Motorsport Prospects Weekly Debrief for June 4, 2021 – Track Days, Testing Opportunities and Battling Minis

New on Motorsport Prospects This Week

It was quite a busy week at Motorsport Prospects. In honor of Memorial Day in the United States I started off the week shining the monthly charity spotlight on VETMotorsports, a great charity that integrates veterans into motorsport activities. The Wednesday In the Marketplace post featured a beautiful and fast 2020 Revolution A One race car available for sale for all your track needs and yesterday I posted my biweekly feature on Sustainable Motorsport.

Now on to the Motorsport Prospects Weekly Debrief with some great advice, opportunities and a fun Last Lap. If you have anything you think should be in the Weekly Debrief do not hesitate to let me know and I will be glad to post it to Motorsport Prospect’s growing audience.

Driver Development News

Formula Woman news

I mentioned in a a recent Weekly Debrief that the Motorsport Woman program has been relaunched. At the recent Supercar Fest in the UK, Nikki Dean chatted with a few of the aspiring race drivers. Here are a few that she met:

Track day tips from Ross Bentley

Heading to a track for a day of lapping and hopefully improving your times? If so you will want to read 10 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Track Day by Ross Bentley so you can maximize your time on the track in order to get the best out of both you and your car.

Why you should focus on what you can control

Quite honestly, this is something that does not just apply to race drivers but to all of us. Jenni Schierman makes some great points in her article Why You Should Focus on What You Can Control.

Trying to control things that you aren’t actually able to control (other people, weather, the crowd, traffic, etc) only serves to deplete precious physical and emotional energy that could be put to better use.

https://www.jscoaching27.com/post/why-you-should-focus-on-what-you-can-control

Enough said. A great read for all of us.

Indy training facility molds drivers into champions

I have interviewed Jim Leo before on the Motorsport Prospects blog and he has built the reputation that he has in the motorsport community for a very good reason. He provides an amazing service and helps drivers get results. So it is nice to see him getting some mainstream recognition over at WISH TV for the incredible work he is doing with PitFit Training.

Formula 1 performance & mental preparation – Upside Strength podcast

Did you know that F1 drivers don’t actually train in their car much. So how do they train and which body parts do they focus on?

Formula 1 Performance & Mental Preparation – Upside Strength Podcast

The answers are in this podcast and you can hear it here.

RaceCanada announces it’s Rising Star Program

This is a great new program from RaceCanada that will help Canadian drivers on their motorsport journey. The recipients for this year have been announced and they are second-generation oval racer Kyle Steckly and road racer for Brian Graham Racing, Jonathan Woolridge. According to the announcement:

Our goal is to help out promising young drivers, 1 road racer and 1 oval racer, by giving them a platform and showcasing them all season long.

We’ll follow both drivers through what promises to be another difficult racing season here in Ontario, giving our readers and viewers a behind he scenes look at their preparations for races and all that goes into being a professional racecar driver.

We’ll be creating content centred on Kyle and Jonathan across all of our channels, with written articles on RaceCanada.ca, podcacsts on RaceCanada.world and lots of video content on our soon to be launched RaceCanada TV.

We’ll also be creating a line of swag for both drivers that will be available on www.ShopRaceCanada.ca, with 100% of the profits of all sales going to the drivers. Our aim is to have the products available before the end of June, so check back regularly at www.ShopRaceCanada.ca or follow on Twitter @ShopRaceCanada where all new products are announced.

RaceCanada Announces It’s Rising Star Program – RaceCanada.ca

Check out the announcement for more details.

Hooked on autocross: A brotherly SCCA journey

Autocross is quite possibly the most accessible form of motorsport and yet it often flies under the radar except to those who participate in it. Check out Hooked on autocross: A brotherly SCCA journey over at Racer for a great story about two brothers and their journey into the world of autocross. It is a great read and just might inspire a few people to take up the sport.

Going from the virtual race track to the real thing

I truly believe that over the coming years more and more drivers will have been introduced to the sport via sim racing. And there will be an increasing number of programs aiming to transition these digital drivers to the real thing, a trend we are seeing already. In How DTM’s virtual champion starred in a real-life test The Race chronicles the real life journey of DTM e-sport champion Moritz Loehner. How did he do? Well according to the article:

In a 510-horsepower Mercedes-AMG GT he set the second-fastest time in the test session at the Lausitzring. He was only 0.378s slower than the fastest driver of the day, the experienced Michael Schrey.

How DTM’s virtual champion starred in a real-life test

The article is a great read for those skeptical about the digital to real track transition as well as encouraging to those sim racers who are looking for inspiration to make the switch themselves.

High-strength seat standard to revolutionize safety across motorsport

We all know how important safety is in motorsport, a fact that was brought into sharp focus with Romain Grosjean’s fiery crash in Bahrain last year. While the obvious things like helmet, driver suit and the halo are important, what about the seat? A new FIA seat safety standard will improve the safety of seats across the sport and you can read about it here.

How To Become A Race Driver & Compete For Less Than £25,000 in 2021

Aston Martin partners with LGBTQ+ inclusivity movement Racing Pride

In order for motorsport to grow and thrive you need drivers, the more the better. It is not easy, it is expensive and success is far from guaranteed. The last thing motorsport needs to do, whether consciously or unconsciously is to discourage anybody from taking part. Programs that encourage diversity and inclusiveness should be applauded and encouraged and Aston Martin F1 have made clear their commitment to inclusiveness in their collaboration with Racing Pride. Read about why they are doing so in Aston Martin partners with LGBTQ+ inclusivity movement Racing Pride over at The Race.

What does it take to qualify for the Indy 500?

If you are wondering what the process is like to qualify for the “greatest spectacle in racing” check out Techbench Tuesday: Sage Karam’s Indianapolis 500 Qualifying Run over at Front Stretch for the details. (Hint, it’s not easy!)

Wolff says racing must be more affordable after Hamilton ‘billionaire boys’ comment

Racing is expensive. Always has been and always will be and it is a bit disingenuous to compare it to stick and ball sports as it really is a completely different animal. That being said, it is approaching eye watering levels of finance to compete and the worse part is that this is at the lowest level of the development ladder and that includes karting. While Toto Wolff is only expressing a sentiment that many have made outside the rarefied air of Formula 1, he is driving the point home that something has to change. But as they say, the devil is in the details. What is the best approach? Scholarships allowing the best of the best to advance up the development ladder? Capping costs that teams can charge drivers? Having series run the cars so they can offer a fix price and skipping independent teams all together? For every solution there is problem and vice versa because teams are businesses and revenue must be generated to pay salaries and buy equipment.

I certainly don’t have any answers but I am working on a series of articles that will look at some of the possible solutions. If you are interested in being part of the conversation please contact me and I will be in touch.

Engineering Development News

Motorsport and by definition Motorsport Prospects is not just about drivers but about the whole motorsport ecosystem. It is a team sport and the engineer or mechanic behind the pit wall is just as important as the driver in the cockpit and diversity in the pits is just as important. Here are two approaches and opportunities you may want to investigate.

Reimagining Motorsport: MFT x Wavey Dynamics

Scuderia Fern Racing is looking for women engineers

I came across this on Facebook and am posting it verbatim with the approval of Scuderia Fern Racing as this is a great opportunity.

Hi all, I am Kieran McMahon and I work for Scuderia Fern Racing. We’re looking to promote gender diversity in motorsport, looking to potentially take on a female to help us with some tasks within the team and get a career started within motorsport.This year marks the start of the team’s 3rd year in competition, of which we have gone from new entrants to leading the Mono F3 championship with our Dallara F301. Whether your niche is fuel systems, mechanics, aerodynamics, data, vehicle dynamics or drivetrain, we would love to look at accommodating you.If you are an individual with a deep rooted passion for motorsport located near Warminster, Wiltshire, and feel like this is a team you would like to be a part of, please feel free to message me on Facebook and I’ll reply to you as quickly as I can, or send me an email at: scuderiafernracing@gmail.com

The Business of Being a Race Driver

Social media strategies for the race driver

Love it or hate it, social media engagement is a necessity for any race driver building their brand. Here are a few articles to help you with Instagram and the mysterious world of hash tags.

9 Instagram Stories Tricks to Get Better Engagement

Creative Ways to Use Instagram Carousel Posts for Racers

The Best Hashtag Strategy for Drag Racers

Testing and Track Days

Speed Club Track Days

Speed Club in Cresson, Texas is holding one of their Speed Club Track Days on June 7th and you can take part. Check all the details here.

Ligier Test Days

Ligier is conducting a number of test days in Europe this summer where you can test the following:
LIGIER JS2 R – The little GT designed exclusively for racing and its enhanced version for endurance races
LIGIER JS P4 – The easy-to-drive sports-prototype to start in endurance racing
LIGIER JS P320 – The new generation LMP3 victorious at the Daytona 24H and Sebring 12H – ELMS and Asian Le Mans Series Title Winner

The dates are as follows:

8 June at Magny-Cours, France
30 June at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
16 July at Nogaro, France
11 & 12 August at Magny-Cours, France
29 September at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
13 October at Magny-Cours, France

Contact Ligier at testdays@ligierautomotive.com for more information.

Radical Sportscars Demo Tour

Radical North America dealer Group A Racing is putting together a number of demo days in the United States for potential drivers. According to Group A:

Have you been considering getting a Radical? Our Radical Sportscars – North America dealership has created a tour through out the North East from mid June – mid July for those of you interested in a car to be able to do a demo drive in one first. Fantastic opportunity to see why this is the largest race only car manufacturer in the world and you should join in on the fun! We are also members at NJMP to be able to offer private full day demo’s. Contact us today for more details! info@GroupARacingTeam.com 631-974-4379

https://www.grouparacingteam.com/

The dates are as follows:

July 11th-13th Monticello Motor Club
June 30th Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
July 1st-2nd Lime Rock Park
July 3rd Pineview Run Auto & Country Club
July 9th-10th New Jersey Motorsports Park – NJMP

For more info on Group A Racing check out my interview with Jonathan Scarallo of Group A Racing here.

The Business of Motorsport

As I have mentioned in the past, understanding the business of motorsport is important for any driver as what often happens in the industry eventually affects all series and teams in some way or other, even at its highest levels. Here are a couple of articles that caught my eye that are all good reads.

How Do Cost Controls Work In Motorsports?

Budgetary underdog JDC-Miller MotorSports has habit of slaying Goliaths

Boss Of The “Racing Bakers” Of Inter-Europol Lays Out The Mission For Polish Squad

The Brand That’s Taking An Unusual Path Into Auto Racing Sponsorship

IndyCar Values TV Reach Over Revenue With Sport in ‘Growth Mode’

Mitsubishi confirms motorsport return with Ralliart revival

MoneyLion finds perfect fit with Paretta Autosport

Hookit’s Motorsport Insight | Sponsorship recap: F1’s Monaco Grand Prix 2021

Austin Cindric Brings Fresh Partners To Nascar As Part Of Transition To Cup Series

Porsche, Piech families weigh direct stake in possible Porsche IPO: sources

From the Motorsport Prospects Archives

Motorsport insurance is something most would prefer to not think about but obviously that is no solution in an expensive and potentially dangerous sport. If you have some motorsport insurance questions, my article 8 Things about Motorsport Insurance That You Should Know should help you answer at least some of your questions.

The Last Lap

Minis are cool. Racing minis are even cooler. Check out the best Mini battle ever.

Stay safe and I will see you at the track.