield 05-08-10
Press release for Lockhart's Suzuki rider Chris Van Hove.

Layout:
For layout, there is a lot of personal preference that comes into play. Reports I do for more serious personalities (ie Wojo) are different from the ones I do for more relaxed riders (ie CVH). I try to include a little of the rider's personality in the layout.

It's a personal preference as to whether you'd like to do landscape or portrait style .pdfs. I use both. As said before, I usually aim for 250 to 350 words for a single day event, and 500 to 750 for a two day event. This translates into one A3 (or standard) .pdf page for a single day event, or two for a two day event.

For some riders, I use a background photo, usually an image that's faded to about 10% transparency. Commonly, the photos I select to use in the background are either out of focus, of the rider's back, or extreme close ups of the bike, but still a very interesting photograph. I find that including a background image, and fading it into the text, creates interest throughout the page and draws the eye around the page. I'll explain why this is important shortly.

For the main photo, I prefer an action shot; something that really draws the reader's attention and showcases the rider's talent.

As I mentioned before, in the final paragraph I always thank the rider's sponsors, but I also use their logos in the layout. Normally, I place the logos in groups of similar size/shape, along the bottom of the report, under the text and photographs. This is why I find it important to include a background photo in many of my reports.

A little note on format:
When I create a race report/press release for a rider, they receive up to four files. One is a final .pdf, one is a Word document of the text, and then they receive one or two of the photos that were used in the making of the .pdf file. In the next part, I will explain why I do this.

Distribution:
Now, who gets your press release depends on what level of rider you are, and how well you perform.

Obviously, regardless of how you perform you should be sending your press releases to sponsors to let them know how you finished. If you DNF’ed an event, you might want to down play or simply opt to not do a report for those races, unless it is due to a medical issue. If you injure yourself, let your sponsors know what happened and when you will be expected to return to racing.

If you’re a top rider in your class, you should also be sending your reports to the manufacturer you ride for, regardless of whether or not you receive direct sponsorship from them, and the media outlets. For motocross and enduro riders in Canada this will include, but is in no way limited to the following:
- Inside MotoX and Off Road
- Off Road Motorcycles.ca
- MXP Magazine
- DMX
- Local/City newspapers

The reason I split the file into three parts, photos, text and .pdf, is to make it easier to post on a website/blog. The easier you make it to share your information with others, the more likely people will be to forward and post your race reports.

You might also consider creating your own blog or website and posting regular updates there. On your blog you can post updates on your training, your conditioning, any local events/schools you’re hosting, etc. Basically anything that isn’t racing can go there, and those who are interested can check up on you.

This concludes my little how to on race reports. Check in next Wednesday for my next helpful article on podium presentations. Many excellent and fast riders have no problem getting to the podium, but once they get there they don’t know how to act, or what to say.

Like this post? Tweet it! Follow me on Twitter @SuzieQ_484, and be sure to check out IMX's page too for the latest in Moto and Off Road news @MXandOffRoad.
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