This week you will learn how to train like an Indy 500 champion as I bring you video of a behind the scenes look at what it’s really like. I also have tips on using iRacing to help with your real-world racecraft, the incredible growth of Formula 4 and a chance for you to have a say on the future direction of SCCA Autocross. All this and more in this week’s edition of the Racecraft & Race Cars Roundup on Motorsport Prospects.
Racecraft Tips & Techniques
On-Track
Enzo Mucci provides insight into how race drivers can use iRacing to improve their real world results and their race weekend preparation.
It’s from 2016 but the information is still valid. Grassroots Motorsports explains the 10 lessons that will keep your race effort disciplined. “Why did we keep failing? It’s a long story, but there was one overarching theme: We didn’t take things seriously. We’d been lucky in our past endurance racing efforts, and that luck had affixed rose-colored glasses to our faces. We assumed everything would work out okay with our Miata, even when we didn’t have any evidence to back up that belief.”
Go on-board with Guy Cosmo as he races a Ligier JS P320 LMP3 at Sebring at night in a recent HSR Prototype Challenge Presented by IMSA race in the latest edition of The Driver’s Eye.
Samir Abid of Your Data Driven has recommended One Tyre Fire: A Tale of the Mazda-Sevens by Ayrton Rogers as a book about what it’s really like to go racing.
Written by a fellow racer here in the UK, One Tyre Fire by Ayrton Rogers give a rare behind-the-scenes account of the challenges, highs and lows of starting out racing in a new-to-them series.
The book is presented as Ayrton’s diary, chronicling the journey from before they had a car, through the build process, testing, and the racing events over the year.
Ayrton is a really engaging writer, and I found myself laughing out loud at times – not just at the jokes (of which there are plenty), but at the relatable “Oh, I’ve been there too” moments. Moments that, until then, you might think were unique to you – like studying your competitors’ YouTube videos for their start techniques. Hands up, I’ve done that!
What it’s really like to go racing
Off-Track
The Cars Without Sausage podcast brings you insider tips on how to train like a champion for the Indy 500! “In this Cars without Sausage Podcast video episode, we’ll share the best training techniques to help you master the iconic Indy 500 race with Human Performance Motorsport Coach, Jim Leo from PitFit.”
Grassroots Motorsports reports that NASA recently launched its Instructor Benefits program that offers its instructors perks besides the satisfaction of helping introduce new people to the sport. Instructors will now be eligible to receive “Bucks” toward Hawk Performance, VP Racing and Summit Racing purchases.
For more information, click here.
Race Car & Series Developments
Autosport Plus looks at how a decade of F4 has revolutionized single-seater racing.
“In 2024, there are 15 FIA-certified F4 championships, on nearly every one of the continents of the globe. And this year, the Formula 1 grid contains six graduates of F4. While that doesn’t sound like many, it should be remembered that the remaining 14 were already in F1 or competing at a higher level of single-seaters at the time F4 began. Besides, in all likelihood Ollie Bearman and Andrea Kimi Antonelli – respectively the 2021 and 2022 champions in both Italian and German F4 – will in 2025 join the elite, which presently includes Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant (graduates from British F4), Lance Stroll and Zhou Guanyu (Italian), and Yuki Tsunoda (Japanese).”
Formula Scout reports on how Formula Regional Europe teams will need to fit revised front lower wishbones to their cars this season in a move aimed at helping women racing in the championship. The mandatory update kit for the Tatuus T-318 has been introduced to facilitate the handling and to reduce the physical effort required to steer the car, according to championship organizers.
“This agreement represents a continuation and consistency in the attention we’ve always given to female drivers,” the ACI and Alpine, which promote FREC, told Formula Scout. “[It] not only enriches the starting grid, but also highlights the importance and focus that our championship places on supporting young girls who have chosen to pursue a career in motorsport.”
The Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli has been designated as the official Single Make series in the FIA Motorsport Games, expanding the total number of competition categories to 27 for the 2024 edition in Valencia, scheduled for October 23-27.
The competition format will feature two 45-minute practice sessions, followed by a 30-minute qualifying session. A 30-minute Qualifying Race will then determine the starting grid for the 30-minute Main Race, which will decide the winners.
Andrea Mladosic, head of Ferrari Challenge & Corso Pilota, said, “We are very satisfied with this recognition because it testifies, once again, to the level of the Ferrari Challenge. I am confident that the fans will really appreciate the spectacle the races provide.”
The Nürburgring Endurance Series (NES) last weekend confirmed the cancellation of its first four-hour race on the eve of the event as the result of a “concerted withdrawal” of 80 marshals.
“During the preparations, the NES organization had received sufficient commitments from marshals and participants so that nothing stood in the way of running the four-hour race on Saturday, 4 May. While the test sessions were still in progress, 80 marshals cancelled their participation within a very short period of time on Friday at lunchtime.”
“Although the majority of the marshals would have been available to work around the 24.358 kilometres long track configuration of Nordschleife and sprint circuit and a reserve of marshals was also available, the cancellation meant that the total number of remaining marshals was not sufficient to safeguard the race track in accordance with the requirements.”
SCCA’s Solo department would like your assistance in determining the long-term direction of the Club’s autocross program, but to do that, not only does SCCA need your expertise, knowledge, and experience, but the Club wants you to share this survey with friends who are former autocrossers, non-SCCA autocrossers, and those who are autocross curious.
This survey is extremely important. It’s member input and feedback that led the Club to 200 treadwear tires, CAM, and Solo Spec Coupe, all of which have immeasurably altered the trajectory of the sport. And much like when you head out for that final run of the day, it’s once again time to look for improvements.
CLICK HERE to take the survey.
Aythorpe Promotions Limited (APL) under the leadership of Historic and contemporary racer and car collector Shaun Lynn has confirmed that they have acquired the Motor Racing Legends organization from current Chairman Duncan Wiltshire.
“It is our hope that, through a shared passion for historic motorsport, we can help to write the next historic motorsport chapter. We’re delighted that Duncan will continue to lead the business until the end of 2024 and we look forward to working alongside his team to deliver what is set to be an outstanding season.”
Racer reports that two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano, through his sponsor Shell, was at Charlotte Motor Speedway in mid-March to spend the day with Torsten Gross. Logano and Gross, a C6 quadriplegic and founder of the Just Hands Foundation, which focuses on adaptive driving solutions, were going to highlight the inner workings of a retrofitted hand-controlled Ford Mustang before each took a turn driving it through the road course section of the racetrack.
“I want people to understand what it’s like,” said Gross, whose foundation takes the approach of not walking a mile in someone’s shoes but driving a mile in their gloves. “Joey leaving with two different mindsets is exactly what I wanted (going) from, ‘That’s not as hard as I thought,’ to, ‘Wow that’s pretty damn hard.’”
Watch the video above for a look at the experience.
Track Days
The Ford Mustang Dark Horse has plenty of power–a total of 500 ponies, to be exact–but how does it actually do on track? Find out as our test driver J.G. Pasterjak took one around the Grassroots Motorsports official test track, the Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park (FIRM) in the video above.
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.
