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Project Brabham hits its first crowdfunding target

Published on 11 Nov 2014 15:07
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By: Rob Veenstra

The new Project Brabham open source racing model to build a sustainable Brabham Racing team has hit its first crowdfunding milestone of £250,000, making it the biggest successfully funded Sports campaign on Indiegogo, and one of the largest across the major crowdfunding platforms.

David Brabham's Project Brabham vision to bring the iconic Brabham Racing team back by making motorsport more accessible, transparent and engaging to fans, while allowing the team to be more self-sufficient, has struck a resounding chord with fans, drivers and engineers worldwide.

Exactly 2,666 genuine contributors from 62 countries helped Project Brabham reach and push over its initial target, which averages out at a donation level of £94 per person. The front end of the new Brabham-Digital portal can now start to be built, enabling the community to watch and contribute to the team’s initial stages of development.

The comprehensive prospectus that will allow Brabham Racing to go after the investment and corporate sponsorships required for a three-year LMP2 programme in the FIA World Endurance Championship can also now be rapidly developed.

The crowdfunding total continues to rise with six days of the campaign remaining. If Project Brabham can raise another £18,000 it would make history as the biggest successfully funded Sports campaign across any known major, English speaking crowdfunding platform.

Beyond that historical marker, the campaign will focus on pushing towards the next target of £500,000. That's when the back-office Brabham team can be put in place, and the extensive building and development of the three cloud-based Brabham-Digital experiences can begin, ready for when Brabham Racing returns to the track. Through the online platform, the team will give fans, drivers and engineers unprecedented behind-the-scenes access and online learning environments.

"Now that we have reached our first target I have to say a special thanks to every member of the community who has contributed to make this campaign a huge success," said Brabham Racing Team Principal David Brabham. "When we launched Project Brabham on the 24th of September we really didn't know how it would go, as it was a new approach to racing and funding. But so many people across the world have not only openly adopted our sustainable, open source model but also been vociferous in their support and helped to spread the word online."

"To get this far is a tremendous achievement but we don't plan on stopping here. We've still got six days to go and we now focus on the next target of £500,000. Much of this money will be raised through private partnerships and sponsorship, but the closer to the target we can get at this stage the quicker we can get out on the track. The amazing momentum we have will go a long way to making the Brabham Racing team become a reality quicker."

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