A RECENT PHENOMENON
Helped by improvements in technology, coaching has become increasingly accessible for young drivers looking to accelerate their learning curve. But rewind 30 years and aside from the odd racing consultant, like James Hunt, or drivers employed by race schools, such as Vic Elford at the Skip Barber school at Sears Point, there were very few people making their living from on-site coaching.
Warren Hughes admits that he would have benefited from an external observer in the formative years of his career to direct his “blind passion” in the right direction, had the right person been available.
“I didn’t feel closed to it, it just wasn’t a thing that people were doing,” he says. “I would have grabbed it, if it was the right person. That’s an important part of it.”
His view is echoed by Darren Manning, who reckons that he might still be racing professionally had he received better advice when he earned his big shot at Chip Ganassi Racing.
“I needed to be more of a man and stand up for what I thought, maybe communicated better, worked harder, but the coach had to be right and I don’t think there was anybody out there that was right at that stage,” he says.
“There are a lot of things I would change and I probably still would be driving to this day. In the end, I didn’t have the right advice.”
Manning recalls in his early days with British Formula 3 rookie Speedsport taking driving tips from Mugen-honda engine technicians supporting Paul Stewart Racing due to a lack of alternatives with F3 experience, so welcomes the increasing prevalence of coaching while conceding there will always be some who question its value.
“People will just go off their own experience,” he says. “AJ [Foyt] for example, he did it all himself and was very successful, so why would he think you need to do it any different from the way that he did it? People like AJ and others that have done it themselves say, ‘Well, if it was good enough for me…’ and that’s fine because that’s all they’ve got to go from, but that’s changing and modern drivers are starting to look into themselves a lot more.
“Everybody is having coaches of some sort now – in Indycar, Ganassi has got Dario [Franchitti] and a lot of guys have sports psychologists. The industry is changing a lot, it’s a lot more acceptable to get advice from peers now. The thing that I love about motor racing is you can always learn – nothing is good enough.”