JB Racing: the French non-profit association behind the single-seater path
A company director considering support for a young driver asks three questions before any others: who am I paying, what document do I get in return, and how do I justify the line item internally. As long as the answer is “a family, with no legal structure”, the proposal gets past neither the finance team nor the executive committee. That is exactly the problem solved by the existence of a French non-profit association under the 1901 law.
The JB Racing association: status, registered office, purpose
JB Racing is a French non-profit association under the 1901 law, with its registered office at 9 rue des Colonnes, 75002 Paris, France. It is the association, and not an individual, that runs Jaden Beye’s sporting project and supports drivers in their progression towards single-seaters.
This is not a cosmetic detail. For your company, it determines three concrete things:
- the identity of the contracting party: you sign with an identified legal entity, with a registered office, articles of association and a governance structure;
- the nature of the document issued: contract, invoice or tax receipt depending on the option chosen;
- eligibility for the French patronage scheme, which applies to companies taxed in France, when the payment is a donation without equivalent consideration.
Without a structure, none of these three points exists. With an association, each one is documented and enforceable.
What the association takes charge of
Running the sporting project
The association centralises race entries, the relationship with the team, season logistics and calendar management. In 2026, that means 20 races in the KZ category (gearbox karting), with two objectives: a consistent top 5 and the KZ2 World Cup, held at Le Mans Karting International from 17 to 20 September 2026. This is the category’s flagship event worldwide, run under the authority of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA): for a company that has to justify its budget line, this is not a calendar detail, it is the level of sporting commitment the association contracts for. The path is then built towards Formula 4 in 2027 (FFSA Academy, single-seater), then Formula 3 in 2028, before F2 and F1.
Supporting drivers
The purpose of the association is not limited to one individual case: it is intended to support drivers in a pathway where sporting talent is not enough without administrative and financial structuring. It is this dimension that gives a company’s commitment a story to tell, well beyond a name on the bodywork.
Structuring partnerships
Every corporate partnership goes through the association: determining which option applies (donation or service), drafting the appropriate document, delivering the agreed benefits, reporting back at the end of the season. This is the point that separates a professional partnership from an informal arrangement. If you are still hesitating over which scheme applies to your situation, the article Sponsorship or patronage: which scheme should your company choose? sets out the full reasoning.
Why the non-profit framework changes the calculation for a company
The non-profit framework opens two legally distinct routes. Confusing the two is the first mistake made in badly structured proposals.
Corporate patronage (article 238 bis of the French General Tax Code)
Patronage is a donation without equivalent consideration. Article 238 bis of the French General Tax Code (CGI) grants companies taxed in France a tax reduction equal to 60% of the donation amount, and not 60% of the tax due, capped at €20,000 or 5 per thousand of pre-tax revenue, whichever of the two amounts is higher. Any excess can be carried forward over the following five financial years. In practice, a €1,000 donation represents a real cost of €400 for the company.
The benefits granted in return remain symbolic, capped at 25% of the value of the donation: a mention, a logo in the list of patrons, an occasional invitation, and the issuing of the tax receipt (Cerfa form) by the association. The mechanism is detailed in Corporate patronage and motorsport: how to deduct 60% of your donation.
Not to be confused with patronage by individuals (article 200 of the CGI), where the rate is 66% of the donation within the limit of 20% of taxable income: under that scheme, a €1,000 donation costs €340. The two schemes never mix.
Sponsorship
Sponsorship is a commercial service. It does not give rise to the 60% tax reduction. It constitutes a deductible expense, with recoverable VAT, on the basis of an invoice issued by the association. In return, the benefits are unlimited: visibility on the livery, naming rights, track days, hospitality.
| Criterion | Patronage (art. 238 bis CGI) | Sponsorship |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Donation without equivalent consideration | Commercial service |
| Tax benefit | Tax reduction of 60% of the donation | Deductible expense + recoverable VAT |
| Cap | €20,000 or 5 ‰ of pre-tax revenue (whichever is higher), 5-year carry-forward | No specific cap |
| Benefits in return | Symbolic, ≤ 25% of the donation | Unlimited |
| Document issued | Tax receipt (Cerfa form) | Contract + invoice |
| Real cost of €1,000 | €400 | Expense net of tax at your French corporate income tax rate |
The three levers for a company director
- The budget that already exists. The track day replaces the seminar or the team-building event: your staff drive, Jaden coaches, with final standings and a prize-giving. Client relations variant: paddock immersion over a race weekend. Included are exclusive use of the track, the karts, supervision and a branded photo and video sequence handed over to the partner. You are buying what you would have bought anyway. The comparison with a conventional seminar is detailed in Turning the works council (CSE) budget into a track day.
- The tax gift. Under patronage, the French State effectively covers 60% of the donation: €1,000 paid, €400 of real cost, backed by a tax receipt.
- The CSR initiative that tells a story. Supporting a young French athlete on his way to Formula 4 is a concrete commitment, one you can showcase to your teams, your clients and your stakeholders, and one the association documents.
On top of that comes a promise of continuity that few sponsorship channels can offer: your logo races from 2026 and follows Jaden onto the single-seater in 2027.
Governance, budgets and traceability
A company does not finance an intention, it finances a costed plan. The association publishes the two season budgets that structure the path:
| Season | Discipline | Budget | Sporting objective |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | KZ, gearbox karting, 20 races | €105,000 | Consistent top 5 and KZ2 World Cup at Le Mans |
| 2027 | Formula 4, FFSA Academy, single-seater | €300,000 | First season in a single-seater |
The move from €105,000 to €300,000 is not inflation, it is a change of discipline: the single-seater demands an entirely different level of technical commitment. The breakdown of this budget is set out in Sponsoring a Formula 4 driver: what it really costs in 2027.
In terms of traceability, the association operates like any professional partner: funds are received into the legal entity’s account, allocated to the season budget, and each payment gives rise to the document matching its legal nature. Partners receive an end-of-season report, whose level of detail depends on the tier chosen, up to quarterly exposure reporting for the main partner.
The association’s current partners are AUTOROOM and CAKEPRO. They are listed on our partners page.
The people behind the driver: Matec Competition, Didier Blot, Gilles Binet
Legal soundness only counts if the sporting project stands up. Jaden Beye, 15, from Chartres (Eure-et-Loir) and racing under an ASK Rouen licence (Anneville-Ambourville, Normandy), has been racing for only two and a half years. That late start makes his progression all the more striking:
- runner-up in the 2025 Challenge Normand;
- selected for the FFSA French Junior Championship in his first full season;
- ranked 20th among the French drivers in the 2025 French Championship;
- pole position at the Trophée Pierre Gasly in Anneville-Ambourville with a lap of 51.680s.
Race preparation and coaching are handled by Matec Competition, a team led by Didier Blot, who worked with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon before they reached Formula 1. The chassis is a Sodikart. Mental preparation is entrusted to Gilles Binet, a sports psychologist. The full record can be consulted on the career page, and the key dates of the year on season 2026.
The partnership options contracted through the association
Route 1, Patronage
Donation to the association, 60% tax reduction, symbolic benefits, tax receipt.
| Tier | Donation amount | Real cost after reduction |
|---|---|---|
| Supporter | €500 | €200 |
| Friend of the project | €1,500 | €600 |
| Patron | €5,000 | €2,000 |
| Major Patron | €15,000 | €6,000 |
Route 2, Sponsorship
Invoiced service, full commercial benefits. Five packages:
- Main Partner: from €30,000: title partner status, project naming rights, dominant livery + race suit + helmet, all materials: private track day (15 people), hospitality over 3 race weekends, exclusive co-branded video, a dedicated point of contact and quarterly exposure reporting, presence on the F4 single-seater in 2027.
- Major Partner: €15,000 to €30,000: logo on the livery and the race suit, official materials, track day (8 people), hospitality over 2 weekends, dedicated content, season announcement, season reporting.
- Associate Partner: €6,000 to €15,000: placement on the livery or the race suit, supervised track session, 1 race weekend, regular mentions, season report.
- Support Partner: €2,000 to €6,000: dedicated placement on the livery, two-seater passenger ride (2 people), mention in the list of partners, end-of-season report.
- Visibility Partner: €0, visibility exchange: your brand on the livery and the race suit, coverage on social media; in exchange, you relay the project to your own audience. How it works is explained in Visibility partner: associating your brand with motorsport without a budget.
Route 3, Technical partner
Contributions in kind: tyres, equipment, transport, accommodation, printing, physical preparation, accounting. These contributions do not bring in money, they save it. The visibility granted matches the value of the contribution.
Frequently asked questions
Is JB Racing genuinely a French non-profit association under the 1901 law?
Yes. JB Racing is a French non-profit association under the 1901 law whose registered office is at 9 rue des Colonnes, 75002 Paris, France. It is the association that runs the sporting project, supports drivers and signs partnerships with companies.
Which document does my company receive after its payment?
A contract, an invoice or a tax receipt depending on the option chosen, issued by the association. Under patronage, the tax receipt (Cerfa form) substantiates the tax reduction. Under sponsorship, the invoice substantiates the deductible expense and the VAT recovery.
Does the 60% reduction apply to my tax or to my donation?
To the donation amount. Article 238 bis of the French General Tax Code provides for a tax reduction equal to 60% of the amount paid, capped at €20,000 or 5 per thousand of pre-tax revenue, whichever is higher, with a possible carry-forward over five years. A €1,000 donation therefore comes to €400.
Can I obtain commercial visibility under patronage?
No, not beyond the symbolic. Patronage assumes the absence of equivalent consideration: benefits are capped at 25% of the value of the donation (a mention, a logo in the list of patrons, an occasional invitation). For full visibility, livery, naming rights, hospitality, track day, you have to go through sponsorship, which is an invoiced service.
How do I know where the money goes?
The season budgets are public: €105,000 for the 2026 season in KZ (20 races) and €300,000 for the 2027 season in Formula 4. Payments are allocated to these budgets and every partner receives an end-of-season report, up to quarterly exposure reporting for the main partner.
Will my logo follow the move to the single-seater?
Yes, that is the continuity principle of the project: your brand races from 2026 and follows Jaden onto the single-seater in 2027, with a presence on the Formula 4 car explicitly provided for in the Main Partner tier.
If you have to present this decision to an executive committee or a finance department, the association provides everything needed: articles of association, season budgets, a draft contract and a tax receipt template. See the partner pack for the detailed offers and tiers, the why sponsor Jaden Beye page for the full case, then get in touch: +33 7 80 91 12 20 or contact@jadenbeye.fr.
Press & media: interviews, high-definition visuals, accreditations and press kit on request: contact@jadenbeye.fr · +33 7 80 91 12 20.