New to the Forum

[Maxx]

Just out of curiousity does the Jim Russell course still run and is this regarded as one of the best training courses now-a-days? I know you did yours a while back and it looks like its given you a very good career, something that at 21 I would love to aim towards..

Approximately what sort of costs are involved to become trained?

Thanks

Paul,

Well, as it's not raining at Rockingham and I was booked to do some wet weather testing and setup I suddenly have some time (unless it starts raining).

Anway, sadly the Jim Russell school is no more in the UK. They still have a Canadian operation which is very highly regarded (Jenson Button trained there) but of course it's in Canada. It's not that cheap either at $4,200 for a 3-day course.
Silverstone have a 5-day course which culminates in your first official race, cost wise it says "From

[cannit]

Just wanted to say thanks for the reply, much appreciated..

I will look into the race series and find out more as to what is involved, I will have a look at the Silverstone option too although the cost does look a little daunting!!

Do you think it helps to have a race school background or if i just get a liscence and make my way up are you in a dissadvantage to other drivers with a graduate? Does it affect sponsorship?

Im up Nottingham every couple of months too so might pop over to a track you instruct at and have a bit of tuition and seek further advice Ive only ever been called a nutter and asked if i steal cars for a living by another instructor who took me out! He asked me to drive an 05 STI Impreza how I would if it were mine :roll: He was a rally driver who liked his drifting so I thought i'd show him how it was done and was drifting faster than him, he was holding on like a girl and after asking the above questions waited a couple of laps before he asked if i was a professional driver, i said no so he said he thinks we should stop as he didnt know if I was above my limit? :? Annoyed me a bit as I was really enjoying it..

Again, thanks for your help

[Maxx]

Do you think it helps to have a race school background or if i just get a liscence and make my way up are you in a dissadvantage to other drivers with a graduate? Does it affect sponsorship?

No, doesn't effect sponsorship at all. Generally it's much more about you than about how (well) you drive. A mid-runner or even tail-ender who was a good communicator, gave up a lot of his time to keeping sponsors informed and feeling involved could get more sponsorship than a front-runner who didn't do those things.

Unless you are really up at the top of National Motorsport most sponsorships come from friends of the family or employers/suppliers/customers i.e. there is a previous relationship.

The sponsorships you see on lots of National Race Cars is what the TEAM have negotiated in order for them to run their basic operation. The drivers all all PAY drivers, in that they pay the team to provide the car and support etc. Some drives are slighty subsidised and the TEAM, if given 3 interested drivers all with the cash, would tend to opt for the one they thought would give them the best results. Again though, having a Race School on your CV wouldn't really help, it's more down to what you've echieved so far in your racing.

Maxx

[323ian]

Hello Maxx,
One of the most interesting things i have read in a long time, thanks for taking the time to write all the information.
As i have said earlier in the thread i have gained my National B category license.
I really do want to start racing in a championship such as the stock hatches in the 750MC, is this a good championship to start?
This year an expense road/trackday car and a career change has ruled out the possibility of me starting, i also beleive i may waste my time so to speak as i really could do with a lot more tution than just the odd trackday etc.
I would be very interested in having some serious tutiton from someone such as yourself in the future, will you be able to let me know (PM if you prefer) what you would be able to offer/advise.
Thanks.
Ian.

[Maxx]

Ian,

This, as you might imagine, is a question I get asked a lot (i.e. "I want to get into Racing, whats the best way"). It can actually turn out to be a long conversation if I have the time, which unfortunately, mostly I don't. I'll try and give some rough guidelines for the process, sort ofr like the questions I'd ask etc.

1) Really think if you want to go RACING or just want to drive quickly on a track.
Racing is VERY different to trackday driving and you tend to find the 2 mutually exclusive (i.e. most racers don't do trackdays and most trackday enthusiasts never race). A trackday driver will normally pay his

[323ian]

Thanks for a great reply Maxx,

Thanks for the links etc as i now have some reading and researching as to what will be the best route for me.

Cheers
Ian.