The Business of Being a Race Driver for January 25, 2022 – Managing Your Online Presence, the Costs of Racing Formula Fords, Radicals, Spec Miatas and More

Welcome to this week’s Business of Being a Race Driver. Today I will highlight some excellent advice on developing your online presence through both a website and social media, why being open to meeting new people can lead to new opportunities, some available drives and the cost of racing Formula Fords, Radicals and Spec Miatas. Let’s dig in!

Tools, Techniques & Tips

• Social media and websites are critically important networking tools for all race drivers but where and how should they be used? Here are two important reads on the issue.
  • PRI looks at the question that most people have on their mind these days. In Make The Case: Websites Vs. Social Media, they look at where you should be investing in your online presence and why.
  • Megan Lingner discusses another important aspect of your online presences. In Debate: Should You Combine Your Personal and Business Content? she tackles the question of whether you should combine your personal and business lives online. The short answer is no. Read the article to understand why.

• Speaking of Megan and social media, are you trying to figure out what to post on LinkedIn? If you are a Shift Up Now member, Megan will be hosting their first webinar of 2022 called LinkedIn Lessons with Megan Lingner. It takes place on February 9th, at 8pm ET. And if you are not a Shift Up Now member, this may be just the nudge you need to join. Details can be found on the Shift Up Now website.

• When you are entertaining sponsors during a race weekend, it is important to understand their needs. Sponsorship activation agency Sport Dimensions recommends to potential sponsors How to Make the Most of Your Event Weekend.

• I have seen numerous examples of drivers finding sponsors in the most unlikely ways and in the most unlikely places. You should always be willing to talk to any potential sponsors as you will never know what opportunities might present themselves. Just ask Indycar driver Conor Daly as he found out during his recent Vegas 30th birthday bash.

Drives Available

UK Racing team Valluga Racing is looking for drivers to defend their GTB crown in GT Cup. In 2021 they had podiums in GT Open, GT Cup and Carrera Cup GB with the Porsche 991.2 GT3 Cup Cars. They currently have driver seats available for suitably funded drivers in British Endurance Championship GT Cup and more. Taster runs and full test days are available right now. You can contact them for more information here.

The Costs of Racing

• In Why the next karting prodigy won’t reach F1 as quickly as its newest champion did, RaceFans goes into considerable depth regarding the costs of competing in the European junior single-seater ladder and it is an important read, not just for drivers and their parents but series administrators as well. The costs of testing in F4 for example has ballooned to ridiculous proportions which is one of the reasons cited by Peter Mucke for leaving single-seaters and focusing on GT racing.

• Looking to race Formula Fords in Australia? AutoAuction looks at the costs of racing in this still crucial development series for karters looking to move to cars.

• In the video above, Jackie Ding looks at the real cost of racing in the North American Radical Cup with Radical Cup team Group A Racing.

• Finally, No Money Motorsports has put together the extremely thorough Ultimate Spec Miata Handbook for BUDGET racers.

That’s it for this week and the business side of being a race driver. Check back tomorrow for my regular weekly motorsport series news round-up.