RE: Fancy racing for free?
Tuesday 29th August 2006
Ginettas at Donington ParkFancy racing for free? The 2007 Speedworks Ginetta Scholarship is to award a completely free season of racing in the AVO Ginetta Championship with Speedworks Motorsport to a racing novice.
Fancy racing for free?
Take a Ginetta ontrack in 2007
Ginettas at Donington Park
The prize, worth over £30,000, includes all entry fees, preparation costs, racewear, licence fees, a full testing schedule and even accident damage.
The scholarship, which enters its third season in 2007, is open to anyone aged 16 and above who has never started a long circuit car race. Those with rallying, rallycross, short oval and motorcycle experience are eligible, as are track day enthusiasts as well as complete novices. Judges will take into account the relative experience of scholarship competitors to ensure a level playing field for drivers of all ages and experience.
The scholarship will be held over four rounds, with all entrants eligible to contest the first two before they are whittled down for the semi-final. Ten drivers will then be invited back for the scholarship final. Entry for the first two stages will be £175 per round, the semi-final £125 and free for the final. The first stage will be held on February 7.
The scholarship will also have a new home next year, with Welsh circuit Llandow, near Cardiff, holding all of the rounds. All competitors will be assessed throughout the scholarship under instruction in genuine Ginetta G20 race cars at the venue.
“To be able to take the scholarship into Ginettas is a dream come true,” said scholarship founder and Speedworks Motorsport team principal Christian Dick. “The G20 is a serious race car and it’s such a competitive championship that it’s the ideal place for a newcomer to learn about racing and hopefully progress to higher levels.
“The aim of the scholarship is to attract new competitors into motorsport, which is why we have kept it open only to novices. We’re looking for a driver with potential, not a finished article, so Llandow is the perfect place to assess the ability and progression of our competitors, as well as offering a fantastic driving experience.”
The Ginetta Championship is one of Britain’s most successful championships, racing at prestigious venues such as Silverstone, Donington and Brands Hatch.
“It’s great for Ginetta to get the opportunity to be involved in this scholarship,” says Ginetta’s Martin Phaff. “We feel that we a part of a ladder in motorsport. If we can assist in any way to help people come into motorsport in our series and then progress to a higher level in national or international racing, we are very happy to do so.”
Discussion
Seen a few of these types of competitions, but I've never got involved because the sceptic in me has always believed that they'll take your money for the paying rounds and then the winner turns out to me some 17 yrs old karting champion or similar.
Thoughts?
Anyone ever got involved in these "no experience needed" competitions?
Thoughts?
Anyone ever got involved in these "no experience needed" competitions?
I must admit to being a little sceptical myself, after entering somthing similar a few years ago only for it to be won by a guy who had quite a lot of racing exerience and had actually already won a championship.
However I happen to know the guys who run this competition and currently race in the Max5 Championship with the guy who won last years competition. He is only 19 and prior to winning the competition had no race or karting experience at all and has already had a pole and a couple of podiums.
I am just pi$$ed off that I am not eligable to enter myself!!!
they are actually a very good reflection on the realities of trying to make it as a racing driver, that is, you think it is about talent, but its often about all the other aspects that make a racing drvier as well..
if i was entering it, i'd be making sure my driving was good, but i'd be working twice as hard on things, like sponsorship proposals, media interviews, genernal racing knowledge, whilst at the same time networking/relationship building with the organisers and sponsers...
if i was entering it, i'd be making sure my driving was good, but i'd be working twice as hard on things, like sponsorship proposals, media interviews, genernal racing knowledge, whilst at the same time networking/relationship building with the organisers and sponsers...
Good to see that people are talking about our scholarship.
We can understand why people are sceptical - like any venture there are good and bad examples of the breed - but we are very aware of the need to make the scholarship genuinely open to all (except those who have raced before).
The winner is not pre-ordaned to be a 17-year-old karter. Karters are more than welcome, and could, of course, win, but it is far from a pre-requisite. Of the ten finalists last year, I believe only three had karting experience. In terms of money, our scholarship winner this year could not even contemplate going racing (he's a student) with his own cash, so it's not about the bank balance. We are very thorough in assessing the experience levels of our entrant - no two drivers have exactly the same background - and judge accordingly. This doesn't mean that you can or cannot win based on experience or lack thereof, but our experienced instructors and judges will be mindful of where on the learning curve the driver begins the scholarship.
Also, our previous two winners were aged 31 and 19, so there is no specific age group that we are looking to pull the winner from. We had competitors aged from 16 to 69 last year, and genuinely had no preconceptions about age or experience.
Hello is that Amy?
I made the final last year (Rob Way)
I have to say it was a fantastic experience. I went into it with low expectations as I had only done about 3 trackdays and had a bit of tuition when I was 18. To be honest I didn't expect to make the Semi let alone the final. But of course I was gutted when I didn't win (slight off track excursion).
I would recommend doing it just for the experience. And the tuition you will be given as it will improve your driving greatly.
The winner David eastwood had minimal experience I think he had done some previous scholarships before. He kind of supprised the rest of us when he won as he quietly got on with it. But clearly was a good choice.
To prove it will help your driving I started my first year of Sprints and Hillclimbs after the schaolarship in the Westfield Speed Series and have had 2 class wins and am on course for 2nd in class for the Championship.
Rob
The website is currently being built up, and should be completely up and running in the next couple of weeks, as the switch to running in the Ginetta Championship has only recently been confirmed. We're building up an entirely new site to replace the MX-5 Scholarship one. We can currently take payments for registration, although not currently through the website.
For any specific information, you could always drop a line to enquiries@mx5scholarship.co.uk
Dakkon said:
I would love to do this but I am off travelling New Zealand and will miss the first two rounds.....bugger
and there we have it, the reason why these find a driver scholarships so often do not ‘find a driver’.
I am of the opinion that ‘scholarships’ like these should only be open to people of all ages who have actually competed, that is, scraped together the money and done some racing, whether it be club 100 karting, club racing, or hillclimbs, even trackdays. The reason being that this shows the judges that you are determined, that you are prepared to get off your backside and try and live your dream/ have some fun racing.
If I was on the judging panel, anyone over the age of 30 who has not competed, I would immediately discard, even if they had talent, simply because, the fact of not competing before shows a lack of desire, and to make it in anything, you have to have desire and determination.
Too often in paddocks, I get stopped by people saying they would love to go racing, would do anything to go racing, so I suggest that they sell their Cupra, or Type R, and they look faintly…… offended…. and I think to myself, “I will always be able to beat you, because you’ll never actually race…”
Ah, but you say, “I never had the opportunity to befor”, or “I have no money”, well, even if you were in the most lowly paid job, you could have saved up £1000 in the 15 years since leaving school to have at least done one race – and therefore prove you have focus and determination. In fact the only way you can be excused for not competing by age 30, is if you were in jail – in which case you’d already be out the competition.
It would be far more interesting to see, a competition designed to find a new professional driver, aimed at the non pro-driver, but a prerequisite being that you have competed at something previously.
These competitions smack of a ‘lottery winner’ syndrome and invariably in my opinion, the winner is not deserving, unless they have proven that they have the determination to succeed, by having scrapped the money together to have previously competed.
/and relax.
stockhatcher said:
Dakkon said:
I would love to do this but I am off travelling New Zealand and will miss the first two rounds.....bugger
and there we have it, the reason why these find a driver scholarships so often do not ‘find a driver’.
I am of the opinion that ‘scholarships’ like these should only be open to people of all ages who have actually competed, that is, scraped together the money and done some racing, whether it be club 100 karting, club racing, or hillclimbs, even trackdays. The reason being that this shows the judges that you are determined, that you are prepared to get off your backside and try and live your dream/ have some fun racing.
If I was on the judging panel, anyone over the age of 30 who has not competed, I would immediately discard, even if they had talent, simply because, the fact of not competing before shows a lack of desire, and to make it in anything, you have to have desire and determination.
Too often in paddocks, I get stopped by people saying they would love to go racing, would do anything to go racing, so I suggest that they sell their Cupra, or Type R, and they look faintly…… offended…. and I think to myself, “I will always be able to beat you, because you’ll never actually race…”
Ah, but you say, “I never had the opportunity to befor”, or “I have no money”, well, even if you were in the most lowly paid job, you could have saved up £1000 in the 15 years since leaving school to have at least done one race – and therefore prove you have focus and determination. In fact the only way you can be excused for not competing by age 30, is if you were in jail – in which case you’d already be out the competition.
It would be far more interesting to see, a competition designed to find a new professional driver, aimed at the non pro-driver, but a prerequisite being that you have competed at something previously.
These competitions smack of a ‘lottery winner’ syndrome and invariably in my opinion, the winner is not deserving, unless they have proven that they have the determination to succeed, by having scrapped the money together to have previously competed.
/and relax.
Well said that man. Every time I see one of these I think I would love to enter, or wish I didnt have the 4 years racing experience and Nat A licence that means I cant. I can only afford to go racing at club level in Locost, but does that mean I dont have the talent to go further? And if Im forbidden with 4 years of circuit racing, why are these schemes open to kids with 10 years karting? Surely under the stereotype of an up and coming racing driver they will be able to wipe the floor with me? IMHO if these schemes really wanted to find the next top level driver instead of just boosting publicity for whatever series is behind it, they would throw it open to everyone and actively encourage club racers to get involved.
Fair points.
But on the other hand didn't the last guy to win then go on to have a successful season and take a podium finish? He must have talent - surely thats not "lottery winner" syndrome?
I do see your point about passion and desire - and it's a good one. But isn't the whole point of these things to spark the flame of desire and lower the barriers of entry to give it a go. Basically, finding the untapped talent that must surely be out there.
Rewarding raw ambition and sacrfice is a noble theory but the bottom line is that the best man on the day takes the win. To dismiss folk straight away because they didn't sell the family car in exchange for a drive is utter nonsense. Passion / desire / experience - all those attributes can help you achieve your goals - but they don't give you any automatic rights over the new guy. That just sounds like sour grapes.
Ultimately, if the guy is that hopeless he'll have some fun and then wander off never to be seen again - what difference to you racers?? Just proves your point, right?
I have recruited people who last year were doing something totally different - but are proving a real talent and a valuable asset. They NOW have real passion and desire for what they do. The point I guess I am trying to make is that if someone is giving you results today, do you care what they doing yesterday? - I don't think I do.
Appreciate that for you guys who have already taken the plunge and got racing you can't get onto these scholarships - but surely the fact that you are ready racing means that your opportunuities to win and progress your passion are already there? You already have that platform?
But on the other hand didn't the last guy to win then go on to have a successful season and take a podium finish? He must have talent - surely thats not "lottery winner" syndrome?
I do see your point about passion and desire - and it's a good one. But isn't the whole point of these things to spark the flame of desire and lower the barriers of entry to give it a go. Basically, finding the untapped talent that must surely be out there.
Rewarding raw ambition and sacrfice is a noble theory but the bottom line is that the best man on the day takes the win. To dismiss folk straight away because they didn't sell the family car in exchange for a drive is utter nonsense. Passion / desire / experience - all those attributes can help you achieve your goals - but they don't give you any automatic rights over the new guy. That just sounds like sour grapes.
Ultimately, if the guy is that hopeless he'll have some fun and then wander off never to be seen again - what difference to you racers?? Just proves your point, right?
I have recruited people who last year were doing something totally different - but are proving a real talent and a valuable asset. They NOW have real passion and desire for what they do. The point I guess I am trying to make is that if someone is giving you results today, do you care what they doing yesterday? - I don't think I do.
Appreciate that for you guys who have already taken the plunge and got racing you can't get onto these scholarships - but surely the fact that you are ready racing means that your opportunuities to win and progress your passion are already there? You already have that platform?
matt2101 said:
.......... or wish I didnt have the 4 years racing experience and Nat A licence that means I cant. I can only afford to go racing at club level in Locost........
You beat me, my Radical trumps your Locost, but with only 18 months sprints and a Nat Speed B you get it 2 out of 3.
ukross said:
Robbie, thanks for your comment - good to hear about different opinions.
Can you ask you why is was so shambolic? What should I be looking out for?
Cheers
Can you ask you why is was so shambolic? What should I be looking out for?
Cheers
I think you should talk to previous entrants and get thier opinion.
My experience was that they bigged you up in the early rounds to get you to continue and fund the drives for the rest.
The "circuit" was some old tyres and sleepers laid out on a potholed disused WW2 runway in the middle of nowhere.
But the worst bit to my mind was that in the drivers briefing it was stated clearly and repeatedly that anyone spinning, hitting a tyre or damaging a car would go home there and then.
The bloke who went through and got a pat on the back had the fastest time. He also span twice, hit a tyre wall and broke the cars bumper.
Regarding the suggestion of only allowing those who have competed a little because they have shown desire, we see where you are coming from, but that outlook ignores one critical aspect of motorsport in this country. Motorsport is very poor at promoting itself - the vast majority of people on the street have no idea how they can go about competing.
A number of entrants into the scholarship who didn't win have subsequently gone racing having been given the opportunity to experience a race car on track and had a little guidance from ourselves on how to do it. This scholarship will appeal to plenty of people who have had some involvement in motorsport, but will also open up the sport to the vast majority of people in this country who have had little or no exposure to motorsport. If you take the attitue that no-one who hasn't already tried to get into racing should be allowed in then the sport will continue to have the "closed shop" feel which limits its expansion.
Motorsport needs to be doing as much as it can to prove to the unconverted how fantastic and accessible a sport it is, and that is something we put a great deal of effort unto doing during the evaluations.
What's more, in our experience those people who talk a good game about wanting to go racing but won't part with their pricey road car to race are just as unwilling to part with money to enter the scholarship!
Hope this explains our eligibility policy.
A number of entrants into the scholarship who didn't win have subsequently gone racing having been given the opportunity to experience a race car on track and had a little guidance from ourselves on how to do it. This scholarship will appeal to plenty of people who have had some involvement in motorsport, but will also open up the sport to the vast majority of people in this country who have had little or no exposure to motorsport. If you take the attitue that no-one who hasn't already tried to get into racing should be allowed in then the sport will continue to have the "closed shop" feel which limits its expansion.
Motorsport needs to be doing as much as it can to prove to the unconverted how fantastic and accessible a sport it is, and that is something we put a great deal of effort unto doing during the evaluations.
What's more, in our experience those people who talk a good game about wanting to go racing but won't part with their pricey road car to race are just as unwilling to part with money to enter the scholarship!
Hope this explains our eligibility policy.
ok speedworks,
it depends though on what your scholarship is hoping to acheive,if it is to find a new talent with the ability to make it as a pro driver, be that f1, sportscars or touring cars, then you really have to choose someone under the age of 22, why?, because this sport of ours is 'yoof obsessed' and anyone over 30 is discarded( rightly or wrongly), but equally, to make it in motorsport, you have to be able to both hustle inside and outside of a car, you've got to have ambition, desire and get up and go. and at the age of 30, you should be mature enough, rich enough to have got up and gone (for it). the sport is poorly promoted and it is difficult to get involved if you don't know anyone, and yes, these scholarships can help people see a way forward, i know, because i come from a non motorsporting family, and used to frequent race and rally schools whilst still a student, spending my hard earned summer job money , not on books, but attending race schools, even going so far as to spending a £600 tax rebate on a day long 1:1 rally course.
i made the final of a race scholarship sponsored by vw/sony in 1994, having committed my time and money to the aforementioned race shoools, of those 12 finalists that made it, i am one of only 2 drivers who still compete, indeed, only three drivers actually went on and competed after the finals were over, me, another guy in stock hatch and the winner, who pretty much stopped driving after his prize drive finished. Don't get me wrong, i didn't do enough to win the scholarship, but with my committment proven i wonder if i would of done more with the prize as a "spring board"?? Losing strenghtened my resolve, i wonder if winning would of given me more confidence....
look at other scholarships, Louise Aitken Walker finished 2nd in the 1979 find a lady driver competition, but its clear to see that her determination took her a long way, so what would of happened if she won it? then look at the first shell rally scholarship in 1991, won by Alister Mcrae, who is a good driver, but the guy that came second was Richard Burns - and look who went on to achieve more...
so therefore karters should not be included because most teenage karting sensations come from families with an interest in motorsport, so they would of found a way to go car racing, as they're used to spending the money, and know the drill.
so i make my point again, the over-riding qualification the winner should have is desire, i hope when you get to the finals stage that you ask the finalists to prove their desire based on their age, and background/family interest in motorsport. surely even you can see that you can do a lot more with a good ( but not the best driver in the final) who has proved his desire, than a very talented driver whose motivation is suspect. of course you might get lucky and find a dirver who is the fastest and most determined.....
it depends though on what your scholarship is hoping to acheive,if it is to find a new talent with the ability to make it as a pro driver, be that f1, sportscars or touring cars, then you really have to choose someone under the age of 22, why?, because this sport of ours is 'yoof obsessed' and anyone over 30 is discarded( rightly or wrongly), but equally, to make it in motorsport, you have to be able to both hustle inside and outside of a car, you've got to have ambition, desire and get up and go. and at the age of 30, you should be mature enough, rich enough to have got up and gone (for it). the sport is poorly promoted and it is difficult to get involved if you don't know anyone, and yes, these scholarships can help people see a way forward, i know, because i come from a non motorsporting family, and used to frequent race and rally schools whilst still a student, spending my hard earned summer job money , not on books, but attending race schools, even going so far as to spending a £600 tax rebate on a day long 1:1 rally course.
i made the final of a race scholarship sponsored by vw/sony in 1994, having committed my time and money to the aforementioned race shoools, of those 12 finalists that made it, i am one of only 2 drivers who still compete, indeed, only three drivers actually went on and competed after the finals were over, me, another guy in stock hatch and the winner, who pretty much stopped driving after his prize drive finished. Don't get me wrong, i didn't do enough to win the scholarship, but with my committment proven i wonder if i would of done more with the prize as a "spring board"?? Losing strenghtened my resolve, i wonder if winning would of given me more confidence....
look at other scholarships, Louise Aitken Walker finished 2nd in the 1979 find a lady driver competition, but its clear to see that her determination took her a long way, so what would of happened if she won it? then look at the first shell rally scholarship in 1991, won by Alister Mcrae, who is a good driver, but the guy that came second was Richard Burns - and look who went on to achieve more...
so therefore karters should not be included because most teenage karting sensations come from families with an interest in motorsport, so they would of found a way to go car racing, as they're used to spending the money, and know the drill.
so i make my point again, the over-riding qualification the winner should have is desire, i hope when you get to the finals stage that you ask the finalists to prove their desire based on their age, and background/family interest in motorsport. surely even you can see that you can do a lot more with a good ( but not the best driver in the final) who has proved his desire, than a very talented driver whose motivation is suspect. of course you might get lucky and find a dirver who is the fastest and most determined.....
Edited by stockhatcher on Saturday 2nd September 21:11
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