This week I bring you advice on how to drive corners faster, physical and mental conditioning tips and more helpful race driver-related information in my latest Driver Development News & Racecraft Tips & Techniques Roundup.
You will also find tips on driving at Sebring, managing your race weekend, and a number of driver development opportunities for you to look into.
All this and much more in this week’s Driver Development News & Racecraft Tips & Techniques Roundup on Motorsport Prospects. As always it is news racers can use.
Racecraft Tips & Techniques
Some great racecraft-related nuggets this week from Ross Bentley of Speed Secrets.
First Ross answers the question: What is the apex of a corner, and what do I do with it?
The second is his upcoming two-part Cornering Masterclass webinar on February 22nd & 27th. I will let Ross explain what it is all about.
On February 22nd & 27th (in two separate parts), I’m conducting a webinar that is so in-depth that I have to call it a masterclass. The topic? How to drive corners faster. And that includes the straightaway sections beforehand which include braking zones, as well as exiting these corners so that you get down the following straightaway in less time. The part where your foot is flat to the floor on the straightaways? I’m going to leave that up to you! But I am going to help you consistently lower your lap times.
Each session will last at least 90 minutes, but likely longer (depending on your questions). And if you register but can’t participate on February 22nd and/or 27th you’ll be able to download a recording of the entire session and all of the resources I provide. The disadvantage of not participating in the Live session is you can’t ask questions (but someone is likely to ask the same one); the advantage is you can replay the recording at your own leisure.
Full details and where you can register can be found at https://speedsecrets.com/cornering-masterclass/.
From VBOX Motorsport. As you approach a corner it is very important that you get the positioning of your vehicle correct. To maximise your corner entry speed you need to use every inch of the track. If you are not right up to the edge of the track when turning in, you can be losing quite a lot of corner entry and apex speed. You can watch the full explanation in the video above. The full 15 chapters of the FREE eBook can be downloaded here: https://vboxmotorsport.co.uk/index.php/en/applications/free-ebook-race-drivers-tips.
In Auto Evolution, Sebastian Toma explains what you should know about the apex and what is a racing line. “Case in point, what is the apex, and what does it do with the racing line? Well, the racing line is meant to be the fastest way around a racetrack or a specific route. Since reality does not always involve a perfectly flat track, with no banking and no other factors that may change things, the fastest way around a track, or around a corner, for that matter, may not be using the ideal racing line.”
In the video above, Blayze Motorsport look at the top 3 mistakes at Sebring International Raceway. “Most drivers think “bumpy” when they think of Sebring International Raceway, but the challenges go beyond the bumps. At its core it is a very technical race track where the grip levels change heavily based on small changes in temperature. To be fast at Sebring International Raceway racecar drivers must avoid these three mistakes that our racecar driver coaches at Blayze often see.”
Grassroots Motorsports explains the data and strategies you need to unlock time trials success. “Time trial racing seems simple: Fastest car against the clock wins. Scratch beneath the surface, though, and complexities emerge. When done at a high level, time trial is a specific discipline requiring a specific approach to consistently succeed. New to the sport? Looking to shave a few tenths in a quest for a personal record? Some best practices can help you achieve those goals.”
Road & Track explains that you don’t know the power of a modern simulator until you try one. “Built in collaboration with Italian firm VI-grade, one of the two major companies building simulators of this scale, Multimatic’s sim is the first of its kind in the U.S. It’s an intimidating sight if you’re a non-engineer journalist who’s about to get strapped into the thing. From the ground up, there’s a steel plate covering up three air bearings which create a frictionless surface for the motion platform. Three longitudinal actuators control lateral, longitudinal, and yaw motions and can displace 2.5 meters, a stat that gives this particular system part of its name, DiM250. (VI-grade also offers cable-driven simulators that can generate over four meters of displacement.)“
Race Driver Development News & Resources
A race weekend can often be a pretty hectic experience, with a lot going on to distract you from being ready for the race itself. In the latest video from Safe is Fast, a group of top IndyCar and IMSA drivers discuss what they do to prepare themselves, both mentally and physically, to make sure they’re in full race mode when it comes time to snap down the visor.
Motorsport.com looks at F1 driver training including their workout regime, diet, cardio and more. “It’s well known that F1 drivers are some of the fittest athletes in the world, but how do they train and what do they eat? Find out that and more here.”
Mark Arnall is a world-renowned fitness expert with a career in F1 that has spanned 26 years. In that time, he has worked as performance coach for Mika Häkkinen (5 years), David Coulthard, Kimi Räikkönen (20 years) and most recently in 2022 Sebastian Vettel. During his career Mark has Aldo worked with legendary F1 teams McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin. In this interview with Ignition Human Performance he discusses how to unlock a driver’s performance.
F1 driver Lando Norris explains how mental health struggles hurt his self-belief. “I just didn’t know how to deal with it. I kept all of it inside and it really hurt my self-belief and self-confidence, which got to an all-time low,” he said.
Due to popular demand, the date for the Driver Performance Workshop original day has now changed to Saturday 18th Feb 10-3pm. The workshop will be covering everything you need to know about maximizing your success in 2023 including:
- fitness assessment
- motorsport specific fitness – how & why
- race day nutrition – when to eat & what to avoid
- how to maximize recovery
- how to create a winning mindset
- Plus special guests and so much more!
Spaces are limited and filling up so this is your chance to get set up for success and enhance your Racecraft in 2023! For more info or to join drop me a DM at the Naked Warrior Facebook page.
The 2023 British Formula 4 champion will spend next year being given physical coaching by the Alpine Formula 1 team. “The newly announced deal between the team and the series is not centred around track-side support, as Alpine Academy members would recieve, but is instead on a programme exclusively based at Alpine’s headquarters in Enstone. The recipient of the 12-month scheme will be able to use Alpine’s Human Performance Centre, a popular gymnasium with motorsport figures in and outside of the team, with a structured programme set by Alpine following an initial assessment.”
The Winfield Racing School has announced details of their F4 Young Driver Tests for 2023.
Testing Calendar 2023 Formula 4
- 05-06/02 CIRCUIT PAUL RICARD TEST DAYS
- 13-14/02 NOGARO TEST DAYS
- 22-23/02 MISANO TEST DAYS
- 27-28/02 LEDENON TEST DAYS
- 07-08/03 MAGNY-COURS TEST DAYS
- 10/05 PAU-ARNOS TEST DAY
- 18-19/04 CIRCUIT PAUL RICARD TEST DAYS
Full details can be found here. To book your seat contact them at sales@winfieldracingschool.com or +33 6 42 72 95 98.
Future Star Racing has announced the launch of their Driver Development Program. This program is geared towards our Kart Community. For drivers 14 years old and up, this is a great opportunity to get your feet wet in the next step of your career. This is not only beneficial to your Karter but also to the family, by getting information about the next step in the racing ladder. There are also testing opportunities in FR and USF2000 for those that qualify. More details can be found at https://www.futurestarracing.com/driver-development/.
As part of the BRSCC’s support programme for junior racing, the Club has enjoyed a long and mutually successful partnership with The Motorsports School, one of the UK’s leading providers of ARDS Tests and driver tuition packages, and has recommended their services to many aspiring junior drivers. As further testament to the BRSCC’s investment in junior racing, on Thursday 12th January at the NEC’s Autosport International show the Club presented Pete and Mel Edwards of The Motorsports School with a stunning Mk7 Fiesta Zetec S replica race car, this to be used by the school as a junior ARDS test and training vehicle.
In addition to junior ARDS tests and coaching sessions, the car will also be made available for Junior Driver experience days by The Motorsports School, further details of which they will publish on their website and social media channels. Further to all of the above, any junior driver who takes their ARDS test in the car and subsequently joins the Fiesta Junior Championship at any point in 2023 will be given their first race entry completely free of charge.
More details can be found at https://brscc.co.uk/further-commitment-to-junior-racing-from-the-brscc-in-partnership-with-the-motorsports-school/
The Ferrari Driver Academy has presented this year’s class to officially kick start the season, which will see seven of its eight drivers debut in their respective categories. In addition to six returning drivers, two new faces were presented: the Finn Tuukka Taponen, who won the FDA Scouting World Finals and the Brazilian Aurelia Nobels, winner of the FIA Girls on Track Rising Stars programme. Both drivers will be competing in Formula 4 this year, alongside the returning James Wharton.
In addition to the FDA announcement, Ferrari also announced that Lilou Wadoux has become the first female Ferrari factory driver ahead of a move to the GT ranks in the World Endurance Championship this year.
Applications are now open for this year’s FIA Girls on Track – Career Development and Mentoring event at the Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix 2023. As part of the program, participants will gain access to a number of high-profile ambassadors and see the inner workings of teams and event organizers. Up to 20 girls will be chosen for the session, which includes access to the event and behind the scenes tours around Albert Park, including the Formula 1 paddock area, thanks to Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation. Applications are open now and will remain open until 11.59pm on Friday, 19 February. Click here to apply.
In How Pierre Gasly’s manager got Enzo Deligny to join Red Bull, Feeder Series sheds some light on the thought process that goes into deciding on which racing series to compete in and why for a young karter. “At the beginning, Guillaume Le Goff and Pierre Gasly advised us to do French F4, as Pierre did when he was younger. But the main problem with this championship is that Enzo will only turn 15 on April 17th and he would have missed the opening round of the 2023 season one week before. We wouldn’t have been able to do the whole championship. It was the main deal-breaker.”
There will be a host of drivers from junior single-seaters competing in sportscars over the next month as the endurance racing calendar begins. Formula Scout looks at who is racing where and why.
BBC Sport looks at the experiences of Ruben Stanislaus and Lewis Appiagyei, both young, black British drivers with ambitions of reaching Formula 1 on being black in motorsport. “You have to be twice as good.”
Autoweek looks at how IMSA is struggling to attract and keep American drivers in the new GTP Class. An American series, however, would do well to have more American drivers if it wants to use the new GTP era to grow its fanbase, a fact recognized by IMSA president John Doonan. “I can tell you we’re going to be doing more of that in coming weeks and months to make sure that young talent, even in the karting ranks and grass roots club racing, understand what’s available to them coming forward,” said Doonan. “You can look at the list of drivers who made sports car racing into sustainable careers and it is possible for these drivers. It’s incumbent upon us to make it clear.”
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.