Getting into motorsport?

[thedools]

hi guys, this is my first post of many i hope. ive been waiting to get my account activated for a few weeks so i could get some advice of you guys, so any replies are appreciated :)

im currently 16 and have just begun my second term at college and am very much enjoying it, however i feel that i just dont want a normal hum drum desk job in an it firm or working in a 'shirt & tie' job is for me, excuse the generalisation.

I have loved motorsport for aslong as i can remember but only in the past year have i started to think of it as a career, not so much driving for a team but being part of a race team. Id love to work in a competetive, fast pace, demanding team that i knew i was a key part of.

however im not really sure what path to take from where i am now, do i stay at college and get a few A-levels under my belt or do i go for the experience approach with an apprenticship with the sport etc?

Keep in mind im not entirley sure what id like to do with in the team which i know is a large problem but any ideas on this would be greatly welcomed, im really at a loss here and would love some advice of what its like work in this sport etc.

thanks guys (sorry for the long post)

Tom

[Magnus]

Get involved in anything that moves, be it gocart, motocross, RC-cars! buy some torquwrenches and take something apart, and put together again. Repeat. repeat. Repeat.
buy a car, even if you are not allowed to drive.
Take it apart. Put it together. Repeat. Repeat.
Try to figure out what would make it oversteer.
Change the camshaft to just abt anything (as long as it is a camshaft... ;) ) and try to understand the diff of the engines behaviour. Try to figure out which are the best materials to lead heat. How can they be used in the engine? In the enginecompartment?
Read read read. Ask some kind relative to borrow you a couple of millions, say that you maybe will pay them back.
Apply at for example the school in Torsby (sweden) which educates rally mechs.
Since you are stil quite young nothing is to late!

[MrJan]

Go to your local motor club is pretty much the first step. It'll give you a chance to meet like minded people, some of whom will compete. Most club racers, be it in rallying, roundy roundy or speed events would not say no to a bit of help. A levels are always handy and seeing as you have started you may as well carry on with those. People will always give you examples of how 'I left school with one O level and look where I am today' but if you ask most employers they will take the guy with qualifications.

MOst importantly is get to learn cars. Remember that no matter what you do in a team you will be around cars and basic mechanical knowledge of how the things work is always useful (plus if you change your mind you still have the skills to fix your own car if necessary). I don't think there is really a set or easy route into motorsport but be prepared to work hard :D

[thedools]

hey guys, id just like to say thank you very much for the advice, i knew this was the place to come for some inspiring help.

i have been saving for a long time for my first car and i think i might look into doing what you suggested magnus about bying a car just to start tinkering etc.

Im reading as much as i can and im so keen to keep learning, I definately think your right about my A - levels as i guess it shows i have an academic background aswell as a love for mechanics and the like.

thanks again

[MrJan]

Sadly having a car is very expensive (I pay £700 for insurance, albeit because the car has non-standard parts) but being able to do simple stuff like change the oil or check the brakes is very handy and will be good practice. I performed my first oil change recently and besides from being a touch messy it's a very easy job to do yourself, good place to start :up:

[thedools]

yeah i understand but im expecting to pay around a grand for my insurance unfortunately, most of my friends around 17 pay around the 1k mark :(

i think i would have to get a 1.2 206, well any small hatchback really.

i like the sound of your car with no standard parts, what car is it if you dont mind me asking?

thanks

[MrJan]

It's a 96 Honda Civic. My brother put alloys, K&N air filter, new manifold, fuel pressure regulator and strut brace on it before I got hold of it. Doesn't make that much difference to performance but it sounds nice.

It's had a pretty hard life (both when my bro and me have owned it) and although it runs okay it's starting to show signs of wear. Thankfully I only have to keep it until May at which point I'm planning to get a diesel estate. It'll make me feel dirty but with petrol above the £1 mark and rising the economy will be handy and I'll also be able to use it as a tow car.

[wedge]

hi guys, this is my first post of many i hope. ive been waiting to get my account activated for a few weeks so i could get some advice of you guys, so any replies are appreciated :)

im currently 16 and have just begun my second term at college and am very much enjoying it, however i feel that i just dont want a normal hum drum desk job in an it firm or working in a 'shirt & tie' job is for me, excuse the generalisation.

I have loved motorsport for aslong as i can remember but only in the past year have i started to think of it as a career, not so much driving for a team but being part of a race team. Id love to work in a competetive, fast pace, demanding team that i knew i was a key part of.

however im not really sure what path to take from where i am now, do i stay at college and get a few A-levels under my belt or do i go for the experience approach with an apprenticship with the sport etc?

Keep in mind im not entirley sure what id like to do with in the team which i know is a large problem but any ideas on this would be greatly welcomed, im really at a loss here and would love some advice of what its like work in this sport etc.

thanks guys (sorry for the long post)

Tom

Well what do you want to do exactly? Are you a thinker or a do-er?

That really needs thinking about.

Try getting experience from local race tracks/teams making good cups of tea is a good ice-breaker!

I used to help out a neighbour who did hillclimbs and did work experience at Ilmor (now Mercedes Benz HPE). I was offered an apprenticeship but my pushy parents wanted me to go off to uni and I sucked at Physics and Maths!

I would suggest moving to Northamptonshire (if you're aren't a local) because the colleges are part of the National Motorsport Acadamy thingy. They have an open day next month but can't remember the exact date. I'll post the details later when I find it.

Also check the prospectuses for Cranfield Uni and Oxford Brookes Uni, you'll find relevant courses.

Just don't do what I do and end up with an office job and thinking what might've been!

[Mark]

From what I have read about routes into motorsport (or anything similar), it's all about experience, experience, experience, spend your every waking hour doing things around cars and get involved with as much as possible, as wedge says even sweeping the floors at a race teams workshop is going to look better for you... basically you can kiss goodbye to all of your free time and social life ;)

We've had posters on here who expect to come straight into working for a BTCC team for example, but of course that never happens, they get tonnes of requests all the time.

But if you're prepared to work for free for a (very) minor team and fund your own travel and accomodation to all the races, they may let you sweep the floors, and if you are lucky, make the tea.. but it's all got to start somewhere :)

Remember most of working in motorsport isn't sitting on a pit wall in Monza, rather freezing to death in a cold workshop in Northampton, but it'll be worth it :)

Good luck :cool:

[thedools]

Well what do you want to do exactly? Are you a thinker or a do-er?

That really needs thinking about.

Try getting experience from local race tracks/teams making good cups of tea is a good ice-breaker!

I used to help out a neighbour who did hillclimbs and did work experience at Ilmor (now Mercedes Benz HPE). I was offered an apprenticeship but my pushy parents wanted me to go off to uni and I sucked at Physics and Maths!

I would suggest moving to Northamptonshire (if you're aren't a local) because the colleges are part of the National Motorsport Acadamy thingy. They have an open day next month but can't remember the exact date. I'll post the details later when I find it.

Also check the prospectuses for Cranfield Uni and Oxford Brookes Uni, you'll find relevant courses.

Just don't do what I do and end up with an office job and thinking what might've been!

well im kind of both really but thats why i want to make the start now because as you said i dont really want to be stuck in a job that i knew i could have avoided and done what i really wanted.

thanks for the post though ill look into what you suggested for definate

thanks!

[thedools]

From what I have read about routes into motorsport (or anything similar), it's all about experience, experience, experience, spend your every waking hour doing things around cars and get involved with as much as possible, as wedge says even sweeping the floors at a race teams workshop is going to look better for you... basically you can kiss goodbye to all of your free time and social life ;)

We've had posters on here who expect to come straight into working for a BTCC team for example, but of course that never happens, they get tonnes of requests all the time.

But if you're prepared to work for free for a (very) minor team and fund your own travel and accomodation to all the races, they may let you sweep the floors, and if you are lucky, make the tea.. but it's all got to start somewhere

Remember most of working in motorsport isn't sitting on a pit wall in Monza, rather freezing to death in a cold workshop in Northampton, but it'll be worth it

Good luck :cool:


well i do make a good cuppa ;) what sort of league teams do you suggest do you mean the very unknown race teams that compete in amatur racing ?

Monza sounds good one day :D but i guess its cold northampton to start with :) just knowing i could move up the ranks with the right attitude and experience keeps me revved to work, im reading alot but i live in hull and it seems difficult to find them places where i could help oout and start gaining that experience with a race team.

[MrJan]

They'll certainly be unknown. Teams that compete in the bigger championships will get many requests by tea makers.

[Mark]

Hull isn't a bad place to be situation wise. Might I suggest rallying? There are far more competitors than circuit mmracin so easier to get involved with.

[raybak]

Join a local motorsport club and offer to help out. That's how I got involved in rallying. I started out as an official, got to know a few competitors then ended up with a codrive. Now I own my own 2 car rally team that runs at national level.

Ray

[Valve Bounce]

Depends how high up the F1 food chain you want to be! What's wrong with being a great nerd if it means getting to work on the Black Box? or aero? Or Mechanical Engineering if you want to go up the design tree?
How hard do you really want to work, study, and how much work are you willing to put into your studies?

Are you willing to sacrifice a few years now, and study and work hard? or do you want to bugger around tinkering with your car, go fast, prang it a few times and go broke? If you want to work hard, a bicycle is the best way to start saving, and focus on your studies.

I can tell you now that we were looking for one of those IT experts to work on a toll road Construction project in China. Like the guys who do all the warning signals, tolls, and whatever computer technology was needed for this. Well we found one guy who commanded my annual engineering salary for his monthly rates, said we could use his CV, but he would not be available for the project as he was already tied up somewhere else.

The world is a big place; you need to speak to a helluva lot of people in the various fields, know how intelligent and hard working you are and could be, then decide what walk in life, be it F1, Saloons, Le Mans type cars, or whatever else there is out there that you really want to be for the rest of your life that you will enjoy life.

Sorry for the lecture.

Me!! If I had my time over, I'd want to be a Criminal lawyer.

[leopard]

Lawyer usually offer some shortcut to smoothen any lawsuit of the clients, don't they? ;)

To make yourself into motorsport I think, like any other career, you should see the tightness of competition. If you feel have the talent with some financial support, those emerge from the smaller scale of championship can go higher, etc.

[steve0302]

hi there i was the same as you at your age, wasn't sure what i wanted to do but loved motorsport.

i went to college got a few basic mechanic certificates and moved onto a motorsport uni course.

which is where i am now, here i've had the chance to get loads of experience with several big teams as well, now going thro in getting a job with vauxhall touring car team.

also got my own project in buiding a rally car

hope that helps but deff check out oxford brookes uni

[Pawprint]

hi there i was the same as you at your age, wasn't sure what i wanted to do but loved motorsport.

i went to college got a few basic mechanic certificates and moved onto a motorsport uni course.

which is where i am now, here i've had the chance to get loads of experience with several big teams as well, now going thro in getting a job with vauxhall touring car team.

also got my own project in buiding a rally car

hope that helps but deff check out oxford brookes uni


How much money you got? [building a rally car]

[thedools]

Wow i was not expecting this amount of advice ! its brilliant ive got so many new angles to look at.

Valve i appriciate what your saying i mean i was thinking about getting the whole car and tinkering etc, but now i kind of realise i dont want to be small time i want to make it as high as i can get.

I need to focus on studies i think, ill look into that uni steve :D

Ray, fancy a cup of tea, im a dab hand with the kettle :)
Pretty good to know that from a marshall you ended up with your own team, thats pretty impresive.

thanks again guys, your all helping me in my quest to find out how to approach all this ;)

Tom

[leopard]

ok, then report to us how the above advices worked out in the next five years.

[Valve Bounce]

Valve i appriciate what your saying i mean i was thinking about getting the whole car and tinkering etc, but now i kind of realise i dont want to be small time i want to make it as high as i can get.


Tom


While you are at it, I can give you the one and most important piece of advice you will ever get in your life. If you want to achieve high grades, lay off the booze.

[GridGirl]

It does sound like you more want to work with the cars etc but you can be involved in motorsport even if you have a normal desk job. I'm just a boring old accountant but the company I work for has a big sports and entertainment division. Since I've been back to work this year alone I've worked on stuff for a Formula 3 team, a former DTM champion and a current F1 test driver. :)

You could always get yourself into driver management. There loads of money in that. ;)

[MrJan]

While you are at it, I can give you the one and most important piece of advice you will ever get in your life. If you want to achieve high grades, lay off the booze.

So THAT'S where I went wrong. Why didn't you tell ME that a few years ago? :p : :D

[leopard]

Where do we have to lay it off? ;)