How can I become a race driver?

(Conclusion) FTER our mental preliminaries last week on the frequently asked question “How can I become a race driver?,” here is the concluding part that I wrote two years ago. I have updated it to also include our own Petron Rally of Champions grassroots development programs. Hope you get to follow it and take the motor sports’ plunge ASAP!

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Once you have studied the different forms of motor sports, now is the time to humble yourself and start at the bottom. Some people would like to try and get to the top class right away, but this will not work. You will miss out on a lot of things and will not be able to appreciate how everything falls into place. You will incur a lot of problems and even bigger, costlier damages if you move up before you are ready. Making one’s skills ripe will take time and cannot be rushed. Take it from me, I had made that wrong decision when I started and it never worked!

When I started, I didn’t have the opportunities like what you have today. The new generation is very lucky because they can choose from the following options below to start their racing career. This is one of those times that I hope I was born later to be able to enjoy these choices and shape my future. The best

my experience and hope others may follow suit. Here are my suggestions on how to start racing:

I believe this is the most successful path to racing and is the best way to start with. This small kart might look easy to drive, but it actually gives great grip that assures fast cornering speeds and tremendous braking capability which will tire you right away if

will teach the driver the basics of what a good handling machine should have and be able to monitor the driver’s progress against other competitors.

However, the high end, international standard classes that we have today is so expensive that it is not feasible for most racers. Fortunately, our MP Turbo team

costs and teach new karters in a more affordable manner. We will be working on a new formula soon and hope to get the past karters racing again.

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The Automobile Association of the Philippines has been granted by the FIA, the world body in charge of motor sports like F1, WRC, etc, funding to develop racing in this country. This is quite an exciting time because this was never done before and provides a means for new drivers to pursue their racing dreams. For now, please check out AAP’s website to check this spectacular program.

Virtual gaming is here to stay and there is a new breed of E gamers today. Our generation entirely missed out on this opportunity and is one of the new technologies that will help new drivers a lot. Nissan has partnered up with Sony Playstation in 2008 and have come up with a novel idea

races with the Nissan GT Academy. Now, FIA also launched its own E games championship.

One of best ways to get track time is go to the racetracks on a weekday when it is open for practice. You might have to share it with others and pay a track fee, but at least you will have a lot of time on the track. Just try to go with some buddies or a car club and get a racer friend to help you with the basics. Also make sure you have a reliable and safe car and bring along some spares like tires. It’s not good

home because of it.

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Another good way to get some racing seat time and experience the pressure of competing is to join the numerous race events that you can use your road car. Track days are good to get the feel and set up of your car. However, there is nothing that makes your heart beat faster and your hands get sweaty while you wait for the countdown before your timed run. You should also be able to do your best time in a short lap so it is all very exciting and tense.

This will be a valuable lesson and you will need this when you move higher the racing ladder. The National Slalom Series organized by Race Motorsports of Bing and Lito Dulce, Philippine Autocross Championships by Danny Santiago and other events are some of the events that are available for the newbie and veterans.

We have a great new series called the Arrive and Drive and is becoming a hit with all the new drivers. Basically, you bring any car, practice on the track, nominate your own target time and hit it as close as possible every run. There is 1 demerit for every 0.1 second you are off, either faster or slower than your target time and the one with the lowest number of demerits wins the event. Junior driver without licenses can also join and this is really quite helpful, as you don’t need a fast car to win!

I will expound on these guides in my future columns and hope you will join us in motor sports soon. Godspeed! Riders jockey for position in the Shell Advance MotoIR races held recently at the Clark International Speedway in Pampanga.