New on Motorsport Prospects This Week
This week kicked off with Part 2 of the Sustainable Motorsport Round-Up that I started last week. I then featured a stunning Ginetta LMP3 prototype race car for sale in the Motorsport Prospects Marketplace.
This week on the Motorsport Prospects Weekly Debrief There are some great tips and advice by everybody from Tom Long, Karun Chandhok and Fernando Alonso (by way of an analysis from Scott Mitchell). Plus details on a very cool Le Mans program, mental prep tips, working on your reaction control and more. So let’s get started!
Driver Development News, Tips & Techniques
- Over at Inside MX-5 Cup, driver coach Tom Long discusses the importance of focus and strategy for the second half of the season in Inside MX-5 Cup with Tom Long: Focus, Strategy Paramount for Teams.
- On the Your Data Driven Podcast, Karun Chandhok discusses what it’s like driving F1 cars from every decade plus:
- Karting to keep fit in F1
- What makes a great racing driver?
- Where are the coaches in racing? and more
- Over at The Race, Scott Mitchell dissects Fernando Alonso’s racecraft over the 2021 Formula 1 reason so far and why it is a return to form after a few years with less than stellar results.
- Physical and mental conditioning go hand in hand which is why these next two articles have each covered and are well worth the read:
- The recently released Hamilton Commission report which I covered in a recent Weekly Debrief highlighted a number of case studies that demonstrating what can be done to increase diversity in motorsport both behind the wheel and behind the pitwall. The Hamilton Commission case study targeting Le Mans discusses the case study of a collaboration between Motors Formula Team founder and director Ludovic Peze and Jahee Campbell-Brennan, director of the engineering consultancy Wavey Dynamics. Their plans include targeting a place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans by 2024 and their further aim is to tackle a lack of diversity within motorsport. And it looks like they are just getting started!
- Good news for young driver development in New Zealand according to Talk Motorsport as the Tony Quinn Foundation is putting weight behind Formula Ford racing in New Zealand with the announcement of the biggest and most extensive prize package in the category’s 50 year history.
- Is racing too expensive? Not F2/F3 according to series supremo Bruno Michel. I am not convinced but hear him out in Is F2’s $3 million admission price good value for aspiring F1 drivers? over at Race Fans.
- I mentioned this in last week’s Sustainable Motorsport Round-Up but Lucas Di Grassi feels that the time is right for an electric junior series. There are a number of challenges and one has to wonder if yet another junior series is needed but for sure something has to be added to a Formula E weekend. ERA Championship any one?
- Radical SR3 teams from the Sports Prototype Cup have something to really look forward to as they will be supporting Formula 1 and the Italian Grand Prix. If you are a Radical driver, now is your time to register and get the chance to race in front of a Formula 1 crowd at the “Temple of Speed.” Sounds pretty awesome I have to admit. Full details can be found here.
- Finally, I have posted a number of articles over the months from the excellent podcast and website Your Data Driven and its owner Samir Abid. Here is a great chat with the man and what the mission of Your Data Driven is all about on the Cars Yeah podcast. Have a listen here.
The Business of Being a Race Driver
- Last week I talked about the care you need to take with social media lest you end up in legal trouble. This week Enzo Mucci gives some more positive tips.
- If you thought a website was no longer necessary in the age of social media, think again. Ikoniqa talk about The Value and Purpose of a Properly Designed Website in Motorsports
- Understanding the concept of B2B is something I discussed in last week’s Weekly Debrief. Here is more background in Sports Sponsorship and B2B: Threat or Opportunity?
- The more you understand about sponsorship, the better the chances you have of increasing your probability of obtaining it. Here is an interesting video called Talking Commercial Sponsorships: An American Perspective with Ken Ungar of CHARGE:
Series News
- Hot of the news above where Formula 2/3 boss Bruno argued that the costs of racing have not increased over years past and still offer excellent value, Michel has indicated that he would be open to making some calendar changes for 2022 with a decision coming soon.
- Asian F3 will be back in 2022 with another UAE-based calendar and it looks like Formula Regional Asia is due to launch as a replacement for Asian Formula Renault. In addition to that, there could be a potential Formula Regional India series launching in the near future.
- Meanwhile in Australia and New Zealand, S5000 to revive Tasman Series, NZ rounds on the way.
- In sports car news, as Peugeot and Ferrari announced a possible interest in racing their Hypercars in IMSA, Toyota has chimed in that they would consider taking part as well. The more the merrier I say. In GT3 news, Lexus have indicated that the timeline for their new GT3 car is more likely 2024.
- Finally in F4 news, Renault has committed to supply a new F4 engine based on their new for 2021 Clio turbo engine. Interestingly, it is designed to be able to incorporate a hybrid unit, something that looks increasingly likely in the coming years as demonstrated in the hybrid F4 car raced at the last FIA Motorsport Games.
Business of Motorsport
- Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have announced the launch of Ignite, their new motorsport charity initiative. From Autosport:
“Ignite will complement our team’s own Accelerate 25 programme, and through these platforms we hope to see much more talent from under-represented groups both join our team and take up careers in the wider motorsport industry.”
Ignite will work on a number of projects, and it will include efforts to push black students towards STEM subjects, plus offer financial support to talented and motivated students wishing to pursue careers in motorsport but who do not have the current means.
Autosport July 27, 2021
- Speaking of Sir Lewis, he may be trailing Max Verstappen in the championship but he is leading him in driver earnings.
- Some more interesting F1 news:
- Audi’s McNish explains why relevance for manufacturers is key in F1 engine talks
- F1’s British GP averages more than 1m viewers on ESPN
- Formula 1 adds Crypto.com to global sponsor roster
- McLaren Looks to Raise $620 Million via Bond Issue
- Why the man who said “motorsport is dead unless it’s electrified” re-committed Alfa Romeo to F1
- How Cloud Supercomputing Helped Design 2022 F1 Car That Promises More Exciting Races
From the Motorsport Prospects Archives
I post a lot of great videos from Enzo Mucci aka The Race Driver Coach for the simple reason that he is a dynamic speaker who knows what he is talking about. I had the chance to interview him last year and he had some great advice in Motivation is the key to everything – In Conversation with Driver Coach Enzo Mucci.
The Last Lap
As I get ready to head out for a week of fishing, I thought that I would end with a couple of interesting racing tidbits from around the world of motorsport. Regular posting will resume the week of August 9th.
- The 12th Anniversary of the of the Road Racing Drivers Club returns to Long Beach this year and they will be honoring Rick Mears. More details can be found at Racer as well as how to get tickets.
- The SCCA Foundation announces new Runoffs sweepstakes so now is your chance to sign up!
- If you like racing history as much as I do, here is something over at Road & Track that you should really enjoy. You learn something new every day! Meet America’s Original International Racing Badass
- The Goodwood Feastival of Speed is awesome and this is one of the reasons.
Stay safe everyone and I will 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.
