I know what you mean mr.ed, exposure with the car and a related pro driver is important.
My main competitor is the RWD Buggy market, and there lies a chance there. With such a different car, you create your own market and demand. The minority of people that are interested in a FWD Buggy is a big enough group to make a conversion kit for. And I think the last few years we have been faced with the impact small companies like Atomic Carbon, Team Xtreme and X-Factory can make by making conversion kits. The TRF201 Mid-Motor is essentially a Vega and the B5M is a clear descendant of the Atomic Carbon S2! Why make a full kit with all the financial risks and long development programmes involved if a few conversion kits can prove the concept and change a market?
As far as I know, these cars were not first run by big guys - yes, very talented and experienced people developed it and helped and the cars did score high at regional and national events, but I think it proves there's more to it than having a big name score with a car and promote it.
As a nice example, if promotion was all that was needed, Tamiya should have had a bigger market share in Europe by now with the TRF201! It's decent parts+setup support and unique selling points of a design that form the basis to have something worth promoting in the first place, and that - without trying to sound harsh - may have played a role in the low percentage of TRF201s running around.