So... how does one become a professional race car driver?

[TheCracker]

Well first buy a stock second hand as your race car. Your career will depend on what events you will use your car. If you want to race touring cars, buy a cheap saloon. Race at a track with other newbies and get noticed.

Get noticed by whom? Few people go to watch club racing, let alone 'talent scouts'.

Do more weekend racing till you are approached to a racing license.

Your going to need one of those before you start racing.

Now race one make cup cars.

And a budget of about £40k to even do Clio Cup racing - not including the cost of the car.

Keep getting better, get more licenses and race more powerful cars. One day, you could have pole posisition at an f1 race.

I'm starting to think you're getting these ideas from playing ToCA games?

 

[F1GTR]

Get a high paying job, get married, have a son, buy him a kart and then live vicariously through him.

 

[lpb-nissan-gt-r]

Do we not have a Motorsport section? It annoys me that car related topics are always on the rumble strip.

It's all about sponsors, they get you the priority seats and treatment. Oh, and Hamilton was basically given £9m. Give anyone that amount of money and tell them to race cars it's pretty difficult not to get SOMEWHERE with it.

Yeah but he had to prove himself in order to get there to that position.

 

[Smallhorses]

Indeed, it's not like Ron Dennis went wandering around door to door until he found a random kid to lavish 9m on, it was because through his own father's sacrifice to allow him to race karts in the first place that his talent was noticed and tipped as a prospect for the future by the boss of an F1 team.

Also, find a copy of this book:

Read it.
Tell me he was "...some overprivilaged asshole kid with rich parents who have too much money..."
Not a bit of it, the sacrifices he made, pushing himself & his family almost to bankruptcy before hitting the big time, show that it's not always the rich that prosper here.
Sure it helps, but it's not the prerequisite that it's been made out to be. Determination and sheer bloody-mindedness are a huge part of the equation.

 

[Dan360]

@TheCracker Thanks for giving time to read my view. Yes i've got stuff wrong but it's a rough idea on how to become a racing driver. Take Lewis Hamilton, he started off go karting at the age of 8. Then his dad upgraded his 50cc to 100cc and so on. On one of his interviews he said that he would want to race in McLaren, and where is he now? He climbed up from F3000 to F1, and thats like someway of my idea on how to become a racing driver. But for the racing license thing? I have no idea. Some ordinary person got his racing license by winning a competition on a magazine. He got to drive a 370Z with supervised people, did some theory tests and got his license. Although it was slightly more complicated than that, but I didn't bother to read on...

 

[Peter]

So, how about for someone whose still young and has a long life ahead? I'm 13, Jamaica seriously only has 1 bloody carting track, and it costs loads of money to buy a cart, which we don't have, and even if we did, we wouldn't be able to maintain it, since none of us have any mechanic skills. The only possible way for me to have any success in racing in the future is for me to move to USA and try to get something going there, and that's not happening anytime soon. Looks like my hopes and dreams are pretty much just hopes and dreams.

 

[Max_DC]

Most has been said, I think it comes down to two realistic options :

1. Your parents are rich. In that case everything is possible. Or nothing. But who cares, you are rich and can do what ever you want including failing big time while having fun.

2.Your parents ( or your father ) is a racing nut who will do everything to support your racing career start. Those dads can be great, but horrible as well. Because there is a thin line between support and forcing your kid to do stuff you couldn't do.


Everything else may be possible in theory and in reality for some chosen individuals with extraordinary skills and a lot of luck, but I wouldn't count on it.

I guess for most of us the intelligent way is to try to make enough money in our jobs to maybe become a hobby race driver one day or at least to be the guy with the fastest car in our neighborhood. Or you simply buy a PS3, a racing wheel and GT5 - let's face it, we can't all be Neil Armstrong or Hamilton/Schumacher/Andretti etc for that matter.

 

[McLaren]

Also, find a copy of this book:

Read it.
Tell me he was "...some overprivilaged asshole kid with rich parents who have too much money..."
Not a bit of it, the sacrifices he made, pushing himself & his family almost to bankruptcy before hitting the big time, show that it's not always the rich that prosper here.
Sure it helps, but it's not the prerequisite that it's been made out to be. Determination and sheer bloody-mindedness are a huge part of the equation.

Thanks for bringing this book to light. Can you PM me anymore similar F1 books you'd recommend?

 

[Danny]

Get a high paying job, get married, have a son, buy him a kart and then live vicariously through him.

This is the most sensible suggestion.

I'd also advise crashing his supercar.

 

[Event]

so from what I've gathered is that I will never be able to race professionally since I'm past my karting prime. great, I kind of figured that. so I'm pretty much at most going to be a weekend warrior who spends gobs and gobs of money to buy and maintain a track car and go into lapping sessions? I wonder how much it would end up costing to do the spec miata races... could I do that on an engineer's salary?

 

[NISM0_SKYLINE]

My plan is to get a Subaru, fix it up to Rally America standards, enter it into some Rally America events, and hope for the best. And take my 240 to some SCCA events and just have fun. I don't plan on becoming the next Ken Block or Travis Pastrana, but I have an idea on how it might work. All I need now is a Subaru and a few grand to safety it up and a little power.

 

[Christian_C]

So, how about for someone whose still young and has a long life ahead? I'm 13, Jamaica seriously only has 1 bloody carting track, and it costs loads of money to buy a cart, which we don't have, and even if we did, we wouldn't be able to maintain it, since none of us have any mechanic skills. The only possible way for me to have any success in racing in the future is for me to move to USA and try to get something going there, and that's not happening anytime soon. Looks like my hopes and dreams are pretty much just hopes and dreams.

OT: You're 13? That's surprising to me, you've always given the impression of being more around the age of 23 due to your maturity 👍

 

[niky]

@Peter: Emigrate to Europe. I share your pain.

@Event: Basically. I believe Spec Miata is designed so you won't be so hard out of pocket, but you will have to spend. Competing in a street-car class will give you more leeway (and you won't have to spend on a cage and racing tires), but you have to check what's close to you and what mods you can run.

Oh, and Hamilton was basically given £9m.

Did you not read my post? Like Smallhorsese says: his father basically gave up his own career ambitions and worked his nuts off to support Hamilton in karting... long before Ron Dennis even knew who Hamilton was.

Sure, we give Daddy guff for not knowing how to handle a Carrera GT (a tricky supercar if there ever was one), but he did get one thing right... he recognized his son's extraordinary talent and chose to develop it early.

It's not rich parents you need... (Not if you're in the US or UK, mind, elsewhere, it helps)... it's dedicated ones. Because becoming a racing driver is a terrible business decision. Unless you're one of the very talented few who can make it to the top echelons of the sport, you'll be spending lots of money over a long time hoping to catch a sponsor or a ride in a sponsored team. Now, if you're rich, you can own a sponsored team... but "rich" racing drivers are running as privateers at the bottom rungs of Porsche cups and Touring Cars worldwide.

Sure... I know a few racing drivers who are well-off... and whose personal fortunes support them in racing... but guess what? That money only goes into their racing because they're second and third generation racing drivers, and the family's income basically revolves around racing and automotive sales, repair or resales.

 

[Event]

@Peter: Emigrate to Europe. I share your pain.

@Event: Basically. I believe Spec Miata is designed so you won't be so hard out of pocket, but you will have to spend. Competing in a street-car class will give you more leeway (and you won't have to spend on a cage and racing tires), but you have to check what's close to you and what mods you can run.



Did you not read my post? Like Smallhorsese says: his father basically gave up his own career ambitions and worked his nuts off to support Hamilton in karting... long before Ron Dennis even knew who Hamilton was.

Sure, we give Daddy guff for not knowing how to handle a Carrera GT (a tricky supercar if there ever was one), but he did get one thing right... he recognized his son's extraordinary talent and chose to develop it early.

It's not rich parents you need... (Not if you're in the US or UK, mind, elsewhere, it helps)... it's dedicated ones. Because becoming a racing driver is a terrible business decision. Unless you're one of the very talented few who can make it to the top echelons of the sport, you'll be spending lots of money over a long time hoping to catch a sponsor or a ride in a sponsored team. Now, if you're rich, you can own a sponsored team... but "rich" racing drivers are running as privateers at the bottom rungs of Porsche cups and Touring Cars worldwide.

Sure... I know a few racing drivers who are well-off... and whose personal fortunes support them in racing... but guess what? That money only goes into their racing because they're second and third generation racing drivers, and the family's income basically revolves around racing and automotive sales, repair or resales.

Unfortunately, there are those of us that weren't even given the chance to show any signs of talent. Parents didn't have the disposable income to take the risk to let us try it. At least Hamilton's parents at some point were able to get him racing. They couldn't have known he was talented without throwing him in a kart

 

[niky]

They knew. Hamilton started in RC racing. When, as a pre-schooler, he beat a whole bunch of adults at a national championship, the Hamiltons basically knew their kid was something else.

Simply the luck of the draw... I guess. But as an adult, you make your own luck.

At this point, if you're in your 20s and you do have the raw talent, you go into karts. And if you win... you get noticed. That's basically it.

My problem is worse. Not only is our karting scene here tiny... as I've said... our currency sucks, so to go karting on my salary is problematic, even if I'm middle management. I'd have to convince my wife that a secondhand racing cart is worth our kid's entire college tuition.

And I'm 35. At this point, despite whatever natural talent I might have, I'm too old to seek a professional seat. Teams will want to develop drivers in their teens or their twenties. That gives them a 10-20 year shelf life. Mine is basically 3-4 years, and that's it.

If you really want to do it, you can do it. I know guys who've been racing forever... who are very talented... and who basically support their habits by working as race instructors... aside from their regular jobs. These guys run rings around "gentleman racers" in 911s and M3s... in Neons. They'll never be in F1 or NASCAR, but they're good at what they do, they love what they're doing, and they're good enough to make enough of a living doing it to not end up in the poor house.

We all have our regrets. I could have a been a racing driver, a guitarist, an artist. If only, if only. But I've got a good job, a sideline driving cars for review, a nice guitar gathering dust in the bedroom, a small T-shirt business and a wife and kid. I think I've done pretty well for myself.

 

[Northstar]

so from what I've gathered is that I will never be able to race professionally since I'm past my karting prime. great, I kind of figured that. so I'm pretty much at most going to be a weekend warrior who spends gobs and gobs of money to buy and maintain a track car and go into lapping sessions? I wonder how much it would end up costing to do the spec miata races... could I do that on an engineer's salary?

Ignoring what it would take to buy the car as I have no idea what that would run(probably around 5-10K), running a NASA regional race is only $329 plus $50 for the transponder rental.

Obviously there are plenty of other expenses(fuel, tire, getting the car to the track), but overall it's not insanely expensive.

My plan is to get a Subaru, fix it up to Rally America standards, enter it into some Rally America events, and hope for the best. And take my 240 to some SCCA events and just have fun. I don't plan on becoming the next Ken Block or Travis Pastrana, but I have an idea on how it might work. All I need now is a Subaru and a few grand to safety it up and a little power.

All you have to worry about is if Rally America will still be around by the time you accomplish that.

 

[Reims_]

so from what I've gathered is that I will never be able to race professionally since I'm past my karting prime. great, I kind of figured that. so I'm pretty much at most going to be a weekend warrior who spends gobs and gobs of money to buy and maintain a track car and go into lapping sessions? I wonder how much it would end up costing to do the spec miata races... could I do that on an engineer's salary?

Well technically being a professional athlete means you get payed to do what you do. I still don't know your location and if it is indeed Illinois then I'm not even sure how close that is to the Carolina's

BUT

In America a good entry level (still expensive) series is Late Model Stock cars. Head to the home of NASCAR, Charlotte North Carolina and see what you can find. I drove one on Las Vegas Motor Speedway and they are serious 170ish mph machines. Unfortunately Americans don't see the value of turning right so your options of circuit racing is limited.

 

[TheCracker]

@TheCracker Thanks for giving time to read my view. Yes i've got stuff wrong but it's a rough idea on how to become a racing driver. Take Lewis Hamilton, he started off go karting at the age of 8. Then his dad upgraded his 50cc to 100cc and so on. On one of his interviews he said that he would want to race in McLaren, and where is he now? He climbed up from F3000 to F1, and thats like someway of my idea on how to become a racing driver. But for the racing license thing? I have no idea. Some ordinary person got his racing license by winning a competition on a magazine. He got to drive a 370Z with supervised people, did some theory tests and got his license. Although it was slightly more complicated than that, but I didn't bother to read on...

Reading back what i posted earlier i might of come across dismissive in my reply. I didn't mean to be so curt.

I'm sure it is possible for a 'normal' person to make it big in motorsport as a driver, and as 'normal' i mean not someone born with a silver spoon in their mouth. As niky pointed out, the very rich tend to become 'gentleman drivers' and are content to race in fairly high profile non-single seater championships.

The ones that make it big come from comfortable backgrounds where parents have enough spare income to pay for a season or two of junior kart racing. If they do well enough and show some talent one of the kart chassis or engine manufacturers may pick them up and semi sponsor them some of the money needed to take things to the next level. Once you start competing in serious national or continental championships, the funds needed to be competitive become prohibitive for most and that's where considerable sacrifices are required by the families supporting these young drivers. It was at this point where Hamilton got picked up by McLaren who mostly funded his progression through junior single seater formulas, ensuring he was placed in a competitive well-funded team. If you don't have the backing in place to pay for a drive in one of the better junior single seater teams at that point in your career, you are unlikely to get the opportunity to shine at all.

 

[Dan360]

@Top of this post. Yes, i agree with that. The main thing to remember is to improve your driving, keep progressing and most importantly, get noticed. All racing drivers that ive heard of have followed that path, wheter they are rally drivers or touring cars. Then again, racing can be casual. You can get to drive on track days, and all you need is a driving license and an instructor beside you.

 

[niky]

As niky pointed out, the very rich tend to become 'gentleman drivers' and are content to race in fairly high profile non-single seater championships.

I'd like to add... the era of the 'gentleman driver' is well and truly in the past. Pre-war, it was possible for a rich tycoon to set up a racing team, manage it, race in his own cars and win. As cars became faster, driving duties shifted over to hire-drivers... "professionals", who came from a vastly different background.

Still... it helps to have some money. But much, much more important: racing has to be in your blood. If your grandfather, father, mother, cousins, brothers and sisters are all involved in racing... it exposes you to racing at an early age. It doesn't make you rich enough to race in the nationals, but it gives you the basic discipline and background that other kids don't have. This is something many critics of guys like Bruno Senna and Ralph Schumacher (I know, I know, I've given Ralphie crap a number of times myself...) don't get. They're not just there because of their last names... they're there because their families basically live for racing.

So, @Event: Yes, you were basically screwed out of a chance at a racing career. but not because your last name isn't Trump... it's because your last name isn't Andretti.

Is it?

 

[Azuremen]

Unfortunately, there are those of us that weren't even given the chance to show any signs of talent. Parents didn't have the disposable income to take the risk to let us try it. At least Hamilton's parents at some point were able to get him racing. They couldn't have known he was talented without throwing him in a kart

You sound just a touch bitter.

Just a touch

I am sure if you had shown enough interest at a younger age you could have found something.

That side, you can afford racing on an engineer's salary, provided you don't work some low level civil type job for a city, or become a 2nd rate HVAC, and even then.

But seriously, drop the attitude. Your parents have certainly done something right if you are pursuing being an engineer.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I agree with Azureman on this one. There's no use harbouring resentment just because someone else got to do it. Honestly, that's really quite rude, since it seems pretty clear you blame your parents for not having enough money to get you started. You don't just throw money at motorsport and it happens - for every one Lewis Hamilton, there are thousands of kids who never graduate from karting. You seem convinced that if you had the same chance as he did, you'd be racing a McLaren right now ... well, it doesn't work that way.