“This allows me to give something back to the sport”
Andy Priaulx Sports Management,
I “n a way I feel like I’m going through my career again, right now with Seb and, even though I love motorsport, some parts of it drive me crazy. I see the pressures, both financial and sporting that these young drivers come under, that push them away from their goals. At the stage of my career that I’m at, this programme is about giving something back, and using my experience to help the next generation.”
Andy Priaulx is a remarkably honest man. The three-time World Touring Car champion and current factory Ford GT World Endurance Championship racer means what he says too. He’s supporting his son, Seb Priaulx, through the formative stages of his career, which will soon lead him to the British Formula 4 Championship. But Priaulx Sr’s net is cast wider than that.
Priaulx is now not only a full-time factory driver heading into his 17th season with works backing of some form, he’s also now a fully fledged driver manager. And not just for his immediate family.
Andy Priaulx Sports Management is now just over three years old, and was established by Priaulx and his long-time mentor John Pratt, now sporting director. The company is already making waves in British motorsport, albeit almost silently.
You won’t have seen adverts, or shouty social media posts. That’s not APSM’S style. Much like its founder, APSM goes about things more subtly.
Priaulx brings a great grounding. He started out from humble means and the stories of him living in a caravan while he tried to forge a career are well known. From his days as ‘poor Priaulx’ in Formula 3 to making it as a multiple world champion and earning a living from the sport he loves. Priaulx knows the business model – he essentially created it – and APSM lets him share it with other drivers looking to do the same.
“Our goal is to help drivers find the best version of themselves, and then use that to help them build a career with a manufacturer,” says Priaulx. “Top drivers have to be so well rounded. They can’t just be quick in a car. To work with – and perhaps even more crucially – to stay with a manufacturer they must be professional in so many areas outside of the car.
“At points in my career I’d take my overalls off, hang them up and go put on a suit and try to make deals happen to keep going, never actually knowing if I’d wear those overalls again. It’s hard work, and this sport is a business, and kids need to understand that things don’t come easy.”
Based at Silverstone and run in conjunction with other top companies such as izone simulation and driver training, APSM currently has 18 drivers on its books, from varying levels in the sport. German TCR champion Josh Files is one, as is Mini Challenge star Reece Barr and BTCC newcomer Brett Smith, who dominated last year’s Mini Challenge.
The management programmes offered are tailored to each driver’s requirements and split into three tiers. Elite, for the drivers at a higher level, development drivers for emerging talent, and juniors, which is aimed mostly at karters. Dan Hazlewood, from top team Fusion Motorsport, handles that arm.
“We work with drivers to help them make as many correct decisions as possible,” says Neil Riddiford, who works on the APSM programme through his role as izone performance coach.
“For a lot of drivers it’s about how they structure themselves, both in terms of career progression and financially. Our job is not to take drivers’ money, it’s to help them make the right calls and make the progression to fast-track them into savings. If we can train drivers in the right areas so they only need one year of GP3 for example instead of two before progressing, then that’s a saving of a small fortune.
“The programmes here are allencompassing. We deal with the contractual and driver management side of things, but also other areas such as mental and physical preparation and training, as well as skill and process. We aim to train drivers to a world-class standard early on, and also educate them to make the right calls.
“Race teams are very subjective things. Some are amazingly good, and others less so. As a young driver it can be very easy to sit back and listen to everything anyone tells you, whether it’s right or wrong. And at the end of the day race teams are businesses catering for customers, so they often tell drivers what they want to hear. Educating drivers early helps them see through much of that. By looking after fitness, nutrition, driver training and management all under one roof we get a very well-rounded view of a driver and their specific capabilities so we can find the right areas to train them.”
A big part of the APSM programme is also aimed at helping drivers achieve a financial exit – such as achieving a paid drive with a manufacturer, or even just knowing when to quit the sport before the family fortune runs completely dry.
Motorsport is expensive, sometimes ruinously so, and the APSM structure is designed to help guide drivers in the right directions, while all the time looking out for their, or their backer’s, financial responsibilities.
“A lot of drivers think all they have to do is be fast in a car, that if they win something doors automatically open,” says Enzo Mucci, former head coach for BMW Motorsport and now APSM performance manager.
“Motorsport has this Hollywood story from the outside where you can win your way up, but in reality that happens so rarely and drivers have to essentially be their own entrepreneurs to succeed.
“This programme gets very honest very quickly. Each driver is different, but you can immediately tell the ones who will fail from the ones with potential. Yes, a key part of the journey is money and contacts, but there are other factors too.
“The pressure of single-seater racing at the top is huge. You can see the smiles go quite quickly if it turns sour. There’s a DNA to single-seater drivers. They have to be blistering quick – that’s non-negotiable – but they also have to have a mental strength and resilience.
“Through our programme we can easily see where drivers are best suited from their traits, so if we think a driver just isn’t cut out for single-seaters, we can have that conversation early, saving often huge amounts of money. We don’t disparage drivers or dictate what they should do, but we can help guide them in a direction that potentially better suits their skill set – like sportscars or endurance racing or touring cars.
“The landscape has changed a lot for young drivers. Five years ago every driver was all about F1, but now that blinkered approach has faded and we’re seeing more and more young drivers looking at GT racing. Our aim is to work with the drivers and outfit them as best we can to become aspiring factory drivers and people who are easily capable of building a career in the sport, just like Andy did.”
Typically, Elite drivers will visit the facility twice per month, and a big part of the programme is pre-race preparation and post-race debriefs. APSM believes heavily in the process of racing, and setting goals for every single session to build each race weekend like a journey.
“Every lap you do in motorsport has a cost,” adds Riddiford. “In a Formula Renault test for example each lap could be costing £50, or £200, so going out and having no goals or learning nothing means that’s money down the drain, which can be hugely demoralising for young drivers and their backers. Having the right people around you to avoid situations and pitfalls like that is so important.”
Priaulx hasn’t just franchised his name to the company either, he’s very hands-on with the programme. Each member will be called by him regularly, and if they’re racing in Britain Priaulx himself or a member of the APSM team will be on hand at the races checking a driver’s progress, atmosphere and even evaluating the team they’re competing with.
“I find it really gratifying working with the younger guys, and personally I feel it keeps me in touch with the junior levels of the sport and it also keeps me humble,” adds Priaulx. “Sure, it can be demanding to be in touch with all the members while at the same time managing my own race programme, but I do genuinely love doing it. I’m not in it to get rich: for me it’s all about the sporting side of it.
“It can be emotional, as I’ve seen good drivers fail and fall out of the sport entirely. With this programme we’ve already managed to avert that for some, and they’ve gone on to achieve great things and forge their own careers. It’s helped them prosper in the sport, and hopefully we’ll have many more like them. For me, that’s the most rewarding thing.” ■