So, um, I want to race at Le Mans one day. (Please read the message throroughly before responding)

[Galaxander96]

As the thread header says, I do indeed have a bucket list goal of racing at the Le Mans 24h endurance one day. Now, I may be 19 years old, but I believe that it is not too late for me to start on that journey, and I really have the dream of racing sports cars. In fact, Damon Hill got a late start in racing, and yet he manage to become a Formula 1 Champion. He became a F1 Champion for crying out loud! The only reason why I never got legit karting experience as a younger kid is because there was no race track nearby where I grew up. The nearest race track was very far away from where I used to live. But the dream hasn't died, if anything, I feel like I can make it a reality for me.

Yeah that sounds a bit far fetched, but I'm not kidding. I really want to do this. I have a stronger-than-ever desire to prove myself on the track, take the wheel and go flat out. I want to know how where I can start on this journey, as soon as possible. I don't want to waste another day out of my life if I don't have to. I want to start working towards that goal now, like right freaking now. Now. Ok I think you get my point.

My thread's purpose is to reach out to this community for advice and help on achieving my goals as a passionate gear head. The GTPlanet community has so far been very welcoming of me to join in, I don't want to have to suffer many rounds of scoffing and snickering like ("hahahaha, you're too old, just shut your mouth, walk away and dream on ) No! I hate it when people go on dream squashing sprees, and I should not have any obligation to listen to pure pessimism and de-motivational banter. I want to have the chance and opportunity that I feel I deserve. I don't want my dreams to be dreams for much longer, it's time for me to make it a reality.

I know what I'm aiming for is really hard, I'm well aware of how difficult it will be. In fact, I've been learning about all the technicalities and essential knowledge of motorsport, from things like the racing line, the slow in fast out principle, all the way to the level of physical fitness required to race, I've been learning about the basics of how the pit lane is properly used in a race, and the list goes on.

I look forward to hearing from you guys. Advice and helpful information is much appreciated.

 

[RX-7_FD3S]

Well first you need to start racing because you're not talking about actual racing.
Go take a subscription to a kart place and run there a lot, train your body, go running every day, train your neck, lookout for a racing drivers fitness program and try to do the same.

Start to save all your money and once you have a decent amount, start to look for touring car championship you can enter by paying. Hope that you're good enough to catch the eyes of someone running LeMans and voila. I know that the GTE class was made for "amateur drivers" so it's totally possible to do it but I dont know exactly what's requiered to enter it, I guess you had to do some racing before.

It seems simple but it's not. It's much harder than people think to dedicate yourself totaly to something. Especially without being sure that you gonna get what you want.

There's some of us here on GTP (not me XD) that are actually running in racing series, so look for them and check what they did.

 

[Galaxander96]

Well first you need to start racing because you're not talking about actual racing.
Go take a subscription to a kart place and run there a lot, train your body, go running every day, train your neck, lookout for a racing drivers fitness program and try to do the same.

Start to save all your money and once you have a decent amount, start to look for touring car championship you can enter by paying. Hope that you're good enough to catch the eyes of someone running LeMans and voila. I know that the GTE class was made for "amateur drivers" so it's totally possible to do it but I dont know exactly what's requiered to enter it, I guess you had to do some racing before.

It seems simple but it's not. It's much harder than people think to dedicate yourself totaly to something. Especially without being sure that you gonna get what you want.

There's some of us here on GTP (not me XD) that are actually running in racing series, so look for them and check what they did.

Oh I'm well aware of how hard it the task will be, I'm not expecting it to be even remotely easy. I am talking about actual racing, in fact I was technically asking "I want to race at Le Mans one day, what can I do to get there?" in a more elaborate way. And yes, I created this thread mostly for people who are actually doing what I am aiming for right now. Those are the kinds of people I'm intending to reach out to with this thread.

Also, I've been looking into GT Academy, but I doubt I'm gonna make it through race camp due to my current physical condition, which needs improvement. It takes many months to train for something like that, but thankfully I ride on my bike for 90 minutes everyday. My cardio is good so far, but not quite there yet.

Thanks for your response, though!

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I've been looking into GT Academy, but I doubt I'm gonna make it through race camp due to my current physical condition, which needs improvement

What I have seen of the GT Academy - they broadcast a reality television-style programme down here - it's completely useless; their idea of a useful racing skill was to drive laps of a short mud oval while being shot at with paintballs. It's small wonder that no-one from the GT Academy has achieved major success.

 

[Galaxander96]

Okay, so with GT Academy crossed off the list, what's the best option for me here? I thought that GT Academy was a legit potential entry point into racing, but I guess it might not be.

 

[Samus]

Okay, so with GT Academy crossed off the list, what's the best option for me here?

Have a lot of money, to be brutally honest. Whether you're hugely naturally talented or not you're going to need a lot of money to really get anywhere.

 

[Galaxander96]

Have a lot of money, to be brutally honest. Whether you're hugely naturally talented or not you're going to need a lot of money to really get anywhere.

Got it. So let's say I have the money squared away, what would be the best next step? I'm sorry if I sound too incompetent. I mean, I have a start point and an end goal, but I'm unclear as to what the best route to get there really is.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I thought that GT Academy was a legit potential entry point into racing, but I guess it might not be.

It's an interesting social experiment - trying to turn gamers into professional athletes, using skills learned from the games in a real-world context - but nothing more. Individually, some of the graduates have had some success, but as a collective whole, it hasn't worked.

 

[Galaxander96]

It's an interesting social experiment - trying to turn gamers into professional athletes, using skills learned from the games in a real-world context - but nothing more. Individually, some of the graduates have had some success, but as a collective whole, it hasn't worked.

From what I can tell, GT Academy is a competition with the grand prize being a sweet new drive with Nissan Motorsports, rather than actually being an academy in a traditional sense.

But that's not really getting me anywhere. What I really want to know now is that, assuming I have the money squared away, where should I go next? What's the next step? I need to know both where I am now and where I am heading next.

Remember, I have a goal of eventually racing at Le Mans. I thoroughly understand that it is extremely difficult, but I firmly believe I can do it. Does anyone know of someone here on GTP that is doing that or has done that before?

Just like RX-7 said earlier, I should try to find those people here on GTP and ask them, which I will do. But is there a way to find those people here? I would love to talk to some of them and get advice from those people.

 

[MatskiMonk]

Got it. So let's say I have the money squared away, what would be the best next step? I'm sorry if I sound too incompetent. I mean, I have a start point and an end goal, but I'm unclear as to what the best route to get there really is.

I'd guess 'the next step' would nearly always depend on how much money you had squared away - you aren't going to get anywhere without money. If you've got it, then buy yourself a seat/drive (here for instance) at the highest level you can - get fit and get wheel time..., and if you don't have it... your best chance to enter a race at Le Mans, is this.

To put things in perspective, you might want to get on Wiki, and go through the entry list from last year, click the drivers that have their own pages on wiki, on read about their previous experience.

Also, @Christhedude is the first name that springs to mind around here.

 

[Galaxander96]

I'd guess 'the next step' would nearly always depend on how much money you had squared away - you aren't going to get anywhere without money. If you've got it, then buy yourself a seat/drive (here for instance) at the highest level you can - get fit and get wheel time..., and if you don't have it... your best chance to enter a race at Le Mans, is this.

To put things in perspective, you might want to get on Wiki, and go through the entry list from last year, click the drivers that have their own pages on wiki, on read about their previous experience.

Also, @Christhedude is the first name that springs to mind around here.

Amazing post there, man! That is precisely the type of answers I was looking for. Pre-requisites, then further steps to take once pre-requisites have been met, a few resources to help aid in that, good stuff, man! I think I have the rest of the information I was looking for, thanks a lot

I applaud you for your helpfulness, now if you excuse me, I'm gonna get on my way now.

 

[jjaisli]

As the thread header says, I do indeed have a bucket list goal of racing at the Le Mans 24h endurance one day.

I look forward to hearing from you guys. Advice and helpful information is much appreciated.

The way I see it, there are two roads to racing Le Mans.

A) Become a professional racing driver.

B) Become ridiculously,filthy rich and either be owner or co-owner of a team, effectively becoming a gentleman driver. Le Mans has a long history of wealthy 'pay' drivers who bought their way into a car. Although, clearly, it's not quite that simple.

To be realistic, Damon Hill was part of another era. And let's not forget who his father was. He had doors opened to him that somebody off the street wouldn't. And in today's age, if you haven't been racing karts since you were at least in your early teens, and really learning race craft from a young age, being able to make it as a professional racer will be a daunting task. Even if you have a massive amount of natural talent, which chances are you don't, without the right combination of sponsors, money, luck and blind opportunity, the chance of making it as a professional racing driver is considerably harder than say, becoming a rock star or a movie star or a professional footballer. There are maybe 300~400 professional drivers out there in the world who are really good enough to race at a top tier motorosports level, and be paid for it. That's 300 out of 7 billion. Granted there may be hundreds or thousands more who HAVE the talent. But simply lack or lacked the opportunity. And it may not be through a lack of trying.

Either way, as others have already suggested, start racing karts. Do it as often as you can. Try to take part in a few track day events. Spend the money and attend a racing school. You may learn very quickly that it's harder than you ever imagined. Or you may find that it comes very naturally to you and it's something you want to pursue. But right now, you need experience more than anything.

 

[Galaxander96]

The way I see it, there are two roads to racing Le Mans.

A) Become a professional racing driver.

B) Become ridiculously,filthy rich and either be owner or co-owner of a team, effectively becoming a gentleman driver. Le Mans has a long history of wealthy 'pay' drivers who bought their way into a car. Although, clearly, it's not quite that simple.

To be realistic, Damon Hill was part of another era. And let's not forget who his father was. He had doors opened to him that somebody off the street wouldn't. And in today's age, if you haven't been racing karts since you were at least in your early teens, and really learning race craft from a young age, being able to make it as a professional racer will be a daunting task. Even if you have a massive amount of natural talent, which chances are you don't, without the right combination of sponsors, money, luck and blind opportunity, the chance of making it as a professional racing driver is considerably harder than say, becoming a rock star or a movie star or a professional footballer. There are maybe 300~400 professional drivers out there in the world who are really good enough to race at a top tier motorosports level, and be paid for it. That's 300 out of 7 billion. Granted there may be hundreds or thousands more who HAVE the talent. But simply lack or lacked the opportunity. And it may not be through a lack of trying.

Either way, as others have already suggested, start racing karts. Do it as often as you can. Try to take part in a few track day events. Spend the money and attend a racing school. You may learn very quickly that it's harder than you ever imagined. Or you may find that it comes very naturally to you and it's something you want to pursue. But right now, you need experience more than anything.

Well it may be very, very hard, but that doesn't mean that I can't do it. Also being a rockstar or footballer is something I don't care about or enjoy in the slightest. Motorsport is one of 2 things I'm truly passionate about, the other being engineering. BUT, I will be very persistent and keep gaining experience and knowledge,(I've learned about so many racing technicalities by now) and I'm just not gonna stop until I get what I want. I know it's hard but that's part of why it's exciting for me, I love pushing myself to the limit and push my limits further. You guys have given me great advice, I thank you for that.

But honestly, don't go dream squashing on me. I'm serious, don't.

 

[jjaisli]

Far be it from me to crush your dreams. We all need dreams and aspirations and goals, or the world would be a very boring, dreadful, passionless place. And I really wish you the best of luck with this endeavor. I just think it's important to be realistic and I think that's what others have been alluding to. I think you'll find a lot of people on GTP are very impassioned motorsports fans and the idea of racing at Le Mans is a dream many of us share. Although at least in my case, it's much too lofty an ambition. I've been a hard core racing fan since I was a teenager. I've been to more than a dozen F1 races, lots of sports car races and many grass roots racing events over the years. I've done kart racing. I'm pretty active in HPDE track events. I do at least 5-6 track events every year. In fact, I'm going to be driving at Watkins Glen next week. And I doubt I would be able to throw a stone in the paddock up there without it hitting at least 3 other people that would share your same passion to drive down the Hunaudieres at night, in the rain, and standing the car on it's nose at Mulsanne. Many of us feel this calling. And if you make it, a lot of us will be living the dream vicariously through you, just as we do with the active racing members of GTP.

All I'm saying is, maybe do a few dozen kart races and spend 2-3 days at a racing or club school before REALLY making up your mind. And if you still feel the same way and you think you've got what it takes, more power to you. 👍

 

[psychoazubi]

BUT, I will be very persistent and keep gaining experience and knowledge,(I've learned about so many racing technicalities by now) and I'm just not gonna stop until I get what I want.

I'm sorry but that is no argument for anyone who decides who drives for his team. That sounds hard but track time is everything.

But honestly, don't go dream squashing on me. I'm serious, don't.

As some mentioned already before, money is the key. Espacielly at your age. I'm lucky to be into professional motorsports this year (I write about it on gtp here: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/my-experience-in-motorsports-gt4-european-series.345329/) and I learned a lot about the prices you have to pay to drive. Our GT4 car, which is rather small to what you want to achieve costs around 60.000 € a year per driver for 5 races. So keep in mind, as much as you want it, you need the money. If you don't have sponsors (which I don't presume reading that you don't have any experience yet) that is a good amount of money for about 2- 2 1/2h of track time per weekend.

So my advise would be to buy yourself a seat in racing series that is not that low and that you can afford (Don't spend all your money on your first drive. Seriously, as much as you want that drive in lemans, don't do that). It would help to know where you are living for more advise And when you have a seat, prove what you can do. You have to prove more than just the ability to be fast. You need to adapt everything, you need to know how to read data. E.g. our driver Laura did a 2:04,5 in free practice on Friday. Without changing the setup, just by multiple hours of data analysis she was able to do two consequent times of 2:01,9 in her first 2 laps of her very first gt4 race in a new car. Just by analysing every corner and comparing it to our other (faster) driver, who also did 2:01's. Also, you need to do a lot of marketing. That sucks for most of the time, but you need to get known if you want to race for the "big thing" (To get known, GTAcademy is not too bad). There is also so much you have to prepare before the race. You need to know every corner of the track before you even see the track for the first time, just as one example.

Motorsports is also my greatest passion and you need patience and luck if you want to make it. My luck was joining the Formula Student Team at my Uni. Without doing Formula Student, I wouldn't be in the GT4 now, because Reiter Engineering asked my team for people to join in the GT4 series. If you are studying, there is no way around Formula Student! You get to know so much people form car companies and from motorsport.

For a quick start, go karting as often as you can!

I wish you the best of luck!

 

[GTP_Ingram]

What I have seen of the GT Academy - they broadcast a reality television-style programme down here - it's completely useless; their idea of a useful racing skill was to drive laps of a short mud oval while being shot at with paintballs. It's small wonder that no-one from the GT Academy has achieved major success.

Define "major success". As I understand, @Galaxander96 wants to compete at Le Mans. Since 2008, there have been 19 GT Academy winners. Six have competed at Le Mans, with a total of (by my count) 14 starts among them, spread across LMP1, LMP2 and a single Garage 56 entry. From those starts, they've achieved three LMP2 podiums.

Beyond that, throw in four GP3 podiums (including one win), victories at Bathurst and the Dubai 24 hours, and the Blancpain Endurance Championship title, and GT Academy seems to deliver a pretty decent return from a bunch of kids who (mostly) had barely turned the wheel of a racing car until only a couple of years previously.

The GT Academy TV show has definitely become too gimmicky as the years have worn on, but if you're talented enough, you will get an opportunity to race at an international level. I've seen the training the winners receive first hand, and while the competition may be hammed up for the cameras, the subsequent driver development programme is anything but.

Don't get me wrong - getting seriously into motorsport above the age of eight all but guarantees you'll never make it into F1. Assuming you have the ability, bottomless funding will offer the most likely route to success. It isn't impossible if you lack the budget though, as GT Academy has proven.

 

[Holdenhsvgtsr]

Have a lot of money, to be brutally honest. Whether you're hugely naturally talented or not you're going to need a lot of money to really get anywhere.

Just abit, A friend of mine did one of the support races a couple of years ago which was a 1 hour race and he did a 35 min stint and that cost him £40,000.

He was also offered a drive at COTA in a GTE car and it was £250,000 , a single drive at Le Mans for the 24hr was offered at just over £1,250,000 ( that did include testing and some hospitality passes for his guests though)

 

[Pupik]

It's an interesting social experiment - trying to turn gamers into professional athletes, using skills learned from the games in a real-world context - but nothing more. Individually, some of the graduates have had some success, but as a collective whole, it hasn't worked.

I'll counter that with no major class is going to have more than 10% absolute success. Not everyone in the old Elf Winfield classes and the Jim Russell programs were going to get F1 or Indycar seats, but it sure was a good way to get noticed if you were the cream of the crop.

To the OP, I wouldn't say 19 is too old, but just remember there's going to be others who got their start in karting at six or seven. Having a metric bucket-ton of money or being the heir to a motorsports-involved corporation helps get you in the door, too. Or a Patrick Dempsey / Paul Newman with solid previous media name recognition...and money.

It's a rich man's sport, but it must be said that you can't do the same sorts of driving out on public roads, or you'll be a dead man. Driving like a nut with other traffic about rarely translates to usable skills on an autocross, let alone a race track. You're 19, and despite possibly three years of driving under your belt, it takes longer to get used to all driving situations...sure, everyone else is That Idiot Driver on the road, but right now, you might very well be That Idiot Driver, if you're not following the rules.

I know this because I've been That Idiot before; it's a great time to be alive and a wonderful time to take in experiences, but sometimes it's frustrating to spin your wheels and feel like you're forced to play the waiting game.

Best of luck, but it's going to take money and fame and good fortune to get to the upper ranks in motorsports.

(Also, we don't need to be told to read the first post.)

 

[boiltheocean]

Age isn't important for Le Mans. If you want to race in GTE-AM or LMP2 then it's the size of your wallet that counts, you may even get in an LMP1 privateer with enough cash and experience.

You should start with telling us where you're from or where you plan to start racing? Different continents have different options and it's pretty hard to advise on a path if you don't tell us which one you're on.

 

[twitcher]

I'll throw my 2 cents in, even though I have no experience racing myself.

As mentioned, if Le Mans is your goal, and you are content to compete in either LMP2, or GTE-Am, then age is not a factor. You can be 60 and race in those categories. If this is indeed your dream, and a beautiful one it is, then you have your whole life to work towards it. If this is the approach you settle on, it is important to realise at your age, it may be as important to focus on starting a successful career as it is to dive head first into the racing world.

That bit aside, as far as actual racing, get involved in karting. If there is no kart track near you, maybe consider moving closer to one.

Also, do research on what driving schools are near you. A good example in North America would be the Skip Barber schools.

Not knowing where you live, it's a little tough to recommend entry level series to check out. In Europe, there are things like Ginetta Jr, Renault Clio Cup, Renault Megane Trophy....and going up in price from there, other one make series like Porsche Carrera Cup, Lamborghini Super Trofeo, or Ferrari Challenge. There's also entry level touring car racing, like the Super 1600 catagory of ETCC, or the ADAC Touring car series. GT4 is pretty entry level as well.

In North America, there's series like the PWC TCB/TCA series, which progresses nicely to GTS (which is basically GT4), or the CTSCC ST class.

Another thing to consider, if you are serious, is to invest in a good gaming computer, build yourself a proper rig, and get involved with something like iRacing. It's no substitute for real seat time, but it is a viable way to augment your education of racing.

 

[noshog]

Well as others have said...You need to be racing right now anyway you can.
Karts is generally always the starting point. But there are others like (in NZ we call it) 2K Cup, a racing series where you can spend no more than $2000 on a car. I think in the US its the Lemons Series or something like that ? Get your foot in the door and start racing. Prove yourself there, maybe pick up some sponsors and help fund yourself into a higher class of racing, whatever helps you move up the ladder.
Also as others have stated, sign up to a racing school programme...Skip Barber, whatever they will all be good experience for you.
I also agree with @twitcher, get yourself a good PC, build a simulator and sign up to iRacing, it will never be a real substitute but you can still learn a lot and you race against real people and even real life pro drivers too. Its good to be racing all day, every day, real or virtual.
Even things like getting a job with a racing team, even if it's just sweeping the floors for them, accept anything that will give you a foot in the door.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Define "major success".

A long-term career in a major series, one that could stand on its own two feet without the support of Nissan.

 

[twitcher]

Wolfgang Reip, won the BlancPain endurance championship in 2015, now a factory Bently driver, just finished 3rd overall at the first round in Monza. I guess time will tell how long his career is, but so far, he seems to be doing pretty well.

I think there's a thread about him around here somewhere.....

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Wolfgang Reip, won the BlancPain endurance championship in 2015, now a factory Bently driver, just finished 3rd overall at the first round in Monza.

That's one guy out of how many graduates? Compare that to something like the Red Bull Young Driver Programme, which has produced Grand Prix and World Championship winners.

 

[mustafur]

That's one guy out of how many graduates? Compare that to something like the Red Bull Young Driver Programme, which has produced Grand Prix and World Championship winners.

That's because the good drivers still race for Nissan.

The Redbull driver program always has the advantage of getting people from traditional sources, the GTA Program is getting talent from a source never previously tapped.

And that is forgetting the fact Redbull invests more in driver development each year then the Entire GT academy Program has since day 1.

 

[Holdenhsvgtsr]

That's because the drivers that still had a contract still race for Nissan.

Fixed.

 

[GTP_Ingram]

A long-term career in a major series, one that could stand on its own two feet without the support of Nissan.

Define "long-term". GT Academy has been running since 2008. I wouldn't consider anyone who has been in a profession for fewer than eight years (or fewer than six, in the case of every winner but Ordonez) to have had a long-term career.

As twitcher mentioned, Reip was snapped up by Bentley pretty quickly after losing his Nissan drive. Not only did he finish third on his debut, but he beat the Nissan pro entry first time out. It's too early to say, but many would consider it a step up in his career. He's 29 by the way - still young for an endurance racer.

That's one guy out of how many graduates? Compare that to something like the Red Bull Young Driver Programme, which has produced Grand Prix and World Championship winners.

The Red Bull driver programme finds the best talent from among kids who start karting before they can barely walk. GT Academy has a minimum age limit of 18. Max Verstappen wouldn't have even been eligible for GT Academy when he made his F1 debut... The Red Bull and Nissan programmes clearly have different aims, and considering the differences in budget involved, it's a pretty pointless comparison.

 

[mustafur]

forget it, if your not in F1 your a waste of a driver according to him.

 

[Galaxander96]

forget it, if your not in F1 your a waste of a driver according to him.

Look, if you're not going to be helpful, don't even bother with this thread.

 

[McLaren]

Look, if you're not going to be helpful, don't even bother with this thread.

I don't think Mustafar is referring to you, but the conversation directly above him.

Regardless, your question has pretty much been answered & narrowed down 2 things: Money & Experience. Unless you've got a boat load of money tucked away at 19 to basically bribe your way into a seat at Le Mans, gaining experience through karting & amateur-level racing series is your best bet to get there. IIRC, the FIA gets to decide what teams are allowed to participate through invitation, and if that still remains true, you're probably going to have to convince some of the lower end teams to let you on with your abilities. And even then, you're going to be right back at square one with your financial status.

I don't think anyone here is trying ruin your dreams, but the reality is that motorsport is an extremely expensive hobby, even for amateur weekend racers. Unless you've got enough untapped potential that persuades someone else to foot the bill, you may already be out of the running at competing at Le Mans based on your financial status. It may not be that you can't afford the race itself, but the journey to eventually get there.