Questioni am 15 and just now thinking of a carrier i would like to start in my life and the carrier so far that i am most intrested in is formula racing i live in the U.S.A but parents are from Poland my whole family love's formula racing and i do to but i cant find any good information on the internet on it. What i need to no is what are the first steps that i have to take to start "racing". I also need to no good schools and the price the only place in europe that i would be able to go to school is germany because i have family there.
AnswerDear Jake, thank you for your question.
"My recommendation is that you start with one of the racing schools and attend their course (I presume there are some in Germany for single seaters, but I am based in the UK and I have no details fof them).
Joining such a school and going through the necessaries will take several months and teach you about driving and racing a single seater formula racing car. In the UK this also enables you to get your racing licence, not sure how this works in Germany though.
If you do very well at a Racing School you can sometimes win a drive for the following season in a competitive car (although only a few of the schools in the UK offer this scholarship - Silverstone does not, again, I don't know about Germany).
If you are able to secure a budget, then approaching a good team in the first instance might be a way forward but not many will want to take on a novice. They will certainly I am sure help you go testing to see how you get on and can give you some good advice, and of course, if you are both impressed, could run you in some races or enter you in a (2007)championship.
Having spoken to some reputable team managers in the UK (Alan Docking Racing and Woodcote Racing) to ask them about how a novice should ideally begin, they both told me that starting with the racing school is best. One also mentioned that a parallel programme of karting would be very advisable, suggesting that ideally you should be karting 2-3 times/week and then also doing the single seater racing school at the same time. One of the team managers said that after the racing school course is finished, he could provide a car and the back-up to test with, and can also coach a young driver with a view to preparing them for entering a championship, depending on talent too of course!
I have spoken with the Silverstone Racing School's top man Ken Bowes. SRS say they would start a novice off with an intensive 5 day course where they will receive full training/coaching and they will supply the necessary kit and racing licence application etc. The 5 day course culminates in a race against the other students. The cost is GB Pounds 3100 and they are available at fairly regular intervals through the year.
SRS recommend that, depending on how a driver gets on in the 5 day course, they next offer a programme of races to help the drivers apply the skills and continue their learning. The costs will be around GB pounds 7-8000 and involve about 6 races.
If you are interested in UK alternatives, Jonathan Palmer has a facility in Bedfordhire, there is also the Aintree Racing School(Liverpool), the (formally) Brands Hatch circuits of Brands Hatch (Kent), Snetterton (Norforlk), Cadwell (Lincs), Donington (Derbs) and Oulton (Cheshire).
I hope this is helpful to you. Jake. Motorsports trade press in Germany, which perhaps your relatives have access to, will no doubt give details of local soultions. As a further aid, here are some links to some German motorsport websites which can hopefully help you on your way.
http://www.f1total.com/motormagazin/
http://www.norisring.de/
http://www.motorsportarena.com/
http://www.hockenheimring-shop.com/DEFAULT.aspx?tabID=453
Please call the tracks at the contact details I have given you on these websites. They willbe able to tell you if they or any other tracks have racing schools and what teh prices are if they do.
Good luck,
Adam
