I'm not really surprised. Have you ever looked at the other teams' apparel / merch offerings? Some of them look like genuine after-thoughts. The approach has been fragmented at best and viewed as an optional add on that'll hopefully break even. I said the same thing waaaaaay back with AMA Pro Road Racing. A bunch of riders and teams would come up with 1 or 2 mildly appealing shirt designs and then try to sell them to whoever saw their Facebook fan page posts. I remember going to MotoGP at Indy and chatting with Earl and Rose Hayden when they were sitting in a booth in the pits selling tees themselves. I, albeit briefly, had an effort called RaceFanApparel to try and bring apparel for everyone into one marketplace + offer teams and riders options to create apparel on their behalf. I still think it's a great idea, but it's a passion project I certainly don't have the time to pursue. My profile image was from one of my own shirts back then.
Sorry Boman my charity dollars this week are for the legal defense fund for the dude who cut down 15 flock cameras.
Comparing Michael to Rossi isn’t even remotely fair. Mike flourished in a completely different market ecosystem. Every city has many schools and they all have basketball teams. Rossi competed in a fringe sport. Completely different levels of earning potentials between the two. And Rossi has enough cash to sustain him and his family for a few generations. I wouldn’t call him a failure at all. He might be able to do some better things with his cash with a better ROI, but can’t we all? Just my thoughts.
I highly doubt VR46 apparel is even remotely important / related to the team's existence. I'm sure a few extra dollars floating in are helpful, but not necessary. I had on good authority a few years ago their sponsorship income was north of $70M while operating expenses were closer to $25M. I'm sure a good chunk of that sponsorship money was either Mooney or Pertamina, but in general, they can command a bit more for sponsors than other satellites because of the VR affiliation and their team consistently performs pretty well (or at least 1 rider does).
Unlike you, some of us like him. i texted him and he is alive and well... rental business has really taken off
Nothing related to @motion , but Rob is genuinely one of the nicest humans on the planet... Rob being @Boman Forklift . I'm glad motion is busy with work and I'm glad Rob checked in on him. They are both great people even if motion is a bit unhinged.
All kidding aside, I took my daughter to the mall earlier and saw a fella wearing a VR46 shirt. It stood out like a sore thumb.
Remember the popularity of NASCAR clothing as worn by the masses in the 90's (and was gone in a flash)? I'm sure the same thing will happen with F1 stuff. MotoGP stuff will never get off the ground here in the US.
Ask Sean or whoever, I’m not. Unlike most people I’m actually more hateable in person. and I’ve actually gotten better over the years, I quit drinking the meanies.
Not sure I was invited other than his invite to come anytime. I’m slammed at work. I can’t find a good parts guy, and have recently been through several. So I’m doing a couple peoples jobs, quotes, ordering parts, dispatch, Etc. This morning the dog woke me up. I was showered and on the road by 2:30 am arriving at 3:15am. Great thing about leaving that early is the “quick” 45 minute commute. Other than lunch I didn’t leave the office until 6:45pm and got home at 7:50. Hope you have fun up there. I just looked and that is a 18-19 hour drive for me. I’ve driven to miller Motorsports park several times and thought that was long, it’s only 1/2 way there. I’m sure the scenery would be fantastic. You out of the hospital? How ya feeling?
He is an actually a super nice, caring, down to earth guy. He has been fortunate enough to make some good money in business and I find him very mellow and easy going. Like many of us on here, he just likes to have fun. Wow, that’s nice, I’m glad you aren’t female, I don’t want to lose half.
