Need some serious advice.

)) thank you. I know it'll be much better after some time. It is only five month I'm studying English. By the way, I've been in Colorado last winter. I spent fantastic time in Aspen. Like it very much. Cheers!

 

I apologize for my misanderstending! Cheers! ))

 

Best of luck - You seem very level-headed and there is nothing wrong with having lofty goals and dreams. Cheers

 

The driver, just like tires, engines, and chassis are simply replacible components. If the driver is not capable of moving the car forward by communicating with the engineers, or not capable of placing the car in the front by sheer force of will, the driver will be replaced UNLESS that driver is paying the bills.

 

To F430GB...
It's never too late to start. Granted, if your goals were to compete in Formula 1, yeah you probably would have had to start when you were an embryo, as one of the previous posts stated. However, if you're looking to just have some fun, you can start at any age. Like most of the folks stated, get some sort of career that will allow you to play race driver on the weekends.

I took an interest in racing even later than you, and I'm still not "racing" per se. That being said, I am having a ton of fun on the track for a little bit "less-than-racing-dollars". My advice to at least scratch the itch until you are well funded would be as follows.....

1) You drive a car to school, or work, right? Enter it into an autocross with you local SCCA, BMWCCA, PCA, Ferrari Club, etc. Autocrossing is only about $40-50 for the day. You don't get a huge amount of seat time, but you do learn some great car control skills, and yes it's very competitive. This too can get expensive if you're looking to win championships. But if you "run what you brung" it's a pretty cheap way to start out. You don't need a Ferrari or Porsche to enter. I've seen everything from a 1982 Toyota Corolla with one brown fender all the way up to Ferraris and ex-race cars. I've even seen people competing in company cars, rental cars, and mom's station wagon. The car just needs to be mechanically solid.....treat on the tires, good brakes, battery securely mounted, etc.

2) From there, I would recommend signing up with your "run what you brung" car for a driving school at Infineon if that's your closest track. Again, look for your local chapters of the SCCA, BMWCCA, PCA, Ferrari Club, Quattro Club, and also such web sites as MotorsportReg.com for sign up information, dates, prices, requirements, etc. Prices start at about $250 or so for a day at the track depending on which club you go with. It's not too expensive for your first few events. As you get faster, you'll start to wear things out quicker like tires, and brakes, and wish for upgraded parts so you can keep up with your buddy who's just a tiny bit faster than you. Then it can start to get expensive. Anyhow, when you're at the track, talk to people, and the instructors. You will start to rub elbows with people who actually race at the club level. Some of these clubs offer time trials, where you race agains the clock, compete for points, etc.

3) Do a bunch of these trackdays and then become an instructor. I'm currently instructing at these trackdays/drivers education days with various clubs on the east coast. You'll get tons of seat time, often at a reduced price, or even free depending on the club. That being said it's still an expensive weekend with tires, brakes, fuel, food, hotel, etc. Again, you'll also rub elbows with even more people who race, or have a high skill level.

4) Sign up for a race school to get your license. I've taken a race school so I can get my race license, but haven't pulled the trigger on it yet because I don't have a race prepped car to race with.

5) If you really want to race as early as possible, stick with the cheaper cars. There are a lot of relatively cheap, but very fast cars out there. I keep on getting bit by the "I need a cooler car" bug. I keep upgrading to the next coolest street/track prepped car and modifying it without actualy buying or building a "race car" - I still like to have something fun for the street. I currently have a BMW E46 M3 that is street legal and track prepped, but not a "race car". Time to make the decision to strip out my car and make it a race car, or sell it to buy a race car that's already built. I now have my eye on a couple of Ferrari Challenge race cars as potential candidates.

My path has been a lot of fun so far, and I've learned a lot. It's still an expensive path, but it gets you out on the track for less money than going pro-racing. In any case, that's my $0.02

 

Indoor karting has been a cheap alternative to feed my racing addiction as of lately. Its the cheapest form of racing and you use the karts at the facility so you don't have to worry about paying out of pockets for repairs. There are local leagues and competitions where I live. Look into it, you may find it fun.

 

LOL, when I first read this I though you said ....I do racing for the girls....

 

Hahaha! So did I!

 

Sell the Mini. Use funds for already built and easy to service street legal race car (showroom stock, improved touring...). Race the car with the knowledge that if you crash you won't get to work Monday, but win anyway. That's exactly the skill top journeyman drivers have as they've been trusted with someone else' $500k racecar: win and not crash. Look at Pobst, Rahal, Said... all started at the lowest level of competition, all sacrificed (including relationships), and all succeeded by running at the pointy end of the grid on near zero budget in a feeder series, catching attention of other teams in need of a good shoe. Opportunity knocks once; be there in the paddock for races you're not entered in, network like crazy but don't be a who*e or pest, learn the mechanical aspects of the machine, learn vehicle dynamics, get your SCCA regional comp license and attend one "pro" school. SCCA drivers school will teach you some race craft, the 'pro' school will teach you the foundation of car control and set good driving habits (in theory). By all means enter as many autocrosses as you can and get advice from the leaders, they are always happy to help someone who listens well.

If you're risk averse (financially, like with the Mini for example) you'll not rise too high in pro racing.

Be persistent. I never hired someone based on one meeting/ interview. I never got back to them, they had to demonstrate initiative in follow up and passion in their conduct. Motorsport is a passion career, too many are doing it for free (i.e. paying their own way) that the harsh reality is talent alone will hardly get you anything more than a meeting. I have over 100 friends in motorsport with talent and a heart breaking story to go with it.

To quote Chevy Chase, "be the ball Danny". Don't hit it into the lumberyard.

Best,
Rob