Racecraft & Driver Development News, Tips & Techniques for February 7, 2022 – Sim Rigs for Race Prep, Vintage Racing Tips and More

This week in Racecraft & Driver Development News, Tips & Techniques I have a lot of ground to cover. From using a sim rig to prep for a real race, friendly advice for vintage racers, aerodynamics, driver development news and more, there is enough here for any racer. I also add some Driver Snapshots which I hope will prove to be instructive.

Racecraft Tips & Techniques

• Spectro Racing has a good video on using a sim rig to prep for a real race. You can watch the video above.

• Racing a vintage race car? Classic Motorsports has re-posted an informative article that was originally published in 2010 called 35 Bits of Friendly Racing Advice from the Pros. “Despite the differing points of view, one bit of wisdom was universally proffered by our pros: Preserve the soul of the cars you drive. Don’t lose sight of a vintage racer’s true character, don’t smother its history with modifications, and don’t push a chassis further than its designers intended.”

• The High Performance Academy has a special offer for their Race Driving Fundamentals webinar where the price is reduced by half. You can further details on the curriculum and how to sign up on their website here.

• Green Racing news analyzes the Mahindra Racing Blueprints video on aerodynamics in Aerodynamics: The Heart of Motorsports. You can watch the video below.

• Just a reminder that today (February 7, 2022) is the last day to sign up for Ross Bentley’s webinar Improve Your Racecraft that takes place on February 9th. When asked to define the term “racecraft” Ross came up with this definition which I quote:
  • “Positioning your car to gain an advantage over other drivers on track, whether that’s passing someone, being passed while losing the least amount of time, defending your position, and/or gaining time and position on another driver on race starts and restarts. There are fast drivers…then there are race winners. See, there are three things every racer needs:
    • Outright speed
    • Track knowledge
    • Racecraft
  • Generally, it’s the last one that makes the biggest difference. Race winners are racers – their racecraft makes the difference. (Of course, even to go from 20th to 15th is usually a matter of racecraft).”

Driver Development News, Views & Resources

• I have posted this before but it deserves to be re-posted. In light of all the new driver development series being introduced around the world, meet F1600, the link between karting and superstardom.

• Last week I mentioned that MotiV8 Training would be launching their brand new membership site the MotiV8 Toolkit. It has officially launched and I am in the process of reviewing all its benefits but needless to say they are considerable. It covers topics as diverse as nutrition and sponsorship and content is added weekly. Look for a more in depth review in the next few days but you can go ahead and take a look yourself here.

• The Red Bull Driver Development Program has an unenviable reputation of a program that splits with drivers almost as fast as it signs them. F2 and Red Bull junior driver Juri Vips says that, unlike popular belief, team advisor Helmut Marko is “straightforward and good to work with if things are going well. The driver was also quick to clarify that the Austrian would also ‘put you under pressure’.”

• Team HARD Racing have concluded their 2022 Scholarship and have named James Taylor as this year’s recipient. They have also announced the launch of their 2023 scholarship. Full details and how to enroll can be found here.

• Ferrari has posted a great, behind the scenes look at what goes on at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. As per Ferrari: “21st August 2021, everything is ready for the start of the the greatest endurance race of the world: the 24h of Le Mans! Feel the emotions and the tension of the first hours of the race through the words of our drivers!” Watch Episode 1 of 24H To Win above.

• From Le Mans we go to the recently concluded Rolex 24 as CarBahn with Peregrine Racing’s Jeff Westphal explains how the this year’s 24 Hours evolved for him and his team in his Sportscar 365 column The Many Layers to the Daytona Onion.

• Finally, the FIA has crowned the first winners of the new WRC rally talent search.

Driver Snapshots

Learning from the experience of others is key to succeeding in any walk of life and racing is no different. In Driver Snapshots, I will feature the experiences of various drivers where you can get some perspective on what they have gone through (and continue to go through) as they work to make their motorsport careers happen. I hope you can take some lessons from these experiences and apply them to your own motorsport careers.

Have a Plan

• Fifteen year old Connor Zilisch has transitioned from karts to cars and is following the Mazda development path on his journey to becoming a pro racer. Mazda Motorsports chronicles his journey so far in Journey of a Racing Prodigy: Connor Zilisch and the key take away is that he and his father are following a defined plan. While situations change and opportunities come and go, it is important to determine where you want to go in your motorsport career and then define the path you need, and can afford, to get there.

• One of the things I am working on with the Motorsport Prospects Directory is to build a list of motorsport scholarships, scholarships that a lot of young drivers and their parents are just not aware of. These can give a young driver both financial assistance but perhaps more importantly, a team of mentors that will be invaluable to their development. For Courtney Crone, the Gorsline Scholarship was a career and life reset for her motorsport journey.

That’s it for this week’s look at Racecraft and Driver Development. Tomorrow I will return with my regular round-up of news and resources related to that other part of the motorsport journey, that related to the Business of Being a Race Driver. See you then!