Racecraft & Driver Development Roundup for September 6, 2022

This week the Racecraft & Driver Development Roundup is once again overflowing with great tips and advice to help you grow and develop as a race driver. In Racecraft, there are tips on the mechanics of how to win a race weekend, how to control oversteer, using video to compare racing drivers and more. In Driver Development, there is advice on reaching optimal performance, how to be a racer, a guide to fulfilling your motorsport dreams as well as the latest driver development program news and more.

Racecraft Tips & Techniques

• Enzo Mucci looks at How To WIN A Race Weekend with professional driver coach tips. “This is the mechanics of how to win a race weekend and get your season back on track.” You can watch the video above.

• Blayze looks at How To Control Oversteer. “Understeer is when you turn in, and the car goes straight, and you hit the barriers with the front of the car. Oversteer is when you turn in, and the rear of the car overtakes the front, and you hit the barriers with the rear of the car.”

• Ross Bentley of Speed Secrets answers the question: Should drivers “point-by” other cars when racing wheel to wheel? Just a reminder to also read the comments in these Ask Ross columns on social media as there are often some good points and further explanations found there in response to reader questions.

• Your Data Driven has an excellent post and accompanying video on How To Use Video To Compare Racing Drivers. “The issue with that is you might feel like your car had nothing more to give when in fact it did. When another driver – in your car or a similar one – is able to find more speed, you can either make an excuse or look to learn.”

• Your Data Driven also explains Tyre Slip Angle. “You might hear tyre slip angle mentioned a lot motorsport. Normally it is when someone is trying to explain how a car corners. However, it is not immediately obvious what a “slip angle” is, nor how this relates to tyres. This article will help you make sense of what is going on.”

Driver Development News & Resources

• Vroom Magazine reports that the Richard Mille Young Talent Academy is broadening their search for talent. “The winner of the 2022 RMYTA promotion will be offered a full season in the Spanish Formula 4 championship, six days of testing with the MP Motorsport team, the defending champion in the category, as well as personal support and exclusive technical and sporting coaching through a contract with All Road Management.” The terms and regulations of the 2022 RMYTA Shoot Out are listed on the following dedicated website: https://allroadmanagement.com/richardmilleyoungtalentacademy/

• Hintsa Performance has an excellent an excellent article and video on Reaching Optimal Performance: How True Change Starts From Within. “Do you know who you are? Do you know what you want? Are you in control of your life?” – three questions we ask all of our coaching clients but are surprisingly difficult to answer. At Hintsa we call this inner motivation for change ‘the Core’, and it’s a key part of our coaching model. But what does it truly mean and how does it relate to high performance?“

• Grassroots Motorsports explains for you 10 steps to fulfilling your motorsports dreams. “So back to the popular question: How do I find the best car for my first forays into motorsports? Listen to David the editor, not David the hoarder. First, the car you have is likely good enough. See, we’re already on the homestretch.”

• Allen Berg Racing Schools has to put together the comprehensive How To Be A Racer which looks as much to the “why” as to the “how”. “If you’re an ambitious young person who dreams of becoming a professional racing driver, the path to success is far from clear. You’ve seen the pros do it on TV or even live at the track. But how can you gain the skills and the experience to take the first step on that path yourself? After all, it’s not like you can go down to your local race track the way youngsters head to the park to throw a ball around. It’s different, you have to have complete dedication and passion for this sport.”

• Speaking of racing schools, the ERA Racing School was recently launched at Circuit Zolder in Belgium. “The ERA Racing School will be run in the style of a classic racing school, with an eye to the future, as it incorporates the ground-breaking ERA single-seaters that among others are active in meetings of the FIA ETCR e-Touring Car World Cup. With Xavier Maassen’s expertise, the ERA Racing School aims to train the champions of tomorrow, but also to steer the ardent motorsport enthusiasts in their first steps on the track, while companies can also enjoy tailor-made activities and experience days.” More information can be found here.

• The participants for the 2022 Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA) – Asia Pacific and Oceania regional selection program have been chosen with 24 drivers to attend Sepang International Circuit for the three-day event. With Motorsport Australia running the Asia Pacific and Oceania regional selection program in 2022, the 24 selected teenagers hail from seven different countries highlighting the diversity of this year’s talent pool. Full details can be found in the link above.

• Women In Motorsports North America has announced “WOMEN WITH DRIVE II” Driven by Mobil 1. “The motorsport industry event will bring together the most successful and influential people in motorsports to discuss the current issues and needs to advance opportunities for a more diverse and inclusive environment to help grow the motorsports industry. The WWD II – Driven by Mobil 1 Summit takes place on October 5-6 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.”

• Speaking of women in motorsport, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali raised more than a few eyebrows when he stated that female drivers competing in Formula One in the next five years is very unlikely. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem almost immediately issued a statement saying that the FIA is committed to greater opportunity for women in motorsport. One of the reasons I mention this is that supporting girls and women in motorsport always seems to be a polarizing topic for some reason, with the focus often being on the W Series. I have covered this debate endlessly since the series launched but it is always key to listen to those who are actually racing to get their thoughts on the series and its place in the motorsport ecosystem. For Jessica Hawkins, the benefits are quite clear. As she explains to The Checkered Flag, “I wouldn’t have been racing the last four years, period”.

• While not directly related to motorsport, it still covers ground that is unfortunately applicable to all sport. UCI Mountain Bike World Champion Evie Richards explains that young female athletes need to know what’s normal and what’s not. “It took me a long time to realise what makes me happy as a bike racer, and as ‘Evie’ – the person I am when I am away from my sport – but, since I worked that out, I’ve seen my life on and off the bike just get better and better. I don’t think some of the issues I faced are focused on enough by anyone in professional sport, so I like to speak about them as much as I can.”

• The Sports Development Group is bringing the FIA Rally Star program to Canada. Entry details are available here and sporting regulations are here. These four challenges use the WRC 9 game with the users choice of platform (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S). A previously unseen stage is delivered as downloadable content. Competitors can drive the stage 100 times before five timed runs – the fastest of which counts as their entry to the competition.There’s no restriction on the number of #RallyAtHome Challenges a competitor can enter. Winners of the #RallyAtHome Challenges, along with potential wild card entries,will progress further in the competition with the goal of reaching the Continental Rally Star Finals in Peru in December. Success at the Continental Finals in Peru will earn a seat in the FIA Rally Star training team for 2023, where you’ll compete in six training rallies in a Ford Fiesta Rally3, with top drivers progressing to seats in the Junior WRC. The FIA Rally Star program represents the most comprehensive prize package for drivers from around the world in the history of the sport. An additional place is open for the top female driver to encourage greater participation.

• British F4 have announced a two-day New Driver Test to take place at Snetterton on October 27-28, 2022 for prospective drivers looking to enter the 2023 season. “The two-day event will give drivers an early opportunity to get to grips with the championship’s industry-leading Tatuus-Abarth-Pirelli package and begin building up testing mileage around the Norfolk circuit’s 2.96-mile “300” layout. That, plus the perfect opportunity to network with the championship’s industry-leading single seater teams and participate in workshops showcasing the best of Britain’s FIA Formula 4 series, will provide aspiring motorsport stars of the future with all the tools to hit the ground running during the off-season. Drivers wishing to participate in the two-day test can contact teams currently registered to compete in the championship by clicking here.”

• PITFIT founder Jim Leo sat down with AMG Denz to have a chat about an area we often see but never tend to actually ask the questions or see the importance but plays a major point not only on a driver’s performance but also in the pitstop crew. You can watch Journey Beyond the Pitstop above.

• Known for his successful YouTube channel ‘SuperGT’, Steve Alvarez Brown is jumping up to real race cars for the final round of Radical’s SR1 Cup, 17th-18th September 2022. Steve will race alongside over 30 other Radical’s at the Donington GP circuit, including Valour Racing’s Daryl DeLeon Taylor who is currently leading the SR1 Cup championship. While being Radical’s “entry level race car”, the SR1 is a full-on purpose-built race car generating lap times faster than GT4 cars costing three times as much. The Radical SR1 Cup is the complete “motorsport starter kit” making it the UK’s most compelling entry point into circuit racing. Radical’s UK Motorsport Manager, Nicole Van der Walt said, ‘we’re excited to learn that Steve is joining our grid for the penultimate race of the season. He’s obviously very talented in the sim racing and virtual world, so it’ll be interesting to see how he performs on track.’

• Autoweek looks at Why the NHRA Is Failing to Attract Young Sensations to Pro Ranks. “Funny Car 16-time champion John Force wants to see more young faces at drag racing’s top level.” Force explains what the NHRA has to offer that no other motorsport can claim.

• Finally, LA Weekly looks at The Best Recovery Products to Try in 2022. “Recovery products can help athletes and weekend warriors alike by reducing recovery times and allowing you to maximize your training sessions. Some recovery products can help by decreasing lactic acid build up, reducing inflammation, or helping you get better sleep and rest.”