Motorsport Prospects Weekly Debrief for September 13, 2021 – New Series for Young Drivers in the UK, a Lap of the Nordschleife and more!

This week’s Motorsport Prospects Weekly Debrief has a lot of great stuff including some interesting news related to young driver development in the UK and New Zealand, a new Lotus GT4, esports development and an awesome (and slightly terrifying) lap of the Nordschleife courtesy of Liam Lawson.

Also this week get ready for a new race car featured from the Motorsport Marketplace and on Friday I will post an interview I did with a vintage race driver who explains the allure of racing cars from the past.

And away we go!

Driver Development News, Tips & Techniques

• Big news from the UK as, following in the wake of the creation of the new GB3 Championship, MSV has announced the creation of the GB4 Championship. Using surplus non-halo F4 chassis, they insist it is not a challenge to F4 in the UK but instead claim that the budget of £120,000-150,000 with a minimum age of 15 for drivers offers opportunities for drivers that otherwise may not have them. From Autosport:

Jonathan Palmer, chief executive of MSV, said: “Some drivers are going to find that budget (for F4) but for others it’s going to be too big a barrier, I think there will be a lot of kids that won’t get the opportunity to start at a professional level in single-seater racing.

“I think it’s even more important these days with the importance of diversity and inclusion. One of the biggest barriers for minority groups is still costs of getting involved in these things.

Autosport September 7, 2021

• The inaugural season will consist of seven rounds and 21 races, with most rounds mirroring GB3’s format of a qualifying session and three races. GB4 will race and test on the same weekends as GB3, and there will be £50,000 prize for the champion to step up to the latter series.

• In other UK news it was announced that another entry-level single-seater series in the UK called Formula Foundation will be launched with even lower budgets required to compete.

• In the world of Formula Ford in the UK, the venerable category is still going strong with entries open for the Formula Ford Festival in October. 30 entries have already been received so get your entry in now!

• Over in New Zealand, Team Porsche New Zealand (TPNZ) has opened scholarship applications in the hunt for the next Kiwi talent. The recipient will have the opportunity to race in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia series in 2022. Porsche has an excellent development ladder and the opportunities that come with being a Porsche driver are vast.

• Speaking of Porsche, Grove Racing explains how the Porsche Motorsport Pyramid is an excellent pathway to Australian Supercars.

• We then head off to Mexico as Racer looks at how former Indycar driver Michel Jourdain Jr is building a pipeline for young Mexican drivers to reach Indycar.

• In the USA, there is a great article on how Skip Barber Racing School is using their school team as a way for their more talented drivers to race in the TC America championship. Nice to see Carter Fartuch getting the chance to shine!

• The FIA has announced that Deborah Mayer of the Iron Dames programme is working with the federation in their Girls on Track initiative. Mayer commented that “Partnerships create greater opportunities and visibility and together we can bring more young eyes to the world of motor sport. Girls on Track – Rising Stars, for which we are a main partner, has created a real momentum, it is a fantastic and dynamic programme that is showing young girls they do have the possibility and opportunity to be part of the sport, and that they can and should dare to take the first step.”

• Revolution, Motorsport UK’s excellent monthly magazine has a great article on driver fitness called Fit to Compete that is well worth the read.

• It can’t be a Weekly Debrief without a word from Enzo Mucci and in his latest video he looks at the 4 skills you need to be a “top race driver (a champion).”

• Ignition Human Performance are putting together a webinar called Tackling Key Issues on and off track: Well-being and Sustainability on October 12, 2021. See the trailer below. You can sign up here.

• Wavey Dynamics have put together a comprehensive guide to Vehicle Dynamics: Lap Time Simulation.

• A new track booking tool called Circuit Booking has been announced which could make life easier when it comes time to booking a track.

• Finally, Speed News takes One Lap Around Daytona International Speedway which goes into the techniques and approaches necessary to tackle this daunting track.

The Business of Being a Race Driver

• Sport Dimensions have two great articles on sponsorship from the sponsors point of view which are important reads.
  • Getting ROI from Your Sponsorships
  • Maximizing Motorsports Sponsorship

Series News

• Another week and another bunch of great developments in sports car racing. Here are just a few of the announcements and news that caught my eye.
  • SRO Motorsports Group reveals plans for inaugural GT1 Sports Club Powered by Curbstone Events at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
  • IMSA Could Present ‘A New Heyday’ for Sports Car Racing
  • SCCA Enduro Takes Shape
  • Ratel: “The World is Big Enough” for ACO, SRO GT3s to Co-Exist
  • Lotus produces new Emira GT4 racer with Daily Sportscar having all the specs of the new car.

• In New Zealand Touring Cars, more cars are expected in the TCR Championship for 2022 as interest is building and restrictions are being reduced.

• Also in New Zealand, with the TCR series only running in the New Zealand Grand Prix in 2022, three young New Zealand race car drivers will share in $70,000 of funding from the Tony Quinn Foundation towards their entries into next year’s New Zealand Grand Prix. But the Best Bars Toyota 86 prize pool has been confirmed and it is the largest prize pool ever seen in the country according to organizers.

• Meanwhile it seems that nobody is happy with the way the FIA F3 and F2 schedules were organized this year with the consensus being that it should revert to the way it was last year. Too many gaps between races and the lack of any real cost-savings for the teams are the primary reasons why the changes have not been well received.

Esports

• Marketing and PR firm Pole Position discusses their plans to grow sim racing and esports in the Middle East.

• Logitech have announced their brand new GChallenge for 2021 in cooperation with McLaren. Open to all drivers and free-to-enter, the 2021 Logitech McLaren G Challenge features 3 unique motorsport genre competitions: Stock Car, Open Wheel and Sport Car. You can sign up here.

• Driver 61 has announced the opening of their Sim Racing Fundamentals – Pure Race Masterclass. You can sign up here.

• Finally, BlackBook Motorsport have announced their latest webinar titled the Future of Sim Racing on September 22, 2021. I have attended a number of BlackBook webinars and I highly recommend them.

Business of Motorsport

• The assets of the Synchro Motorsport team are being auctioned by Honda in the UK. If you are looking at starting a Touring Car team this might be the place to start!

• This is probably the best article I have read about the influence of Netflix’s Drive to Survive on the popularity of Formula 1 in the United States. A great read.

• I have to say that this took me completely by surprise in that spending by tobacco companies in Formula 1 is the highest it has been since 2006, the year it was banned in the sport. I have not read the report so I will not comment more than that but you can download the report here.

• More great motorsport law content over at Law in Sport where the discussion revolves around How Patents & Trade Secrets Are Utilised In Motorsport which follows up on last week’s Top Tips for Protecting Confidential Information and Trade Secrets in Motorsport.

• Finally, it is great to report that the Professional Motorsport World Expo is back and will take place November 10, 11, 12, 2021 at Köln Messe in Cologne, Germany. Full details can be found here.

From the Motorsport Prospects Archives

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important both within motorsport as well as in the greater social sphere but it sometimes becomes increasingly hard to determine what it all means. My Sustainable Motorsport Round-Up connects the term to the world of motorsport with concrete examples but the move towards sustainability is also an opportunity that race drivers can and should embrace. This is what I discuss in Getting Green Tech Motorsport Sponsorship in this Age of Sustainability.

The Last Lap

Here are some interesting motorsport-related nuggets from around the world in this week’s Last Lap.

• Robert Wickens is working hard to make it back to the track and in Back Behind the Wheel, Racer looks at his progress so far. Inspirational.

• I have mentioned this before but Palm Beach International Raceway needs your help!

• Looking for a new vacation home? Check out At These New Luxury Residences, the Home of the British Grand Prix Can Be Your Home, Too but don’t complain about the noise!.

• Here is a wonderful opportunity to do some good while getting the opportunity to win a class at the Skip Barber Racing School. “The Skip Barber Racing School is proud to support the fight against Parkinson’s with our donation of one 1-Day Racing School package worth $2,195. For a minimum contribution of $100, you have the opportunity to win the driving experience of your life with Skip Barber’s coaches, hospitality, and Roush Mustangs on one of America’s iconic North American race tracks.” Full details and to sign up can be found here.

• Fancy a drive around the French and Italian Riviera in a classic car but don’t know which one to use? Here are Top 5 Classic Convertibles for Exploring Italy and the French Riviera.

• It is still the hardest supercar name to pronounce but man it is fast and now it is an art car. Find out how in How James Jean Turned This Koenigsegg Agera RS Into the World’s Fastest Art Car.

• How about this for a last lap! Check out DTM driver Liam Lawson taking fellow DTM and newly appointed Williams F1 driver Alex Albon for a lap of the Nordschleife.

Stay safe and I will see you at the track!