Oh yes, I can remember many a happy (?) day spent in the BRDC suite or sponsors boxes at Silverstone where nobody even looked at the track - except for the odd occasion when someone crashed directly outside the box and they'd glance out for a few seconds. As you say, most of the time they could have done without the noise.

Certainly in motor racing (and probably in a good few other sponsorable activities) the youngsters (teens mainly) see acquiring a "heavyweight" sponsor (not T. Bone or the local scaffolding company) as a sign they're a serious player but have no real idea about how that world works - not surprising really as they're not long out of school and only need outside money as they've exhausted what mum / dad / Saturday job can provide. I lost track of the number of times I heard a conversation along the lines of "he could afford to sponsor me, he's a millionaire" without any concept or consideration of how Mr X got to be such and why he would consider throwing away hard earnt money on a socially inept individual with limited life experience (so no good after dinner speeches) and a patchy on-track record.

In sports / activities where sponsorship (money mainly but also the profile raising that can come from some sponsor's business sector) really makes the difference between success and failure I suppose there will always be a slope to the playing field where genuinely talented individuals just don't get the breaks they think they deserve while other "journeymen" seem to attract money like magnets. That, unfortunately, is just the way the world works with people pushing whatever edge they can find, some successfully, some not and those sponsors that can see a reason for getting involved taking their pound of flesh in whatever form works for them.

If you're planning some kind of overland expedition I'm at a little bit of a loss to see where the "talent" bit comes in (assuming you have a driving licence). Most of the payback for the sponsor would (I imagine) come not from what you do but from how you do it. Lots of online followers while you're away, a (readable) book, DVD, personal appearances, lectures etc when you return and all fronted up by a warm engaging personality that makes people believe what you say and want to spend their money on the stuff you endorse. It sounds a bit like a tv shopping channel and reminds me of a measurable percentage of the stuff at this year's HU meet in Wales. If all that comes naturally and easily to you then you are blessed indeed but if it just starts to sound like a treadmill, and an uphill one at that, then maybe another look at the sponsor's t's & c's might be a good idea.