Chris Balestri - Toscano Motorsports

Most people don’t enter the business world before they leave their teen years. Then again, most people don’t follow in the footsteps of Jacques Villeneuve.

Toscano Motorsports, a creation of 20-year-old Chris Balestri and his dad, works to fund the start-up phase of Balestri’s racing career. Named for the village of Balestri’s ancestry and in association with the phenomenon of Italian motorsports, its mission is not the easiest, especially since proprietor and driver are one and the same. “I have two jobs,” Balestri plainly states.

While Balestri the driver battles other racers, Balestri the businessman battles expenses. He rattles off a partial list: “Tires, $200 a set. Rain tires, $250 a set. Axles, $400. Engine, $900.”

Originally eschewing karting as too expensive, the Michael Power grad tried a cheaper form of racing: cycling. “When my dad watched me ride, he saw a lot of talent in how I drove the bike, my reaction times. We decided to look into karting.”

“The first time I stepped into a kart, it was cold, raining. There were four other guys on the track. I lapped them twice.”

“We started in 2003 in the Honda series. From there I raced a regular season on the weekends, walked away as rookie of the year and regular season champion.” Successful testing led to a contract with Team Hurricane, which counts Paul Tracy among its partners.

Slim revenue possibilities include race winnings, season championships, and a racer’s own investment, so Balestri solicits sponsorships. “Karting teaches kids awareness of the business world,” he says.

“Finding sponsorship takes patience, preparation, marketing presentations, knowledge. We research businesses before we approach them. What other stuff do they sponsor? Do we fit their criteria?”

Balestri’s key research question: “What do sponsors get in return? You have to put yourself in their shoes.”

The research provides great leads, if belatedly at times. Sidling up to the bar at one Etobicoke restaurant, Balestri saw the owner already sponsored a world formula kart. “There was a little promo thing on the bar when we went in to ask,” he recalls.

In 2003, Balestri’s then-Honda team went to a movie theatre with their karts to promote the movie “Kart Racer”. “People coming to see the movie also saw real drivers with real karts,” he recalls. “That’s when I started getting ideas for promotions.”

“In kart racing, we want to promote sponsors like they do in F1, with that loyalty, that sense of ‘We’re going to get the job done for you.’ We want to get exposure for our sponsors.”

Toscano Motorsports entertains “non-traditional” sponsors too. “Sexuality and U sponsored a Formula Ford 1600 team,” Balestri marvels. ”The team gave out free condoms, brochures, and information about the website. That was genius”

In days of natural disasters, Toscano Motorsports sometimes runs into “donor fatigue”. “At least four prospects this year have donated money for the tsunami disaster,” Balestri says.

To buy the engine he needs this year, Balestri held a fundraiser at Bowlerama on Dundas. “We offered unlimited bowling, my brother’s band played, we brought the car inside the alley. Bowlerama says we’re the first people to do something like this.”

“I put together a promotional CD for the event,” Balestri continues. “Just throw it into your computer and watch a short movie, see a few pictures, learn about the racing.”

Connections matter too. Three of Toscano’s returning sponsors know Balestri: Marshall Doors (“which is where my dad works”), Brampton Electric Motors (“which was one of my cycling sponsors”), and TAGG Industries (“which my dad works with”). The fourth, Westowne Mazda, doubled last year’s sponsorship.

Balestri plans to manage his sponsor relationships differently this year. “If they want me at a trade show, I’ll bring my kart, sign autographs, put kids in the kart for pictures, whatever they want. I’ll stand on my head for sponsors,” he says.

This gearhead has a confession to make. “I don’t have my licence yet,” he chuckles sheepishly. Citing insurance costs, Balestri puts most of his own money into Toscano Motorsports.

“One day, I’d love to pull a Villeneuve or a Gretzky,” Balestri says of his future options, “and open a restaurant, a bar, or even a nightclub. Something with a little bit of racing background to it.”

“If anything, I’ve learned more about business than I have about racing. I came into this for the sport and I turned myself into an amateur businessman. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Because of racing, I now have the ability to sell myself.”

For more about Chris and Toscano Motorsports, click here.

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