YOUR FIRST STEPS IN BECOMING A RACING DRIVER
You want to go motor racing, but what do you do to make it reality? Graham Keilloh looks at the initial steps of getting a licence and developing your skills
Iwant to be a racing driver”. It’s a common childhood aspiration. And for many motorsport enthusiasts the aspiration never quite goes away. For most of us though, by the point of adulthood, various things get in the way of making it reality. Not least that simple, but complicated, question of where to begin? It’s not obvious to the uninitiated, plus motorsport often gives a good outward impression of being a rather rarefied place…
A good man to start with in answering the question is Calum Lockie, a multiple champion in British GT and elsewhere. He’s been competing since the 1980s and coaching for almost as long, working with complete novices right through to those at the top. His recommendation is clear: get a coach.
“Because you’re condensing your learning process,” he tells Motorsport News. “Time on track is expensive, so if we can reduce that by using a driver coach then not only do they tend to pay for themselves but your learning process is definitely sped up. Also you [are] learning a few things which might avoid some damage or something like that. So using the experience of someone who’s already done the hard knocks is well worth it!
“Anyone thinking about going racing, they should start doing trackdays,” Lockie continues. “It may seem expensive but it’s a lot less than racing, for the time you get on track. You can come to a trackday and you’ve got seven hours’track time, you might be out there for three-and-a-half hours. At club level that’s probably four, five race weekends.”
Pat Blakeney, chairman of the Association of Racing Drivers Schools (or ARDS, as it’s more commonly known), concurs. “You go on a test day, you’re chasing lap times, whereas at something like a trackday you can develop your driving skills,” he tells
MN. “If you’re on the outer limits of your capabilities and the car’s you’re more in survival mode rather than learning mode!”
And even if you haven’t got a coach for your trackday, help will still likely be at hand. “Most people are really prepared to help on trackdays,” Lockie says, “[it’s] a very friendly atmosphere and people are enthusiasts. And enthusiasts are always willing to help.”
Plus if you haven’t forked out for your own racing car, don’t worry. “A lot people who haven’t got race cars are the ones learning hopefully to go racing at some point and they’re learning their trade and gaining confidence by using their road cars,” Lockie continues,
“I’m a great proponent of sitting in-car with people [as a coach], because then you can see real time what they’re actually doing. [You can] say ‘did you feel how that felt?’You can’t do that off film.
“Sitting in is really good with [road cars] because they’re a bit quieter [to allow communication].”
Technology to aid coaching is also an area that’s come on massively. “If we wish to improve we need to be able to look at what we’re doing and say is that better or is that not, because otherwise how do you really know you’re better?,” Lockie outlines. “You could say lap times, [but] that could be a combination of things.
“I’m a massive proponent of the video VBOX system. It’s inexpensive in relative terms, certainly to motorsport. But it’s fantastic, if you get the HD2 version and it’s broadcast-quality film so you can see great detail.
“I generally have one pointing out the front and one looking at the driver, so you can see how the driver is reacting in different circumstances. And then it records, apart from the film, all the data: speed against position is the one
I use most because then you can overlay laps and look at where time’s been gained or lost. As a learning tool it’s absolutely fantastic and would recommend it to anybody.”
What about choosing your coach? “You need to be a little bit careful about who you choose to look after you, because it’s a big investment,” Lockie cautions, “someone if they’re hiring an instructor, [or] a driver coach, should be sure that they’re the best they can afford. Some people present themselves as driver coaches, [but] a reputable trackday operator is never going to employ a rubbish instructor.”
Some coaches specialise in a particular area, though many such as Lockie teach across the board and have coached in many disciplines. Blakeney explains: “The instructors will always be able to offer advice on career paths, routes into the sport, it’s important to have that conversation with the customer. The first thing you always try and ascertain is what they are planning on racing.
“But we try and teach them skills for life. Most modern cars that race are paddleshift, quite a lot of them [have] two pedals rather than three pedals, but we’re still looking to try and teach people the art of changing gear, braking, heel-and-toe technique.
“We work on the basis that what we might teach you might not be 100% relevant to what you’re going to race but we’re to teach you some skills for life.”
Given many who try their hand at racing have extensive road car experience, there are likely to be things to unlearn. “The basics [are] the same but how you use them and the timing of it and so on is quite different, and space you use on the road and so on,” Lockie explains. “So you point out how by placing your vision in the correct place, which is a very different place from when on the road, and using the width of the road and steering with hands fixed in one place rather than feeding the wheel like we’re taught to on the road. [But] people are bright, they pick it up very quickly.”
Blakeney adds: “The biggest thing with any racing driver is to make sure that they
“We are teaching you some skills for life” Pat Blakeney
arrive at a corner before the car does. That’s probably the one biggest thing is making sure that the pupil is looking far enough up the road and planning far enough up the road so they’re proactive rather than reactive.”
Before you can compete too you need a licence. In the case of circuit racing this is the ARDS licence. Time was all you had to do to race was pass a medical and apply for your licence, but these days there’s a test to pass. Don’t though be daunted.
“It is a half-day course,” Blakeney explains. “It gives people a bit of information and checks basic competence. So we’re not saying that everybody that passes the test is going to be the next Lewis Hamilton or George Russell or whatever, but they proved that they can change gear, they’ve got a reasonable understanding of the lines, techniques, braking etc.
“The half day, that will include a reasonable amount of classroom tuition, you’ll then have a demonstration of correct lines, techniques etc with the instructor driving you around the circuit and you will then drive the instructor around for a set period. [It] will vary depending on the circuit length but it’s normally a minimum of six laps. And the latter couple of laps they need to drive around without too much input from the instructor sitting in the passenger seat because come race day they’ll be on their own.”
The ARDS test will likely be in a saloon or modified saloon, and doing the test will likely cost you just north of £300. It’s open to those aged 16 and over plus there’s a junior ARDS test for 14 and 15 year olds. All UK licenced circuits – including Knockhill, Kirkistown, Anglesey and Pembrey – have a resident school. Some schools also offer pre-ARDS training.
“They come from all walks of life and all ages,” Blakeney says of ARDS test pupils, “we’ve had pupils in their 80s wanting to get their first race licence.
“People do fail [the ARDS test] but it’s mainly because they haven’t prepared properly. Don’t just come fresh off the streets and expect to pass your course if you’ve never driven on a race track before, we always suggest that people have done trackdays or a driving experience day or the like. You wouldn’t expect to go and pass your pilots’licence without having flown an aeroplane would you?
“The real main criteria is would you feel comfortable sitting on the grid with this pupil, because ultimately that could be the case, and if the answer is yes that is a pass.
“We’re not going to rubber stamp somebody through if they’re not suitable. The normal recommendation would be to look just go away, do a couple of trackdays or something like that to get up to speed a little bit.”
But, as we’ve said already, don’t be daunted. “The schools work extremely hard to help the pupil rather than putting obstacles in the way,” Blakeney assures us.
“We try very hard to help the person’s journey into motorsport. All of the ARDS schools we have a common love for motorsport and we want to encourage people into the sport that we love.” n