"You're not rich, you need big money to start in motor sport. You'll never be a pro racing driver..."
When I told people in kart racing that I wanted to be a professional racing driver, people (who will remain nameless) would say things like “You’re not rich, you need money to get anywhere in motorsport. You’re not going to be a professional racing driver.”
When I told people in kart racing that I wanted to be a professional racing driver, people (who will remain nameless) would say things like “You’re not rich, you need money to get anywhere in motorsport. You’re not going to be a professional racing driver.”
I didn’t listen. There was no way I’d have the money to move up in kart racing, it is massively expensive. This also meant I was not going to get anywhere near car racing either. It’s weird, you have to pay your way high enough to start getting paid. It’s like starting a business. In motorsport you normally need to have a lot of money to spend to start with.
That wasn’t an option for me so I used social media to build a brand and within 2 years, I was noticed. Team HARD spotted me, looked into my racing and the next thing I knew I was being sponsored to race in cars.
Now I have financial backing from Team HARD, The Clever Baggers, RiverGlide and several other companies give services to support me on my journey. I still have a long way to go but it feels like anything is possible.
This is just the start of my story.
Comments
Just ask them if they’ve ever heard of Ayrton Senna. Then proceed to tell them how much of a difference a racing driver can make.
Well done!
Tell me more
More of the story is here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/is-this-boy-racer-the-next-lewis-hamilton/
Well, all I can say is jesus christ, you have a lot of potential at a young age. Good luck to you
Pretty inspirational for me as I don’t have a lot of money but I want to build a rally car and get into that.
Good luck Justin! It takes time and you have to give up a lot. Just think about all the things you can do to make it happen then just start and keep going. It gets hard sometimes but friends and family can be a great support. There are no guarantees either. Hope you make it happen!
Even tho my parents might have had the money for me to start a carreer, they didn’t want me to be a racing driver because it was dangerous and when we used to go drive go carts I too had almost every time the record time of the day and had a lot of potential as the owner of the go carts was always saying but I guess they did not want me to be what I wanted to be but what they wantet me to be which is a problem with my family…
All sports are dangerous! People die in skiing, rock fishing, football and even cheerleading! Michael Schumacher was most seriously injured in a skiing accident not in a race car.
My dad showed me a video once and told me to always do the thing I love most! This is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khOaAHK7efc
I’d love some help if you’re willing! I’m only 16 but I’m extremely interested in rally and have been applying to help out at local tracks to meet some drivers and teams and get my name out there, any other advice you could give me?? Thank you!
I don’t know a lot about rallying but what I would do is just go to the track as much as I can. I would watch and learn by watching. Talk to people just having a normal conversation. They will notice that you are there all the time and that you are keen. Offer to help. Put what you do on social media especially if it’s video. Maybe you can offer to do work experience with them? To race you will need to find a way to do something in that area even if it is off-road karting. Then put as much of that on social media as you can! It can take a long time. Just never give up.
Cool
I’m in a similar situation. 16 years old, talented but too poor to afford driving on a racetrack or rallys. Now I started to drive carslalom in a Mazda 2. If I’m good enough I get sponsored by the ADAC but if not…. It stays a dream of mine.
Wish you good luck :)
It is more than just being good on track. You have to be more than that. Sponsors pay for great ambassadors. Getting results on track is only one small part of that and that can take a long time, a lot of practice and a lot of money. You can show people your potential on track straight away using social media to tell your story. You will have a much better chance then.
Hey I saw this the other day and found inspiration in it. Any ideas about how to get into racing at 17 without karting experience?
It depends on what your budget will be. If you don’t have much then karting will be the best place at your local kart club in the senior class. You will want to practice a lot and get some tuition before you race because a lot of the senior kart racers have been racing since they were very young. It is a good place to learn race craft. If you have a bigger budget then you can look at car racing at club level too. You will have to be out there doing some racing and promoting yourself on social media to later get any sponsorship. It took me 2 years to get any independent sponsorship.