BSB: Taylor Mackenzie targets 2021 ride through YouTube fundraising project

Taylor Mackenzie has turned to YouTube in an attempt raise the funds required to find a ride within the Bennetts British Superbike paddock.

Mackenzie lost his ride with SYNETIQ BMW at the end of last season following a tough campaign. The 27-year-old was hampered by on-going complications with his broken leg, having broken it in two places and torn his MCL ligament before the season started, and was unable to showcase his full potential.

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As a result, Mackenzie opted to use his presence on YouTube to try and raise awareness of his situation and to raise some money. He’d started uploading videos during the first Lockdown and carried on entertaining fans throughout the year.

“I lost my ride at the end of the season in 2018 and the best thing I did was to tell people that I didn’t have a ride,” Mackenzie explained to MCN. “If you don’t say anything, teams assume that you’ve got a ride sorted. I put it out there that I didn’t have a ride, and it worked, I got a ride quite quickly.

“I realised that it’d be harder this time as plenty of teams are struggling financially and I wasn’t exactly high in the pecking order. Having a bit of a budget makes it easier and I just wanted to help a team and contribute towards it rather than just relying on them to find all of the money.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the entire business sector. Companies are struggling now more than ever, and Mackenzie acknowledged this when setting up his money raising campaign.

“I felt uncomfortable going up to companies and messaging asking for money in the current climate because the last thing anybody wants to be doing is giving out money when people are being made redundant. It would just be an awkward conversation and I didn’t want to go around pestering people.

“I realised that people were making a living out of YouTube. I wasn’t bothered about making a living from it, but I thought if I could try and get some money in through my channel it would mean that it didn’t cost people anything and I could also get fans involved in my racing and make them feel like they’re a part of something too.”

There are several ways for fans to get involved in YouRace. Firstly, viewers can opt to watch the adverts that appear on one of Mackenzie’s videos, rather than skipping them. Doing so means that Mackenzie, like other YouTubers, will receive some of the profits made by YouTube.

Fans can also use Amazon affiliate links found in the description of each video instead of going directly through to Amazon. Mackenzie receives a percentage of the overall sale on Amazon, with the amount varying depending on the category.

Mackenzie’s YouTube channel has grown to over 10,000 subscribers, with his videos receiving anywhere between 5000 and 40,000 views. More importantly, it appears that YouRace is working and Mackenzie confirmed to MCN that he’s talking to teams in the Superstock 1000 class.

“That was another thing, because I’d had a bad year in superbike I didn’t want to be banging on people’s doors. I wanted to go back to superstock, have a good season. regain my confidence and go from there. It’d be easier for me to find a superstock ride in a competitive team, so that was what I set my mission to do.”

Mackenzie also has a Patreon page which allows fans to subscribe and receive behind the scenes, exclusive content. 

You can find out more about YouRace and Mackenzie’s plans on his YouTube channel.