Racecraft & Driver Development News, Tips & Techniques for April 4, 2022-The Can-Do Edition

This week’s Racecraft & Driver Development News, Tips & Techniques is full of great advice and techniques on improving your racecraft on the track as well as your driver development plans as you pursue your motorsport goals. For Racecraft I have everything from whether karting or sim racing is the best training ground for racing, how to drive smoothly but also be fast, heel and toe downshifting tips and advice and what is camber, caster, and toe and why they are important. In Driver Development I have tips for amateur racers working with pros, the journey of a teenage racer through the Skip Barber Racing/SRO path, whether the Ginetta G56 GTA is your path to Le Mans from North America, a fantastic opportunity for disabled drivers with Team Brit and the answer to that ever-present question “Am I too old to start racing?” (Hint: No, you are not.) All this and much more so let’s get started!

Racecraft Tips & Techniques

• Safe is Fast asks the question “Has Sim Racing now become the best way to break into motorsport?” In their latest video (see above), top iRacer and Team USA Scholarship winner Max Esterson explains why he thinks so. And a group of top drivers including IndyCar’s Pato O’Ward and Le Mans winner Loic Duval express their doubts.

• Ross Bentley at Speed Secrets answers the question: How can I drive smoothly, but also be fast?

• Blayze presents their “ultimate guide” to Heel and Toe Downshifting. See their most common mistakes in the graphic above and read their guide for all the details.

• Marc Marquez has revealed that he is juggling as part of his bid to get back on a MotoGP bike after suffering from double vision yet again. A photograph published on the Spaniard’s Twitter page shows him juggling three tennis balls, with the caption, “Coordination exercises, we keep recovering!”

• Grassroots Motorsports answers the question What Is Camber, Caster and Toe? “The three major alignment parameters on a car are toe, camber, and caster. Most enthusiasts have a good understanding of what these settings are and what they in-volve, but many may not know why a particular setting is called for, or how it affects performance. Let’s take a quick look at this basic aspect of suspension tuning.”

• Pro driver Andrew Pinkerton talks Grassroots Motorsports through some common mistakes people make while driving at Virginia International Raceway and how to avoid them to get a faster lap in the video above.

Driver Development News & Resources

• Autosport Plus has a great article called How to get the best out of amateur racers on the best approaches that an amateur driver should take when working with a pro driver in a Pro-Am race. From the article: “Pro-Am GT racing is booming. But how should drivers approach working with an amateur? Autosport sought out a panel of experts to explain the pitfalls amateur drivers should avoid and how professionals can help them to achieve their goals.”

• Future Star Racing is working with driver development company RaceCraft1 as part of their driver development program. What kind of services does RaceCraft1 provide the driver? Have a look here for a comprehensive list of what they do.

• After a hard-working winter in the Ferrari Driver Academy, the winners of the first two editions of FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars are now tackling a season of opportunity and challenge. FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars is part of the FIA’s commitment to advance Diversity and Inclusion in motor sport.

• In Career-building from an SBRS/SRO pro racing foundation, Racer.com looks at the career of teenager Kenton Koch as he embarked on his motorsport career. “Koch, now an in-demand GT driver and headliner in the tough SRO GT4 America series, is one of an ever-expanding cast of motor racing characters who sharpened his natural talent on his rapid run down the Skip Barber Racing School/SRO Motorsports Group career path.”

• The Ginetta G56 GTA is now available in the US and The Robb Report opines that this could be your passport to racing at Le Mans. “Ginetta was founded in 1958 and currently hand-builds around 60 cars per year at its factory in Leeds, England. In Europe, its unique selling proposition is a “racing ladder” that allows drivers to participate from the ages of 14 through 17 in the Ginetta Junior series. Then, with enough talent and cash, drivers can potentially progress all the way to competing at Le Mans. Past success stories include Formula 1 ace Lando Norris and Jamie Chadwick, two-time winner of Britain’s all-female W Series Championship.” And don’t forget, as I mentioned in last week’s Motorsport Series News, Ginetta has announced the inaugural North American Ginetta Challenge.

• The motorsport world is abuzz with the news that Formula 1 is going to Vegas next year. Why am I mentioning this in a post about driver development? It is because Liberty Media thinks that the Vegas race increases the likelihood of a U.S. driver in F1.

• I mentioned in last week’s Racecraft & Driver Development News, Tips & Techniques in my Driver Snapshot the story of Team Brit drivers Bobby Trundley and Aaron Morgan. If you were inspired by their story, Team Brit has announced their latest Team Brit Academy Track Days. According to the team it includes “top-level coaching from our Team Race Instructors who are ARDS A qualified instructors and highly experienced racing drivers. Enjoy this motorsport experience in our 220BHP VW Polo GTi fitted with the world-leading racing hand controls our drivers compete with. We have limited our numbers to 3 drivers in the morning and 3 drivers in the afternoon to ensure everyone gets the maximum amount of track time and a true motorsport experience from qualified and experienced professionals. Cost for this track day experience is £400. In the event that drivers are not able to complete their second track session, a refund of £150 will be made. Email info@teambrit.co.uk to make a booking.
  • Package includes:
    • Testing on sim with racing hand controls
    • 1 x lap as passenger with instructor
    • 3 or 4 laps as driver with instructor
    • Debrief of on-board video footage
    • 3 or 4 laps as driver with instructor
  • Dates available:
    • Mon 11th Apr – Silverstone
    • Tue 3rd May – Donington Park
    • Tue 14th Jun – Donington Park
    • Tue 5th Jul – Brands Hatch
    • Mon 22nd Aug – Silverstone

• You may be telling yourself “I’m to old to be a race car driver.” Enzo Mucci will have none of that! In the video above he explains How To Become A Race Driver At Any Age.

• Physical fitness for race drivers is as important for their success on the track as it is for any athlete. In Trained for the Track: Positioning Racing’s Athletes for Success, the Henry Ford Foundation interviews Jim Leo of Pitfit Training on why that is so and what kind of training does he facilitate in his Pitfit Training facilities. For even more background on Jim, you can read my interview with him here.

• I have mentioned this on numerous occasions but here is yet another example. In Driven by dreams: from the virtual to the real, Porsche highlights the journey of Jeff Giassi from sim racer to real world competitor. “Jeff Giassi has realised a universal dream for gamers the world over. At the age of 24, the Brazilian sim racer has turned the virtual into the physical, rising from star of esports to real-life champion, and all of it behind the wheel of a Porsche.”

• Finally, in Welcome to the Club, Sport; New Porsche Gets Great Start in Michelin Pilot Challenge, John Oreovicz on the IMSA website discusses the debut of the latest generation of the 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport that made a victorious debut in January at Daytona International Speedway. “The reliability of their cars and the level of customer support is what differentiates Porsche,” he added. “Porsche has a great factory testing program, so by the time they start pumping out race cars, they’ve run thousands of miles, whether at Weissach, Nurburgring or wherever they take it. It’s usually a great piece and this car was no different. The GT4 ran flawlessly, and I have every expectation that it will continue.”