KERS to Be Used in Formula One in 2010?

Cutting costs has been one of the biggest topics in F1 recently and it has lead to radical changes in the regulations of both the 2009 and 2010 seasons. One of the biggest contradictions to the overall theme of cost cutting has been the implementation of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System.

Teams have spent large sums attempting to fine tune the new technology which harnesses the normally wasted kinetic energy during braking and converts it into an 80 horsepower boost at the push of a button on the driver’s steering wheel.

For 2009 this feature is optional, but claims that it would become mandatory for the 2010 season were at large earlier this year.

After a series of reliability and safety issues emerged this season due to the devices, Ferrari and McLaren became the only two teams still left with the desire and budget to run it.

It had been suggested that KERS would be abandoned at the end of the season but an article on the official F1 website outlining the new qualifying session layout suggests the contrary. At the end of the article the newly raised minimum weight rule is mentioned.

“Minimum car weight has been raised by 15kg to 620kg, to give teams running KERS more flexibility in terms of weight distribution and set-up, and tyre warmers will still be legal, despite previous talk of the heated blankets being banned.”

The text seems to suggest that KERS will again be an optional feature for the teams. The implementation of an optional KERS system not only goes against the spirit of cutting costs but it also makes for an unbalanced grid with some cars being able to leap to the front at the start of races like Ferrari and McLaren have displayed numerous times this season.

This will also decrease the overtaking opportunities by the cars not running the system as KERS has been used effectively as a defensive tool this season as well.

Why not eliminate KERS and with some of the money saved, allow a little more in season testing? Why not level the grid so that all cars have equal opportunities during the starts and during the races?

source:bleacher report

Driver In Focus: Jensen Button

Tuesday, 19th May 2009

The Development Years

Jensen Alexander Lyons Button was born on the 19th of January 1980 in Frome, Somerset.

The 29 year old Jenson Button is the son of a former racecar driver himself, John Button. Jensen Button started out racing like every other F1 driver, which was karting. He began training at the age of eight. In a kart bought by his father, Button was a natural talent. In his maiden debut in karting, he won the 1991 British Cadet Kart Championship. He did it amazingly by winning straight all the 34 races.

Jensen Button continued to race in the karting circle for a few more years before winning the European Super A Championship in 1997 which got him noticed and earned a place in the British Formula Ford Championship with Haywood Racing.

Lessons for F1 in NASCAR’s horror crash

By Keith Collantine

Carl Edwards’ crash in the closing stages of last weekend’s NASCAR race at Talladega has sparked debate among racing fans:
Was this just a freak accident in a championship that engineers crashes for the entertainment of its fans – or are there lessons here for Formula 1 too?
Racing for the lead with the chequered flag in sight, Edwards was tipped into a spin by rival Brad Keselowski, then launched in a terrifying flip by the onrushing car of Ryan Newman. The only thing keeping the 99 car from landing in the crowd was a row of safety fencing, and despite that seven fans were injured by a shower of debris.
F1 and NASCAR are as different as two motor sports can be. So it’s tempting to conclude that F1 could never see something similar to Edwards’ crash: the cars don’t race so close to each other, and there is much more run-off between the track and the spectators.

Perhaps. But the welcome sight this year of cars being able to race each other more closely raises the possibility of such a crash happening in F1 – consider Robert Kubica and Jarno Trulli’s collision at Shanghai.
And Bernie Ecclestone is increasingly keen on adding street races to the calendar. Again, this is no bad thing, as it may allow spectators to get closer to the action – but that brings an obvious added danger.
Among NASCAR commentators reaction to the crash has centred on the wisdom of allowing drivers to ‘block’ (i.e. defend) their position.

This has occasionally been a cause of concern in F1 as well, with driver being allowed to get away with some manoeuvres that seem exceptionally dangerous – Michael Schumacher’s infamous swerve at

Mika Hakkinen at Spa in 2000 being an especially infamous example.
When the FIA is so preoccupied with improving safety by cutting cornering speeds and neutering circuits, it defies belief when drivers are allowed to go unpunished for such actions.

But in NASCAR’s case I don’t think driving standards is the real culprit. This crash again questions the wisdom of ‘restrictor plate racing’. These devices are mandated by NASCAR at larger ovals like Talladega and Daytona to limit speeds but also guarantee the racing pack remains close.
The Talladega race has spawned a cult following among fans eager to witness ‘The Big One’ – a huge multi-car collision that inevitably occurs, often involving dozens of cars. But this time it was fans that paid the price – and had Edwards’ car gone a metre or two one way or another the carnage might have been unimaginable.
Since Ayrton Senna’s death 15 years ago today, F1 has seized every opportunity to examine and improve its safety preparations. It’s important that includes observing how other motor sports handle major accidents like this, and how well their safety procedures coped.
Had NASCAR taken note of lessons learned by rival championships a decade ago, it might not have lost one of its most famous drivers, Dale Earnhardt, in a last-lap crash at Daytona 2001.
Perhaps the Edwards crash couldn’t happen in F1. But safety isn’t about leaving things to chance.

Source: http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk

Driver in Focus: Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel (born July 3, 1987 in Heppenheim) is a German race car driver. He drives for Red Bull Racing having replaced former driver David Coulthard.

Vettel first drove in a proper racetrack when he was 5 and joined the mini class kart league when he was 7. It wasn’t far long that he reached his first victory in Wittgenborn. At 9, he was looking for a long term sponsoring, and joined Red Bull Junior Team.

In the next year, won his first german title and later he achieved many other titles through his 8 years in karting: He won four times the North Rhine-Westphalia Cup, won the DMV Kartmeisterschaft, the Kerpen-Manheim Cup, the Monaco Kart Cup, Kart Paris-Bersi Cup, the ICA Junior European Championship and the German Junior Kart Championship

Motorsports – Making our cars better, faster, SAFER.

By: Peri Witney

But one particular movie stood out because of its plot. The car joins the Monte Carlo rally. As a precocious little kid, I also recall asking my parents what rallying meant? And my mother, who instilled in me the discipline of doing research at an early age told me, “Dear, why don’t you look it up at the dictionary?” That was how I found out about rallying as a sport, which has flourished to this day.

And there are more interesting facts that I have discovered about the sport of rallying. Its origin can be traced back to the 1894 Paris-Rouen Horseless Carriage Competition when people who have their own visions of what a “horseless carriage” should look like entered the contest and winners were ascertained by the judges who rode in each car.

Brain Integration Techniques For Massive Success on Track!

If you are a driver or a coach here is a simple technique that you should know to help you get the best results possible!

1) Brain Integration Technique For Massive Performance Improvement!

This article is going to demonstrate one way that will help your driving immediately – low impact, super easy exercise that focuses totally on the mind and integration of your brain.

Firstly, what’s the basic idea behind brain integration?

Just like we have a dominant hand (either left or right handed) we also have a dominant side of our brain (either left or right hemisphere) and although we can function at a very high level operating from one half of our brain it does not give us the full picture.

That is where brain integration comes into play. If we can activate both the right and left hemispheres of our brain it helps us to get into the zone so that we are able to drive the car at the unconscious level.

Driving the car at the unconscious level is super important for slashing seconds off your lap times. There are several ways to train your brain to react at the unconscious level however today we are going to focus on brain integration.

Below is an activity that will begin to integrate your brain, help you to relax and ultimately reduce your lap times.

Easy Activity 1: Cross Crawls This first exercise for brain integration is very simple and can be practiced anywhere (do it often – a couple of times a day). Especially do it just before you jump in your car for practice or the race.

While standing, raise your right leg, bending it at the knee, and bring your left arm over and touch the right knee. Return to standing. Then raise your left leg and touch the knee with your right hand. Return to standing, and then continue, alternating sides. You will find yourself marching in one place while alternately touching your knees with your opposite hand.

With the exercise you can alternate the pace that you do it at to achieve different results. If you slow it down you will find it puts more stress on your sense of balance, improving it over time. If you speed it up (until you are almost running on the spot), it can be used as a pre-race warm up as well as the all important brain integration exercise.

Brain integration is an essential part of development and co-ordination, it is integral when babies are first learning to crawl as they are also integrating their brain with the cross crawl movement!

Now if you practice these brain integration activities for a minimum of 2 minutes each morning. 2 minutes each evening and definitely for 2 minutes before you jump into the race car, I promise you you will see some astonishing results.

Alright how simple is that? But it is also super powerful!

Practice this exercise – get into the habit of doing it and start noticing the difference!

Source: f1driversecrets.com

F1 new tires explained

You know what they say (or rather Goodyear said in its ad’s in the 60’s) “Where the rubber meets the road.” And that is indeed one of the most critical interactions in F1. Tires have always played a huge roll in F1, and while some new rules have slightly diminished that importance, the talk in the paddock during practice is always about the tires and how to find more grip.

In the past, teams were free to run whatever brand of tires they wanted, provided the size of the tire meet basic requirements. The start of the modern ‘tire war’ in F1 was in 2001, when Michelin entered F1 to challenge the then monopoly of Bridgestone.

In physics terms, all tires work basically the same. The idea is to create a tire that will have high friction in all directions. You need longitudinal grip (along the direction the tire rolls) for good acceleration and braking, and lateral grip (sideways) for cornering. Your typical street tire accomplishes this through mechanical friction. The more rubber that touches the road, the better as far as grip is concerned. So you may wonder why your street tires have various grooves and slots; the “tread pattern”. The street tire is designed with the voids to channel away water (and snow and mud) from coming between the tread block (the part that touches the road) and the pavement, which helps to avoid hydroplaning. Hydroplaning happens when water builds up between the pavement and the tread block, leading to a loss of traction.

F1 2009 Preview: Brawn, Ferrari Fast, McLaren Searching

By: Kyle Lavigne

New rules, new races, new cars, new technology…new season! The 2009 Formula 1 Season will commence this weekend in Melbourne Australia after, arguably, the most radical changes in formula the sport has ever seen.

Sure, we’ve had preseason testing to gauge how teams are doing, but that isn’t always the most accurate of portrayals. In 2001, the Prost team was very quick all through testing. However, that was because they ran the car underweight, hoping their appearance near the top of the time sheets would attract sponsors.

Once the season started, they added weight to the car (to make it legal) dropped to the back, eventually falling off the grid entirely.

Of course, preseason testing is all we have to bank on right now, and many a headline has been made throughout the winter. So, what do we have to look forward to this season? Who might be slated to do what? Who could potentially make headlines (whether good or bad) this season?

Brawn GP: Are they for Real?

It appeared that Formula 1 was dangerously close to losing a second team in less than 12 months (Super Aguri shut down last May). That is, until Ross Brawn (one of the masterminds behind the dominance of Michael Schumacher) formally bought into the outfit.
Author Poll

They were saved…and that was enough to make us all happy. Surely, they would simply take up Honda’s usual spot near the back of the field right?

Hold on though. They may have gotten a late start in testing, but the BGP001 has been a rocket straight out of the gate, topping several sessions over the past month.

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming. Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone did. But, perhaps it shouldn’t be that much a surprise. Their car has been in the works longer than anyone’s, and Ross Brawn’s technical mastery did touch this piece.

Sure, it is only testing, and we won’t know the full capabilities of the car until Melbourne (or afterward, given the recent Diffuser row). All the same, it is has been a sensational month for Brawn GP, and they have won over many a heart for those who love pulling for the underdogs.

If their testing pace proves truthful, watch for Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello to not only have a resurgence, but to potentially contend for a title.

No one knows what will come of this operation

But one thing is for certain. With a team that was believed to be all but dead, a car always assumed to be as sluggish as the previous chassis, two drivers many believed to have past their best days. The latest start of all the teams, they could be the Cinderella story of the year. What a joy it would be to see them stun the big dogs!

Ferrari Confident, McLaren Confused

As has been the norm, Ferrari produced a very competitive piece. Mother Nature did her best to hinder the team’s development, throwing all things rain and sand at them, preventing them from showing what the car may truly be capable of.

However, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa exude a quiet confidence that suggests they will be strong again this year. One shouldn’t be completely shocked here, as Ferrari is always a team that is near the top of the time sheets.

What is surprising is the obvious lack of pace from the new McLaren. Sure, Heikki Kovalainen did turn the fastest lap of all during the final Jerez session, but the car lingered at the back for so long that it has eyebrows raised in concern over in Woking.

It is very clear that the McLaren is lacking speed, and team principal Martin Whitmarsh has admitted such. However, this could be a test for reigning champ Lewis Hamilton.

Many believe that the truly great drivers can win with a car that is not fast enough to do so; transcending the car’s capabilities by dragging it up the grid has been a defining aspect of the abilities of Senna, Schumacher, etc.

One of the big arguments against Hamilton has been that he has driven one of the best (if not the best) cars on the grid; he is a product of the team, not of sublime driving ability.

This year, he won’t have the luxury of driving one of the best pieces. If he can manage to take the MP4/24 and thrust it into podiums, or even a win, in the first few races, then he will cement himself as a top tier driver whose success is because of his talent, not the car the he drives.

A championship may not beckon this year, but a chance to prove his real worth is. Keep an eye on him and how he handles the adversity to come.

BMW, Toyota Aim for Title, Renault Hope for More Alonso Magic

BMW Sauber has been tabbed as a potential title contender since last year. In each season under the leadership of Mario Thiessen, the German-Swiss operation has set and matched every goal they’ve set out: regular points in ’06, podiums in ’07, and a win in ’08.

Now, they’ve set their eyes on the big prize: a world championship. Like the boys at Ferrari, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica seem confident that their car will be fast, and their KERS is ready to race, which could give them a huge advantage.

On the flip side, the Renault piece has a fair many naysayers. Many believe (myself included) that the Renault’s successes this offseason (and late last season) were a result of Fernando Alonso’s driving brilliance, and the car’s true pace can be seen from Nelson Piquet’s times.

What’s more, Flavio Briatore is the head of those of challenging the diffusers on the Toyota, Brawn, and Williams cars. So, they may garner more attention from off-track antics than on-track success.

This is a very critical year for the Renault team; ING is pulling its funding after this year, and they’ll need to be fast to attract new sponsors (and keep Alonso, who has been reported to eye a spot at Ferrari). It could be “do or die’ this year for the French operation.

Toyota, Red Bull Eye Improvements

For all the funding each of these teams has had over the years, the results they have produced have been disappointing.

Aside from a simply remarkable 2005 season, Toyota hasn’t done anything noteworthy, a bad statement against them given their lucrative budget. On the contrary, the Red Bull cars have been quick, but they’ve always been very fragile.

However, Toyota says ’09 could (or should) bring a break through win, which is believed necessary in order to assure them a place on the grid permanently.

Red Bull, and Toro Rosso by extension, may have the best looking car on the grid this year, and have certainly turned heads based on aesthetics. Add in Sebastian Vettel’s presence in the “A Team,” and Red Bull has the potential to rocket up the grid this year.

However, the car hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire, and reliability may be a question mark (again). Plus, the Toro Rosso team may fall back, given Vettel’s departure and entrance of rookie Sebastien Buemi.

As I mentioned earlier, the basis for any confidence or doubt in teams is a result of testing, which has proven to be unreliable in the pas. The season remains impossible to predict at this point, and we won’t know, for sure, who is capable of what until Melbourne. However, this year will be a lot of fun to watch.

With that, the 2009 Formula 1 season beckons.

Source: bleacherreport.com

Formula 1’s virtual reality

By: JOE SAWARD

The decision to ban all circuit testing in the Formula 1 season was designed to save the teams money. For the big teams, however, the battle has simply moved from the race tracks to the factories where advanced simulation technology will take over from actual running. Teams these days are using an arfray of different tools to make the cars go faster. These include highly-advanced rolling-road wind tunnels, transient dynos and seven-post rigs. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is developing fast. The goal of all of these expensive items is to ensure that the racing cars are as competitive as possible – and as reliable. But simulation techniques in Formula 1 are now beginning to go far beyond that. Computers crunch away to work out every conceivable race strategy and increasingly the teams are realising the value of what are known as “driver-in-the-loop simulators”. This means that rather than engineers playing with computers, as happens with other simulation, the F1 drivers sit in “virtual” F1 cars and drive them.

There may be a belief that the F1 simulators are simply glorified computer games, which have a limited value in teaching drivers circuits that they have never visited, but the story is much more complicated than that.

Simulator technologies came to Formula 1 first because teams recognised that they could make money by working with computer gaming companies in order to create entertainment for the public. The first racing computer game was Gran Trak 10, a single-player racing arcade game released by Atari in 1974. The first big success was Pole Position, a Namco game in which a player had to complete a lap in a certain amount of time in order to qualify for a race at the Fuji Speedway. If successful the car would race with other cars. As home computers developed in the 1980s the first true F1 game appeared, called Formula One Grand Prix (F1GP), which was released in 1992. Nowadays you can sit at home and drive F1 cars, playing with many different parameters such as the fuel loads, tyre wear and so on. But home computers can only do so much. One may have a steering wheel and pedals, but there are none of the real sensations of what it is really like to drive an F1 car.

Formula 1 engineers began to realise that advanced simulation could be a tool not just for driver training, but also to work on technical solutions and set-up conundrums. Simulation can improve lap times and save time and money by giving the team a way to test without needing to put the cars on the race track. Virtual testing is now a reality.

One of the problems with simulators is that some of them induce sickness because of a discrepancy between the perception of visual motion and the corresponding motion cues. This led engineers to look at ways to overcome the problem and to the development of what are called dynamic simulators, which have the entire hexapod moving around to meet the body’s need for the sensation of real motion.

The bottom line is that there is no such thing as a standard simulator. Each one is a prototype and the most interesting element in their use in F1 is that most of the systems have been developed in-house by the teams, rather than being developed with specialist partnerships. One thing that is clear is that the experts on simulators have also been moving as teams realise the value of what they do not have.

There is general agreement that the two best systems at the moment are the two that have had the most development: McLaren is believed to have spent as much as $40m on its system and used British Aerospace technology, developed for the Eurofighter aircraft. At Woking the driver sits in a full-size F1 monocoque, in front of a large, curved plasma screen. The whole device is mounted on a hexapod which moves around an area about the size of a professional basketball court, in response to the driver’s steering and pedal input. This is the only dynamic F1 simulator in F1 at the moment.

Up to now Ferrari has been using a fairly simple unit, which is housed at the Fiat Research Centre in Turin. The team had recently announced a partnership with the US firm Moog. This will be the very latest dynamic device.

“The dynamic driving simulator is a new step for us in developing virtual tests that give drivers the true feel of a real environment and direct feedback on their actions,” says Scuderia Ferrari’s head of R&D Marco Fainello. “It will support the new breed of tests we are planning to launch.”

What is clear is that the teams believe that the F1 simulators are the most advanced of all.

“I think they are better than the best flight simulators,” says Red Bull Racing’s Geoff Willis. “Those are now more about training and not so much about performance.”

Since the end of 2006 an astonishing 30m Wiis have been sold. They cost around $250, which means that it is a $7.5bn market. The first company to get to the markets with simulation technology as is seen in F1 stands to make even bigger profits. In the meantime money can still be made. Recently the Costa cruise ship line bought a series of F1 simulators from a Dutch company called VESC to try to attract customers (mainly Italians) to its ships.

The fullscale machines, complete with hexapods, are now cruising the world.

Source: grandprix.com

How to Become a Race Car Driver

Car racing is an exciting sport to watch and even more exciting when you are the one racing at dangerous speeds around a track, trying to be first. If you want to learn how to become a race car driver, read the following steps.

Step 1
Decide what kind of car racing you want to do, whether it’s Nascar racing, open wheel racing, drag racing or another type of car racing.

Step 2
Learn all you can about the type of racing you want to do. Read books, magazines, search the Internet and watch races on television and in person. Learn about every aspect of racing, not just driving. The more knowledge you have about racing, the better prepared you will be.

Step 3
Visit racetracks and talk to anyone involved in the sport. Drivers, crew members, mechanics, track officials and owners all have lots of information to share. This can also allow you to make new friends and connections in the racing world.

Step 4
Work at a racetrack or with a racing team. Sell tickets, clean the track, clean cars or car parts, run errands or even become a crew member. Working jobs like these can help you learn even more about racing from different perspectives.

Step 5
Attend one of many racing schools around the country that teaches the type of racing you want to do. Race schools teach you the mechanics, basics and advanced methods of race car driving.

Step 6
Start racing through a school series, which is cheaper than professional racing circuits. You may need a sponser unless you have plenty of financial backing.

Step 7
Drive a race car any chance you get. Every time you get behind the wheel equals more experience and training for you.

Source: ehow.com

Interview with the Iceman – Kimi Räikkönen

By: Joe Saward

Kimi Raikkonen is not a man who gives away much in his interviews. It is, by all accounts, a calculated decision. His friends will tell you that he is not at all like his public persona. That he is a funny and interesting guy, when he is not in the spotlight. But put him in front of a journalist or in a press conference and he clams up. It is a means of defence.

Some argue that Kimi was born in the wrong era. He is a party animal but inhabits a world where his partying creates bad headlines and so he hides himself away and tries not to be too interesting. Some of its exploits seem rather amusing. He appeared in a motorboat race a while again (so they say) in a gorilla suit. It is said that sometimes he will race under the name of “James Hunt”, the hell-raiser Formula 1 World Champion from the 1970s, who was clearly someone with whom Raikkonen feels an affinity.

Kimi’s lack of communication helps and hinders the Finn. He gets fewer requests for interviews because people think he is dull. It may be the wrong impression but Kimi does not really care what people think. He is doing it to protect himself.

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali says that Raikkonen lives on “a different planet” to the rest of the world. That seems like a fair assessment.

“I like to keep my things in my own private life,” Raikkonen says. “I don’t want to show it to people.”

The last 12 months have been tough for Raikkonen.

Having won the World Championship in 2007, he found himself outpaced and outshone in 2008 by his Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa. Kimi had some misfortunes with reliability and lost races that he should have won. In Montreal he was hit from behind by Lewis Hamilton in a pitlane accident.

In the midseason Kimi seemed to lose his way. Some thought his motivation was gone and rumours began to grow that Ferrari would drop him at the end of the year. There was talk of Fernando Alonso. But Ferrari confirmed that Raikkonen will stay for two more years. There is still talk about Alonso one day going to Ferrari, but for now the team and Raikkonen say that all is well.

“I am enjoying it at Ferrari,” he says. “But you enjoy it more when you win. My feelings have not changed. I have not lost the motivation. If I did not want to be in F1 I would be gone. This is a great team. I made the right choice to come to Ferrari and hopefully I will be stronger this year, but I am enjoying myself here. I could not get the car how I liked, but I want to win as much as before.”

Raikkonen will try to the Ferrari F60 for the first time on Monday in Portugal but Massa, who gave the car its first shakedown runs at Mugello, says he has a positive feeling about the car.

“It will be very different from last year,” says Kimi. “We will see how the tests go. I drove slicks in Formula Renault and I tested them on the Ferrari before Christmas. It felt quite good.”

How much input has he had on the design process after last season’s troubles?

“Well, we worked all last year,” he says, “but I wanted something slightly different. It is hard to make big changes in the season. For sure there are ideas that came from last year. Next week we will see how it has worked. The tyres are going to make a big difference. These are the biggest changes in F1 for many years so we will get a better idea next week. Hopefully it will improve the racing. It is difficult this year for teams to get it all together before the season begins because we don’t have much time.”

Does he think he was unlucky in 2007 and that the perception of his performance is not the correct assessment of what happened.

“I made mistakes and the team made mistakes,” he said. “That is how things are in racing. I don’t know whether luck is involved. It is up to me and the guys around me to get the best out of the car. Sometimes there is good luck, sometimes not. If it is something to do with luck then hopefully this year we will get it! I made some wrong choices, but really there is no point in talking about last year. It does not change anything. I am not going to promise anything for this year. I will do the best that I can and I hope to be back on the top of the podium.” Raikkonen says that Ferrari will probably be his last Formula 1 team.

“I am happy here, I want to stay. I have a contract for this year and next year, but there is always speculation.”

One of the things that he does not want to talk about is his salary. He is believed to be the highest-paid Formula 1 driver with a deal that is now worth $50m a year because of the shift in exchange rates. It is a huge sum of money, but was negotiated at a time when there was no recession.

What does he think about salary caps?

“I don’t want to get involved in that,” he says.

The reality is that he has nothing to gain from talking about money. Such massive salaries seem almost obscene at a time when many people in the sport are losing their jobs. It is not sensible to get involved in such dialogue.

That is Kimi. He avoids controvery where he can and lives in his own world.

“It is not an easy world at the moment,” he concedes. “Not easy for F1.”

He is much happier to talk about his forthcoming involvement in the Arctic Rally in Finland

“I am very happy that the team let me do it,” he said. “It is fun for me. I think it will be good fun.”

Would he race more things if he could? Like the F1 drivers in years gone by, who were happy to race anything and everything?

“I have lots of hobbies that are not the safest things,” he says. “I try not to take risks. Racing is good practice. It is always going to help. It is not a bad thing. I am happy to be able to do the rally.”

( Source: Grandprix.com)

Fitness in Motor Sports Today

By Ilya Feynberg
The Ferrari F1 team spends a little over $1 million a season to make sure that their drivers are in peak physical condition….

Mclaren Mercedes F1 spends $2 million on various programs, trainers, and in house gym’s, all to make sure that their drivers can not only endure, but excel in the most demanding conditions possible……the race car…

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart has a personal trainer that goes everywhere Tony does….

Yet, somehow the “non-pro” driver seems to totally miss the mark when it comes to realizing the incredible impact that fitness has on his/her performance on track. While many aspiring drivers easily see the steps that high profile teams and drivers take to make sure that they are in top physical condition to race, very few seem to understand why, and most importantly why they too should take part in something that can so dramatically improve their driving that the world’s best teams spend millions on.

The demands of modern racing are not for the faint of heart, that’s why only a few excel at the sport. One very linear and constant variable that you’ll find throughout the whole field of top drivers, whether NASCAR or Formula 1, is that the best drivers are always the most fit. Why do they have to be fit? Simple, because if their not, the demands that racing exerts on the human body will drive them to failure on track….literally. With cockpit temperatures easily exceeding 125 degrees Fahrenheit (or 52 degrees Celsius), up to 5 g’s during turns, and braking that will have you looking at your knees within a second and you start to realize that the demands of modern motor sport are a lot like those of running a marathon with some space shuttle adventures mixed in.

You don’t have to be in the pro ranks to understand the need for fitness in the motor sports arena. You can feel it for yourself every time you race, and witness it from the sidelines. Whether you race just for fun at local track events or are a future world champion, fitness will play a very critical role in your ability to perform consistently on track.

Becoming fit to race and increasing a drivers performance on track is not an easy task but a necessary one for any driver. There are four main areas of fitness that a driver must look into to and create a training program out of. These are:

Cardiovascular fitness

This area of physical conditioning is without doubt one of the most crucial to increasing a driver’s fitness level and on track performance. Cardiovascular fitness refers to improving the overall fitness of the lungs and heart, which in turn gives those vital organs the ability of taking in higher levels of oxygen and essential nutrients to the proper muscles far more efficiently. Cardiovascular exercise also greatly increases the strength and overall tone of the skeletal structure.

Endurance Training

Structuring an endurance training program as a driver can be of great benefit if done properly. Endurance programs for driver’s can be a tricky area of training as it requires a very considerable amount of time, planning and carries the possibility of increased risk of injury. However, since muscle and respiratory fitness as well as endurance during long and hot (or cold) races are what the aim is….it could be a program that’s incorporated into a fitness regime. In turn, you will reap the benefits of the extra hard work put it.
Weight Training

Weight training is the form of exercise that develops strength and size of the muscles in the skeletal structure. While it is the most common form of resistance training, it is not the only form. Weight training focuses on the strength and growth of the muscles needed to drive and control a race car from start to finish. This area of fitness is very important. Cardiovascular training alone is not enough to develop muscles and to instill the right amount of endurance into them. However, weight training programs for racers must be structured differently as the goal is not size, weight gain and mass brute strength. The goal is to develop the muscle so that it can withstand constant abuse and work throughout the entire race weekend at peak levels.

Mental Training

As if physical training and conditioning wasn’t overlooked enough by racers in the motor sports arena…mental training is even more of a hidden secret. Developing and perfecting the right mental mindset is critical and not an easy task to tackle. Proper mind set up is not only curial to stand up to the pressures of the sport, but also to simply get into shape. The mind is a very powerful wonder that can become a great asset to a driver’s efforts, or become his/her worst enemy. From the first run down the dirt trail for your cardio, the last repetition in your weight training routine to the final lap of the race weekend…mental fitness plays a much larger role then meets the eye.

If you’re still not convinced that proper physical conditioning plays a major role in the performance level of a driver and are not currently involved in any training programs specific to racing, then go out for a race among fit and successful drivers…..I promise you that your mind will change half way through the race weekend.

Training To Work Among NASCAR Motorsports Finest

By: James Brown

A garage technician might have big dreams of working around NASCAR racecars but will keep those dreams in check because they know they are not trained to work on that equipment or any other high performance engines for that matter. The typical garage mechanic might be able to repair a street model automobile, but it takes a lot of training to work among motorsports finest.

The automobiles that are part of the NASCAR motorsports realm are not the everyday automobile. They might fall under automobile manufacturing names that are well known throughout the automobile industry but they are not the kind that are easy to care for in a local garage. The engines used are tooled to be precision instruments that are capable of achieving over 200 miles per hour in the stretch. To enable the engines to maintain those speeds requires the care and expertise of a graduate of the NASCAR automotive schools.

Experience Go Kart Racing

3 Easy Ways To Get More Money For Racing!

By Frederick Musser

Most types of racing have a beginners class which is less expensive of course than the premium classes, but… you still have pit passes to buy, fuel, routine maintenance, food, etc…

So what is the easiest way to get more money for racing?

• Online Auctions (eBay) Buy and Sell Your Items: . . . . .Most everyone has stuff laying around the house or garage that they just do not need any more.
  Sell it on eBay. With a little practice and the right stuff to sell you can make a nice little profit
  to add to your racing venture.

  Find great racing deals on eBay to save yourself even more money, find tools, haulers, engines, safety equipment, racing parts, and the list goes on and on and on and on – Stretch those racing dollars even more.

• Trade Or Provide Your Service: . . . . .What do you know how to do? Weld, paint, re-build engines, make vinyl letters, chassis set up?Sell or trade your services to others and take the money and add it to your racing fund. One guy in our area does race car repair for wrecked race cars, he makes a nice little profit. Another guy in the area builds chassis and roll cages in his spare time, another sells vinyl racing letters, another scales in cars for a small fee.There are many services needed in the racing community, what could you do that other people need? With people’s hectic no time lifestyles many racers would gladly trade or pay you for your expertise.
• Get A Sponsorship: . . . . .Ahhh, the good old racing sponsorship if only it was that easy. Let’s face it in a trying economy
  many businesses just don not have the extra money for that kind of advertising – OR – Do they?

  So how do you get really great sponsorships? ASK – contact friends and neighbors if their places of employment might like to sponsor you. You may get some NO’s but you may very well get some yeses as well. Ask any salesman and they will tell you that it is just a numbers game.
  ASK, ASK, and ASK again.

  A sponsorship does not have to be all about money either – What if you could get some free stuff, that is less money that you would have to spend anyway? Free oil, free tires, free gas, free lettering, free trailer to use, more, more, more. Just be creative when you are proposing a sponsorship.

  The most important thing to remember is to take care of your sponsor - Do what you said you would do.

Prepare yourself with as much information as you can when pursuing the examples in this article and be creative in your attempts and above all always be professional and serious in what you do.

Honda Shuts Down F1 Team in Stunning Move

By: Dirk Gibson

The financial crisis around the world has been touted in the news. Of course, many feel we are only really starting to see the actual effect on the ground. With the announcement that Honda will close its Formula One team, the auto industry is starting to show the effects.

Technically, Honda is going to try to sell its Formula One operation before closing it. Given the current economic environment, it seems highly unlikely that a private investor can be found to keep the team afloat. The powers that be at Honda seem to realize this, particularly since they have given only a 30 day window for the sale to occur.

US Racing Industry Not Showing Signs of Slow Down

By: Steven Cole Smith
When race driver Ken Schrader began his NASCAR Sprint Cup career 20 years ago, money was not the issue it is now.

The per-cost race then to rent a car from an established car owner was “$3,000, and a set of tires,” Schrader said.

Now, unless you have about $15 million in sponsorship money for the season, don’t bother.

As it is most everywhere, the economy is the hot topic at the 21st Annual Performance Racing Industry trade show, which runs through Saturday at the Orange County Convention Center. The show, which is not open to the public, is for racers and others involved in the industry.
“Orlando becomes the center of the racing universe for three days each December,” said Bob Davis, global-communications manager for Sunnen, a St. Louis manufacturer of gauges and tools. The show moved from Indianapolis to Orlando in 2005, and is contracted to stay here through 2016.

Life of a professional Racer Episode 5

This article is about learning to market yourself as a driver so as to project your talents and skills for potential sponsors. Many drivers are lacking in funds for their racing careers and many of them do not know how to properly go about trying to find sponsors. In the end, most will end up either frustrated and disheartened or broke from racing. While learning to find the potential sponsors for his career, Sean Edwards has learnt the perfect formula to creating interest in his racing and earning the financial rewards to take him further in his career. Sean Edwards shares with us what are some ways to improve your chances of getting sponsored.

Here are the steps that a driver should take if they want to promote themselves as professional drivers for sponsors:

1) Build a website

This is arguably the most important marketing aspect of being a driver. You have to treat your skills and career like a marketable product or company. Imagine a company with a wonderful set of products that doesn’t have a website or any means for customers to get in contact with for purchase. How do you think the company will fair? Sure, people that know the owners of the company can actively spread word of mouth and give great testimonials about the products of the company, but that will be very limited. Without a website to update your readers and potential sponsors about your latest racing results or thoughts, no one will be interested to sponsor you because there is just no interest.

So start by building a website and add quality content about yourself. Be sure to include the following:

1. Pictures of yourself and every race that you enter
2. News of your racing results, team and other gossips that you might be able to share with the public
3. Contact details on how to get in touch with you or your public relations representative
4. Miscellaneous videos of you and other aspects of your life. The public loves to know what goes on in your life so let them know. Take videos of the pit areas, conversations with the crew or any other information that you feel the outside world will not know about.
5. Provide incentives for people that read your websites. For example you could provide a lucky draw for complimentary tickets to your next race.

Sean Edwards has a website that he actively updates with videos, pictures and quotes from himself and fellow drivers. In this way, he is able to connect to his audience about what is the latest news and results from him. Sponsors will not need to spend time searching for the progress and it serves as a good platform for sponsors to contact him too.

2) Develop a positive public image

It may seem that at lower levels of racing when there is not much attention on you that maintaining a positive public image is not important. It may be true at that point of time but when you climb up higher the career ladder, these things may come back and haunt you. So develop a positive public image to show the public about your personal life.

1. Always be well dressed in public
2. Gain publicity by attention events and doing charity work. Add these event and work pictures and content on your website for publication
3. If you are comfortable with a certain brand, use it all the time. Do not brand hop. For example, if you like nike, use 90% of nike goods and do not use a range. When sponsors see that it is easy for them to pick up from where you are. So if you feel there is a good chance of getting sponsored by red bull, then drink it all the time.

3) Offer Driver training Services

One of the best ways to earn financial rewards from being a driver is that your audience will automatically think that you are a better driver than themselves. Sean Edwards offers his services about 2 years ago and now his clients have been part of sponsoring him too.

When his clients learn from him, they will be drawn by the amount of knowledge that he has imparted onto them. So in other words, his clients are already convinced he is a great driver and will not hesitate to invest to sponsor him for 2 reasons:

• He is now a friend as initial contact has been established
• He has proven he is a great driver which will signal great opportunity.

Use these 3 techniques that Sean Edwards has shared with you to bring your racing career to the next level by maintaining a high level of exposure for yourself and your racing  career.

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Life of a Professional Racer Episode 4

While trying to achieve the best of your skills in racing, there will always be high points and low points in everyone’s career. And sometimes when the low points of your races come about, learning to deal with it and learn from, is something that if dealt with properly would be able to help propel the driver to higher levels of motivation to aim for success in the next race.

During the Hungary 2008 GP, Sean Edwards was in that exact situation. Just a few races ago, he has made great progress by reaching the podium several times and also clinching a few wins too. So coming into Hungary, spirits were high and confidence was booming for both driver and team.

The week-end got off to a great start with Sean ending up in 7th during practice as the car and circuit adapted very well. But during qualifying, the team didn’t get the desired set up thus relegating Sean down to 16th for the starting grid.

“We thought we had it dialed in during practice but somehow in qualifying that just wasn’t the case for us so we’ll just try to do our best in the race.” Sean Edwards expressed as he prepared for the race ahead. Learning to look at the positive side of the situation during an unexpected poor performance is critical especially when the event is not over. If Sean Edwards had given up after qualifying and didn’t try to make the best of his situation, he may not even have wanted to start the race on sunday as the chances of podium looks so bleak.

The team, not letting this bad start dampen their spirits worked hard all night to prepare the cars which paid off as Sean got off to a great start in the race making up around 4 places off the line! Sean then made his way past a few cars and that’s when he started attacking Armindo, unfortunately for Sean, Armindo kept blocking him and closing the door. Armindo braked a bit early at turn 12 and Sean tried to take advantage of this by diving to the inside. But that proved to be a race ending mistake. Sean explained later “I tried to avoid contact by going over the curb, but that just launched me into the side of him and put me out of the race with broken suspension.”

Learning from this important lesson, Sean has accepted that sometimes things like this do happen. Drivers will never give way and you’ll be stuck in the situation so every overtaking move must be well calculated before executing it. But instead of blaming Armindo or his own overtaking move, Sean has decided to focus on the race ahead in Valencia as Hungury would be a weekend that the team will like to forget.

“ I can’t wait to go to Valencia to start the race and score a good result. I do admit Hungary wasn’t the best race of my career, but that is not my concern now as learning from my mistakes and making process is what i’m more interested in.” With a never say die attitude, Sean looks ahead to the coming race with excitement. With just 1 more week to go, drivers and teams has been intensively testing and trying on new set ups and prospects look good for Valencia to score another podium.

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Life of a Professional Racer Episode 3

Nutrition and dieting is one component of developing a professional racing driving that many people don’t know about. But the truth is that professional racers spend as much time keeping their body in prime physical condition as they do in the race car itself.

The reason? Because the strain on the body from the high G forces can serious cause a lack of concentration as the body begins to fatigue. And in a race that can mean the difference between high sustained concentration or struggling focus that may lead to a deadly crash.

For Sean Edwards, working out and going on a strict diet routine is absolutely critical. Lets take a look and inside on what goes on during a typical workout day for Sean Edwards:

8:00am

Time to wake up and get the body functioning by going for a morning swim. A swim or any other form of endurance exercise in the morning will force the body to burn up store energy in the body. And since the body has just woken up from a 8 hour starvation period ( Sleep) then in order to find the energy for the exercise, the body will burn fat which would be the goal of the early workout.

Morning exercise options:
1)Swim 30 laps
2)Cycle 10 km
3)Run 5 km

10:00am

By now the body will be exhausted from the morning exercise which means it is time for a hearty breakfast. Nutrition is most critical within 1 hour after the exercise period as it is often referred to as the “Golden hour” where the body will be able to easily absorb all the nutrition that is being provided with.

Morning Breakfast Options:

1)1 bowl of oats with 1 banana and a glass of soy milk
2)French toast with coffee
01:00pm

This would be time for the second meal of the day. This meal will require high levels of carbohydrate and protein to sustain the body for the rest of the day.

Meal Options:

1)Salmon with mash potatoes
2)Chicken breast sandwich
3)Steak with mash potatoes

04:00pm

As the evening approaches, it is time for Sean Edward’s second workout of the day. It will involve resistance training so as to condition the muscles for the G forces that the body will experience.
He will choose from either one of these workout plans:

Workout 1:

• Bench Press ( 4 x 20)
• Shoulder Press (4 x 20)
• Pull ups ( 4 x 10)
• Crunches ( 4 x 25)
• Medicine ball crunches ( 2 x 15)

Workout 2:

• Squat ( 4 x 14)
• Deadlift ( 4 x 15)
• Good Mornings ( 4 x 15)
• Medicine ball crunches ( 4 x 10)

06:00 pm:

For the post workout meal, it is essential that high levels of protein is taken to help in the muscle recovery process:

Meal options:

Protein shake and banana
Egg Sandwich and milk

09:00pm

As the day comes to a close, the body’s metabolism rates starts to slow and before heading off to bed, it is important to load up on protein and carbohydrate so as to allow the body to have the nutrients to sustain the recovery process during rest.

Meal Options:

Bread with peanut butter and milk
Chicken breast sandwich
Tuna Sandwich

That concludes a day of training in the life of a professional racer. Stay tuned for the next episode.

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