Expert Advice
Excerpts from the book “DRIVE TO WIN” by CARROLL SMITH Make a List of Sponsors and Benefits of Sponsorship The basic idea is to make a list of corporations or individuals whom you think might be interested in sponsoring your effort and a list of the benefits to them of that sponsorship. If you cannot…
Excerpts from the book “DRIVE TO WIN” by CARROLL SMITH How Do I Go About Finding a Formula Racing Sponsor? It’s as if people think that finding a sponsor is like finding a drugstore. The usual whine is, “I know that I have the talent, dedication and balls to get to Formula One or Indianapolis…
My first taste of racing came when my Dad took me to a Can-Am race in about 1969 to Edmonton International Raceway. This was during the period when McLaren was dominating this iconic series. I remember that Denny Hulme won with Bruce McLaren finishing right behind him in second, with Jackie Ickx a distant third.…
Excerpts from the book “DRIVE TO WIN” by CARROLL SMITH The business is so demanding and the competition so fierce that you cannot afford to give anything away. This means getting yourself into peak physical condition and keeping yourself there. This, by the way, is not because driving the racing car takes much in the…
Excerpts from the book “DRIVE TO WIN” by CARROLL SMITH Racing Drivers are Risk Takers There has never been a successful racing driver who did not possess a high degree of intelligence. The (non-racing) journalists who have propagated this particular old saw seem to feel that a person of normal imagination is just not going to…
It is a fact that people are attracted to cars in strange ways and is safe to assume that it’s just how we are wired as human beings. The strength of affinity might vary from one person to the other, but we really can’t help but to stop and admire a wonderful car every now…
Excerpts from the book “DRIVE TO WIN” by CARROLL SMITH There are several attributes necessary to make a successful racing driver. We read that the racing driver, amongst other things, must have abnormal reflexes, hand-eye coordination and eyesight; that he must be absolutely fearless and finally that he must be blessed with huge amounts of…
There are a lot of race schools in the US nowadays all thanks to our love for speed and fine tuned speed machines. This means that it will be easier for the normal Joe or Jane to learn how to race. But with the availability of race schools brings with it a problem – how…
After spending a lifetime driving as fast as possible for a living as well as operating a racing school for the past several years, I guess I am qualified to provide my opinion on this. Technique We spend a lot of time in our school ensuring that our drivers learn the importance of technique in…
I get asked this a lot. I certainly was very privileged to have run a stint in F-1. It was an emotionally tumultuous time for me. There were many aspects to my season in F1 that take much more space than what I have been available here to write, so I will concentrate on that…
How To Improve – Ross Bentley Albert Einstein once said, “A sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting something to change.” I don’t know if Albert was much of a race fan, but I’m pretty sure he was talking about race drivers when he said this! It…
Ayrton Senna’s Last Win – By Gerald Donaldson ADELAIDE, Australia (07 November 1993) The racing in the last Grand Prix of the season was not particularly memorable yet the top two finishers, the men who dominated the sport for a decade, made Formula 1 history. Their deeply felt sense of occasion also moved them to…
Nicholas Andreas Lauda, six weeks after he was given the last rites of the Catholic church, appeared at the Autodromo di Monza, near Milan, not to spectate but to race his Ferrari in the 1976 Italian Grand Prix. His arrival was greeted at first with amazement, then with misgivings. On the one hand this heroic…
A Candid Interview With James Hunt – by Gerald Donaldson “When I first came back into the paddock I felt like a spare prick at a wedding!” – James Hunt During my time racing in Europe I became close friends with Gerry Donaldson, one of Formula One’s premier journalists. Gerry was in F1 during my…
Driving Line When you watch a road race you will notice that the cars are all driving on the same part of the racetrack, usually in single file when they are running close together. This is because there is typically only one fast driving line around the track. There is a lot of theory on…