This week I have details on the expanded Ginetta racing series, how Alan McNish won Le Mans 3 times and what it is like driving a Gen3 Formula E car.
All this and much more including your chance to drive the Nurburgring Nordschleife and Spa this week on the Racecraft & Race Cars Roundup on Motorsport Prospects.
Racecraft Tips & Techniques
On-Track
In a special post on Motorsport Prospects, ’s Martin from lowerlaptime explains how to learn a new racetrack from scratch. “There is information in every step. The most important thing is that you layer-up and layer-on the information, such that no detail has been missed; and your depth of understanding increases with every step.“
Ross Bentley of Speed Secrets explains how to use your knowledge and experience to improve your driving. “If you’ve done the same thing for ten years, what’s the likelihood of you performing better than someone who had practiced and experimented for five years? I can’t give you a definite answer, but I’ll take the experimentation approach over repeating the same thing over and over again for a decade.”
In a recent Ask Ross column he also answers the question: What do you mean by rotating the car, and how do I know when I get it right?
Your Data Driven looks at leveling up your racing driver feedback. “Whether you are giving or receiving racing driver feedback there are challenges. If you are providing feedback to an engineer, to your team or even just for your own records, it can be hard to know what to say. If you need the racing drivers views, how do you get the most useful information?“
Goodwood Road & Racing bring you the details of what it is like to drive a Gen3 Formula E car. “What struck me first was the feel of the controls. The throttle was so compliant to my input, the tension on the pedal ensured it was glued to my foot at all times, which made for an instant symbiosis between my thoughts and the behaviour of the electric motor.”
Dion von Moltke of Blayze Coaching (formerly Racers 360) looks at Perfecting The Race Start And Tire Warming.
Race Car & Series Developments
Autosport looks at the key updates in F2’s bold new design. “For the first time since 2018, Formula 2 will have a new car this year. The long-awaited newcomer from Dallara boasts improved safety, accessibility and, crucially, closer links with Formula 1.”
Formula Pro USA has confirmed the prize for the FPUF4 Champion. Looking to create a program that helps drivers advance up the motorsports ladder, the new Formula Pro USA F4 Champion will receive a Ligier JSF3 Test.
“We are excited to add an F3 Test for our Formula Pro USA F4 Western Championship title winner in 2024,” expressed BD Morgan. “Exclusive Racing will provide the Ligier JSF3 machine, and we will use the services of a high-profile series team to assist with the test day at a yet-to-be-determined location.”
Morgan added, “We want to provide a path to move up the ladder and this is the perfect try before you buy or invest scenario. The natural path is from F4 to F3, and we look forward to rewarding our champion.”
Details of the newly expanded Ginetta Challenge Race Series for 2024 have been released. The series will have a $20,000 Cash Purse and the Winner of Series gets a free race weekend in the UK championship. More details here.
Alexandre Imperatori has joined Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific as the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia Series Manager. Imperatori will be supported in his new role by One-Make Series Senior Manager Boya Qi in preparation for the new season, with Qi to shift her focus to co-ordinating other One-Make championships in the region. These include Porsche Sprint Challenge China, part of Porsche Sports Cup China, Porsche Sprint Trophy Thailand and the new Porsche Sprint Challenge Indonesia, which is currently enjoying its inaugural campaign.
Track Days
In conjunction with their good friend Ron Simon and his team at RSRNurburg in Germany and Belgium, Tom Roberts (Euro Track Adventures) and Ross Bentley are leading one spectacular driving trip to Europe in 2024 that includes two of the most famous circuits in the world:
- September 26 & 27 at the Nurburgring Nordschleife
- September 30 at Spa-Francorchamps
“It’s rare for anyone to get track dates to line up so both the Nurburgring Nordschleife and Spa-Francorchamps (the circuit that most Formula One drivers claim to be the most challenging) can be combined in one trip. But we got them! And with them being at the end of summer, the weather should be beautiful.”
More information can be found here.
Racing Opportunities
Race Drives is pleased to announce that their website is now live and fully functioning.
Race-drives was conceived after 20+ years of experience in motorsport and realising that drivers are usually found through a team having a ‘little black book’ of drivers contact details, Chinese whispers in the paddock or latterly social media, meaning lots of tyre kickers, usually with little or no budget and making the whole process very tiring and long winded.
Race-drives takes away the exhaustive process of contacting numerous drivers or teams by various methods ie emails, texts, calls.
Race-drives narrows down your search through a series of filters set up to help you find the details of drives or drivers that are able to fulfill your specific requirements.
Race Drives
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.
