June 2008
How do i become a Professional Race Driver?
Author: Daniel Charles, CEO, Global Racing Schools
Photo Courtesy of Emil Rensing,
This article will be split into lessons to shed some light into this age-long question issue so that aspiring drivers will know exactly how to get involved in the sport and ultimately achieve Motorsport greatness.
- Motorsports is Not for Anyone
This first thing that you have to learn is that Motorsport is not a sport that is for anyone. If you were to pick 10 guys off the streets and ask them if they’re involved in Motorsports, there will be a high chance that the answer will be ‘No‘. This is mainly because Motorsport carries a high level of entry barrier for beginners due to the cost and niche market. In order to get involved, you have to know someone or at the very least start to know someone to rope you into the sport. A good way is to ask around to see if you have any friends that do any form of racing and request to join them on their next track day or testing session. It is important to have connections because there are just so many things to be learnt in this sport and it is not something as easy as buying a car to drive it on track. There are many procedures to competitions and rules that needs someone to guide you through.
- Set Realistic Goals
The second thing you got to do is to set realistic goals. Professional racing is a Multi Billion dollar industry that Multi National Companies tap on to reach more customers and increase their profits. So when selecting a driver, they will naturally go for the most marketable choice to represent their brand.
Ask yourself: What is so special about you that someone will pay you to drive a car?
- Accumulate some Motorsport Racing Experiences
Thereafter, you’ll have to start doing some form of motorsport racing. The most affordable form of racing is Go-Karting. Do not underestimate Go-Karting as it is the fundamental step to racing. You cannot become a great race driver until you’ve mastered karting. Even professional drivers, use go karts to tune up their racing skills during the off season. There are many good karting schools on www.Globalracingschools.com that will be very helpful in coaching you the art of racing. These schools include Jim Hall Kart Racing School, Protrain Academy, Chiesa Course and many more.
After you have mastered karting, there will be many other avenues that will open up for you. You can build connections to people in the industry, get to know some professional drivers, opportunities to test race cars and so fore. This will be explain in further chapters.
Stay tuned for more articles that will go into specifics on the course of becoming a race car driver.
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Life of a Professional Racer Episode 2
This is the continuation for Life of a Professional Racer series. In this episode, follow us to track the life of Sean Edwards through the course of a typical race weekend. Get ready to be let into the behind the exhilarating scenes of professional racing!
Friday
The start of the racing weekend starts on friday with a qualifying session for the race on Sunday. Waking up as early as 6am in the monaco, Sean Edwards gets ready for his race both physically and mentally. It was a good day as the day was nice and dry but it will prove to be a potentially tricky circuit as Sean Edwards races on the Monaco Street Circuit for the very first time in the Porsche SuperCup.
Qualifying session started promptly at 9am. Right from the start the circuit proved to be a challenge that induced a minor driver error at the corner of “Casino Square” which lost some time for Sean. But being a seasoned driver, he quickly recovered from the incident and finished up the rest of the lap in stunning fashion to qualify an impressive 4th. After the qualifying session at about 10.30 time, it was time to head off to lunch in the special VIP Porsche Hospitality lounge. Not to mention, the food and service are top notch as the Monaco Grand prix is one of the most prestigious locations of the racing calender.
After lunch, it is back to work on the car with the mechanics to ensure everything is dialed in for Sunday’s race. And that means going through data collected from the session and analyzing it chart after chart. Finally at about 4, Sean Edwards completes his job for the day and head out for dinner and a night of party.
Partying in Monaco will not be complete without entering the VIP access of the Force India Party Yacht. Few will get to have this privilege as Sean parties with some of his close Formula 1 driver colleagues. The fun night comes to a close at 3am while Sean gets some rest.
Saturday
Saturday for Sean was relatively laid back as he didn’t have to head to the tracks. So it was off to do a little shopping in Monaco. Based in Monaco itself, this place is no stranger to him as he headed over to Carrefour to get some groceries just like any other person would. And ever so often, Sean will get a few Fans coming up to him for autographs and so will the pit girls. Then in the evening, it was time for dinner as the team had organized a Barbeque dinner back at the apartment to get together . Bonding with team mates and staff is very important as racing is a team sport and not a individual one. So good relationship and team work is needed to build a successful racing team.
Then its off to bed early at 10.30 as the race starts off at the crack of dawn the following day. Like any seasoned Professional Driver, Sean doesn’t feel the slightest bit of nervousness before the race on the following day.
Sunday
This is the day of the big race in Monaco and to everyone’s surprise, it was a very wet day. Expecting a large turnout for the event, the team makes a decision to head to the pits early so as to beat the traffic and get a head start to set up the car for the wet conditions. When it comes to racing at this professional level, it is absolutely critical the best possible effort is made to achieve a good race results for the team and team sponsors.
Sean and his team reached the track by 6.45 am and started to work on last minute data and strategies for the race itself. Although Sean is a relatively good wet driver, it is still the first time in Monaco and having a wet race with almost no visibility will really test Seans driving skills to its maximum.
The Race started promptly at 10.20 am with the Pit Girls dressed up in little Santa Claus outfits under the rain with umbrellas. After the start of the race, Sean immediately showed his skills as a driver as he viciously pushed Uwe Alzen to make a driver error in Lap 7 to clinch 3rd place. Fending off the seasoned Uwe for the rest of the race, Sean Edwards managed to finish the race in a very impressive 3rd place.
Race ended at 11.15am where the team celebrated on the victory before starting to pack the car. But just in the life of a professional driver, there is never a time to truly have spare time to party or celebrate as Sean had to make his way over to Spa, Belgium for a track day. Then upon reaching Belgium it was straight to the hotel and a dinner appointment with clients and potential sponsors.
Monday
Starting his day at 7am, Sean Edwards headed over to Spa, Belgium for the track day the started at 9am and finished at 5pm. The track day was the 2nd time for his client and it was in a Porsche 996 GT2 which sean already is an expert in. Using data analysis and making essential driver corrections, the day ended at 5 pm where the client’s lap time got deduced by 15 seconds in merely with the instruction from 1 day. This is exactly why clients keep coming back for more and even professional drivers seek the help of Sean for their driving careers
Then it was back to the hotel to rest up before heading over to France the following day.
Tuesday
Tuesday was an essential day for Sean and the Race team as they have to do a testing session at the Mangy Cour circuit in France ahead of the following race there on 22 June. It was a regular testing session using different set up and parts and at the same time to collect essential data about the car’s characteristics and handling on the track.
It was a wet test session so testing mainly focused on achieving higher grip levels and several wing settings. These testing sessions account for a good 60% of a driver’s time as there is just so many things that needs to be done before the team is ready to have a top performance before every race. So testing and having race strategy simulations are a troublesome task but critically essential one.
Testing session finished at 5 before Sean had to catch his plane back to England at 8pm. With classic driver skills , he made it with 5 mins to spare before the flight took off. Reaching England at 10.30pm, Sean headed home for some rest.
This is what happens during a typical weekend race for Sean and all professional drivers. It includes Public relations, testing sessions, track days and much more. Currently Sean is getting ready for his race in France on 22 june while all these starts all over again.
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