This week the Motorsport Prospects Weekly Debrief offers some great advice on improving your racecraft through data, building a case for motorsport sponsorship, why F1600 is a great development series, testing and drive opportunities and more. It really is news racers can use!
Driver Development News, Tips & Techniques
- Today (October 25, 2021) kicks off the MotiV8 Training 5 day Challenge where you can learn how to improve your fitness and therefore learn how to improve your race performance. Full details can be found here and its free! From the fine folks at MotiV8 Training:
Your physical fitness is as critical to your performance as much as your vehicle. Races can be won or lost based on your physical attributes. If you haven’t been doing any sport-specific training, this is the week to start!
Do you always have your ‘head in the race?’? Do you find yourself losing concentration, getting anxious before a race? We are going to start to work through these processes!
MotiV8 Training
- Did you know that your brain is the single greatest Go-Fast part?
- Despite all of the brand new and not so new junior racing series, F1600 still stands apart as a critical development category ideal for karters moving into cars. Learn more in Meet F1600, The Link Between Karting and Superstardom.
- The saying goes that information is power and that especially applies to racing. Find out more in How Data and Instruction Can Close the Speed Gap
- The HPD Drivers Academy has proven to be a success in GT racing and now it has expanded to TCR for 2022.
- Daniel Ricciardo has some more wise words for race drivers of any age in Keep your eyes on the road, and continue the journey.
- FEED Racing F4, the development program and competition run by Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Lemarié is back in 2022 for a fourth season with some new features and their race promo is good until December 31, 2021. You can get all the details here.
- In news from the the FIA they have announced multiple changes in their provisional 2022 FIA Driver Ratings. They also indicated that they are set to revise sportscar driver classification criteria for 2022 based in part on feedback from SRO. You can check Driver Categorizations with the FIA here. Finally, they have relaxed superlicence requirements again in wake of the pandemic.
- Tymoteusz Kucharczyk wins a Spanish F4 seat in the Richard Mille shootout while Motorsport UK announced the FIA Rally Star UK winners who will go on to compete in the Continental final later this year. Congratulations to Robert Wilson and Katie Milner as the two UK winners.
The Business of Being a Race Driver
- This is an older article but the points are still valid. You need to review Building a Business Case for Motorsport Sponsorship & Experiential Marketing for some excellent points of what you need to cover and boxes for a business that you need to allow them to tick.
- Money is key to getting ahead, literally and figuratively and Enzo Mucci has some great tips if money is hard to come by in the video below.
- Don Cusick and his wife Carolyn are looking to enter a team in Indycar and the article Cusick sets sights on full-time IndyCar program, he gives a perfect example of a B2B sponsorship deal.
“It’s also fun for me to interact with other businesspeople who have similar interests and offer them something maybe just a little bit different than what everybody else is doing. The best example I could give you is we met the owner of Sierra Pacific Windows who was a co-sponsor. And so we’ve bought all of our windows through them for property remodels. So we were able to support them, they supported us, and that business relationship has continued. Same thing with Expedia VIP, LOHLA SPORT, and the rest who were with us. And so, year one, we were really successful. I’m hoping to be even more so next year.”
Racer October 19, 2021
- How does a business know where to invest to maximize content development ROI? Sport Dimensions answers this very question in Experiences First, Content Later.
Drive & Testing Opportunities
If you have any open drive or testing opportunities please contact me to have them listed in the Weekly Debrief.
- Momentum Motorsports have two open test days scheduled at Carolina Motorsports Park on November 10 – 11, 2021. The open-wheel test day will be open to a maximum of six cars and will run from 9:00am until 5:00pm.
“The track has become available, and we have decided to scoop it up and try and build a two-day test program,” explained Phil Picard. “We have one driver already confirmed and are looking for five more. Additionally, I have an Ligier JSF4 available for any driver that is considering the F4 United States Championship Powered by Honda or the USF Juniors program in 2022.”
- For more information on the Momentum Motorsports test days at Carolina Motorsports Park, please contact Phil Picard at phil@philpicard.com or visit the national level race team online at www.MomentumMotorsportsLLC.com or via their social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more information on Carolina Motorsports Park, please visit them online at www.CarolinaMotorsportsPark.com.
- Atlanta Speedwerks has a seat available for the IMSA TCR season finale event during Petit LeMans at Road Atlanta Nov 10-12, 2021. Funded drivers are to message the team through their Facebook page for details.
Series News
As series prepare for 2022 a slew of announcements have been made over the last week. Here are some highlights.
These next two articles are a great overview of the new IMSA GTD Pro class and the venerable and always competitive MX-5 Cup.
Esports & Sim Racing
Business of Motorsport
A couple of interesting stories this week related to the business of motorsport that caught my eye including how F1 teams could all be profit makers according to some, an argument that sportswashing doesn’t work and more.
- As more and more sports, including motorsport compete in regions of the world with legitimate human rights concerns, the debate often revolves around whether the sports should compete in those countries at all. While the IOC insists that sport is not political and F1 argue that their presence can make a difference by being vocal about their concerns and setting an example on how they conduct their business in these countries, Unofficial Partner takes a different approach. They argue that sportswashing does not work. “The dictator’s money can buy a platform. But it doesn’t buy the story.” An interesting and recommended read.
- Toto Wolff believes that F1 is on the verge of having 10 profit-making teams. Hopefully those profits will not come from tobacco sponsorship as Sportico reports that F1 is unable to kick its habit as tobacco industry spending is at a 15-year high.
- The Dubai Autodrome has completed its Dh16.5m Business Park Phase 2 and launches Business Park Phase 3.
- MARC Cars Australia has partnered with Racer Products NZ as the partnership aims to further grow the MARC Cars brand across New Zealand motorsport.
- The supply chain crisis is affecting business globally and motorsport is not immune as the NHRA is facing serious supply chain issues.
- Finally, SCCA President and CEO Mike Cobb’s next Presidential address is scheduled for a virtual presentation on Wednesday, November 3 at 7pm CDT/8pm EDT.
From the Motorsport Prospects Archives
I am not going too far with the Motorsport Prospects Archives as once again I had so much sustainable motorsport news that I posted a Sustainable Motorsport Round-Up last Friday with part 2 scheduled to run this Friday (October 29, 2021). The amount of technical innovation in this area is astounding and it s not just limited to what powers the cars and bikes!
The Last Lap
Here are some more interesting motorsport-related tidbits for the Last Lap that crossed my virtual desk this week.
- Cue the “Streisand Effect”as obviously the owner/driver of this Porsche 962C has never heard of it when he threatened legal action over a crash video.
I have a bunch of great in-car videos for you so I will spread them out over the next few weeks. Here is part one.
That’s it for this week. Stay safe and see you at the track!
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.