Brits on Pole

When GP2 driver Sam Bird takes to the track in Bahrain this weekend try to get a good look at the nose of his car – because, if everything goes to plan, it will be sporting the Brits on Pole logo.

And that won’t be the only time this year you’ll see this site’s colours at a race track or driver development day, as we have also partnered with YourRacingCar.com and with 2007 Formula Renault UK champion Duncan Tappy.

You can imagine just how excited we are about this.

So, why is it happening? Well, this is the result of the work we’ve been doing behind the scenes to make sure BritsOnPole.com has a decent future.

As this site has become bigger and more successful (in fact, one of the biggest and most successful things that we do) we’ve inevitably been looking for ways to make it pay for itself.

We sometimes struggle to believe how far it has travelled beyond the small blog we launched in August 2007. And, too often these days, it demands the level of commitment and attention of a full-time news operation.

It’s fun, it’s satisfying, it’s hectic, and at times – such as when we’re up to our elbows in Companies House documents – it even seems important, but it doesn’t pay the bills.

Our day job is web design and development – we run our own small agency called Onlineability. And, happily, we’ve increasingly found that opportunities exist for the two worlds to overlap.

So today we’re excited to announce three projects that we’ve been working on to make that happen.

Working with Sam Bird

Brits on Pole and its parent company Onlineability are now the official web partners of GP2 driver Sam Bird. This means that, when his ART car goes out on track this season, it will be carrying the Brits on Pole/Onlineability logo on the nose. It’ll be our job to keep his existing site updated and make sure that the latest news and features (including a planned new podcast) will be available for fans. You can catch up with Sam here.

A new website for Duncan Tappy

We’ve also been working with British driver Duncan Tappy to build him a new website. Duncan’s a two-time BRDC McLaren Autosport young driver award nominee, and a past winner of the Formula Ford Festival and British Formula Renault title. Since then he’s showed his versatility in a wide range of series including World Series by Renault, Formula Master, Superleague and Indy Lights. He’s also a great guy who thoroughly deserves all our support. The site is due to go live in the next week or two and you can get a sneak preview here. When it’s completed you’ll be able to check out the highlights of Duncan’s career, browse his photo galleries, keep up with his media coverage and follow him on social media sites including Twitter and Facebook.

Your Racing Car sponsorship

We’re absolutely determined to give something back to this industry, every bit as much as we hope to benefit from it. So we’re also supporting Hannah James’ Your Racing Car project through her ‘Deals on Wheels’ option that enables small businesses like ours to take their first steps in motorsports sponsorship. We’ll be one of the sponsors of the team’s appearance in a support series at the BTCC’s Rockingham round and will be there on the day to cheer on driver Fulvio Mussi. Hannah’s looking for sponsors at all levels from individual fans to medium-sized and larger companies, so if you want to get involved visit her website. Our involvement this year is small – but we hope it will grow as time passes.

What does this mean for readers? Well, if Brits on Pole helps to pay its way by generating business for us, we will remain able to devote the time it needs to keep it professional, original and responsive to what readers want.

And our increased involvement in British motorsport means that we’re closer to the action and more able to bring you the news and views that really matter. Plus, the more this business is a success, the more we’ll be able to plough in as sponsorship for up-and-coming teams and drivers.

We’re also committed to being transparent about the work we’re doing and this post is a part of that. All future stories about Sam, Duncan or YRC will have some sort of declaration of interest somewhere to remind readers that we might – despite our background as impartial news reporters – be just that tiny little bit less unbiased than usual.

As for what it means for drivers and teams, as soon as we’ve finished Duncan’s site we’re going to sit down with him and, with his help and input, work out the details of a web design and maintenance package targeted at drivers and teams, catering for their unique needs.

These are exciting times for Brits on Pole. We hope you’ll join us along the way – starting with cheering for Sam this weekend in Bahrain.