A manufacturer sponsors a factory-backed race team or competitor in official competitions. Since motorsport is a costly effort, such factory assistance is required and is always needed to succeed. A minor type of factory support is in the form of contingency awards, performance-based, which contribute to discount competition costs. The highest forms of international competition will also show full factory backing, with extensive motorsport operations often represented by a specific manufacturer at hundreds of millions of euros.
The production series, in particular Ferrari Challenge and Porsche Supercup, can also be supported by the company purely to encourage themselves to market their competition specifics to consumers and to organize series. The series usually have prize money and even a plant push in a high-level series often. Help from distributors or importers may also be called plant support in lower-level races. Factory-backed describes wholly or partially funded, but not usually contracted to, by the financial or technological assistance.
In drifting, where factory-backed supported teams, for example, are limited and far from Mopar or Pontiac of the Formula D, working teams/drivers, instead of entering drivers or small and less affordable tuning companies, are supported in big or well-established tuning firms. The positive here is that drivers can use the costly prototype components that the corporation does not offer to the consumers. A backup vehicle is available to them if their car is too severely affected to compete.
History
Factory-backed became apparent at the beginning of the 1950s that the car was a solid component of American culture, and a thriving middle class had been built up for the greatest generation. Men raced for competitiveness and excitement, and all sorts of races in the world took hold. The “Big Three” Detroit car makers all participated in one way or another in supporting races.
In 1955, a devastating crash during the 24 Hours of Le Mans sparked a Mercedes 300SLR explosion, and a crowd of people murdered 83 spectators and, in 1957, the Automotive Manufacturers Association. The AMA made the consensus of a gentleman, consisting of delegates from all American carmakers, to end organized car races and motorsports of all kinds. Those in the industry thought that this was a way to discourage Congressional participation that would push the car makers’ hand in some other way.