Too old to take up motorsport seriously?
Discussion
If I wanted to make a career out of racing, is 21 too old to start? I'm currently doing a degree, but starting to suffer from serious apathy for various reasons and I'm seriously considering motorsport as an alternative. Necessary talent aside, is it too late to start? Most professional drivers seem to have been karting since they were about 12 - which unfortunatly necessitates a lot of encouragement from parents as well as finances to boot. Reading through a few biographies, there are drivers who are doing degrees or everyday jobs, yet I wonder how they can afford it?
How much would it cost to get into motorsport, and how easy is it to take it up professionally? Which is the best route (looking at closed wheel stuff - FIA GT would be nice
) and is this a viable prospect? I'd love to do it, I just don't have the knowledge or contacts to realise it 
How much would it cost to get into motorsport, and how easy is it to take it up professionally? Which is the best route (looking at closed wheel stuff - FIA GT would be nice
) and is this a viable prospect? I'd love to do it, I just don't have the knowledge or contacts to realise it xiphias said:
If I wanted to make a career out of racing, is 21 too old to start? I'm currently doing a degree, but starting to suffer from serious apathy for various reasons and I'm seriously considering motorsport as an alternative. Necessary talent aside, is it too late to start? Most professional drivers seem to have been karting since they were about 12 - which unfortunatly necessitates a lot of encouragement from parents as well as finances to boot. Reading through a few biographies, there are drivers who are doing degrees or everyday jobs, yet I wonder how they can afford it?
How much would it cost to get into motorsport, and how easy is it to take it up professionally? Which is the best route (looking at closed wheel stuff - FIA GT would be nice) and is this a viable prospect? I'd love to do it, I just don't have the knowledge or contacts to realise it
How much would it cost to get into motorsport, and how easy is it to take it up professionally? Which is the best route (looking at closed wheel stuff - FIA GT would be nice
) and is this a viable prospect? I'd love to do it, I just don't have the knowledge or contacts to realise it IIRC, Damon Hill made the switch to cars at around 19, having had no karting, but lots of bike experience. Other late starters, that I can think of, include Will Hoy (RIP) and Steve Soper. However, you would certainly be in the minority - most will have been karting since they got out of nappies.
However, if I were you I would take a look at a guy called Lawrence Tomlinson. I read a report in Motorsport News that said he started in club racing (Ginetta's) about 5 years ago. This year he won his class at Le Mans - that's some going! He is a businessman firstly, and a driver on the side. If you want to go to GT's then ultimately you can buy a drive in any car you wish, which is what a lot of the Porsche GT3 drivers do.
What is your profession? Can you make enough from it to live on and still have enough to race? Can you sell a car/house? Do you have credit cards? These are the normal routes that most people have to go through to get money for racing. It seems that sponsorship money is getting harder to find these days (F1 excepted) so you'll have to fund it yourself, in the early stages at least. Then maybe some tuition to add to the kitty, selling your body in Soho, etc...
Damon Hill switch to cars at 24, although he had raced bikes, Jimmy McRae started rallying at 31, Sebastian Loeb at 22.
to answer you question, your are still young enough at 21 to make it professionally, however, if you are dreaming of being paid £250k pa to race a touring car, you'd better be good, or at least be good at networking, sponsorship getting.
I would suggest you see out your degree, for a couple of reasons, firstly, you've got some debt, so you might as well get the qualification, secondly, a degree educated person generally earns more than one without - and you'll need money to go racing. once gradusted i'd get a job in sales - recruitment/ IT or something similar, as this will allow you to earn good money at a young age. bascially you need to take a long term view on how to go racing, in terms of raising the finance, and what championships to do etc - as well as promoting yourself.
you can start by going to a race school, and seeing if you like it, then perhaps do some trackdays, then go racing. i'd suggest gt's or touring cars, as it is more realistic to become a pro driving a tin top than a single seater.
I was like you at uni, would of much preffered to pend my time racing than studying, but i am glad i stuck at it, as i can now , just about, afford my hobby, even if it is at only a club level. equally i've realised that i am not missing that much by not being a pro, the gossip and the intrgiue is the same, and so is the thrill of driving.
hth.
to answer you question, your are still young enough at 21 to make it professionally, however, if you are dreaming of being paid £250k pa to race a touring car, you'd better be good, or at least be good at networking, sponsorship getting.
I would suggest you see out your degree, for a couple of reasons, firstly, you've got some debt, so you might as well get the qualification, secondly, a degree educated person generally earns more than one without - and you'll need money to go racing. once gradusted i'd get a job in sales - recruitment/ IT or something similar, as this will allow you to earn good money at a young age. bascially you need to take a long term view on how to go racing, in terms of raising the finance, and what championships to do etc - as well as promoting yourself.
you can start by going to a race school, and seeing if you like it, then perhaps do some trackdays, then go racing. i'd suggest gt's or touring cars, as it is more realistic to become a pro driving a tin top than a single seater.
I was like you at uni, would of much preffered to pend my time racing than studying, but i am glad i stuck at it, as i can now , just about, afford my hobby, even if it is at only a club level. equally i've realised that i am not missing that much by not being a pro, the gossip and the intrgiue is the same, and so is the thrill of driving.
hth.
No question you will find things harder if you haven't invested in your youth, time to get karting and karting successfully.
How serious do you want to be; it normally depends on how much you give up in order to stand a chance of success. Where do you want to get to in your version of ‘success’? It's as difficult to do well at motor sport or any other art or sport.
If you're serious, you need to go the single seater route; otherwise there so much fun to be had from GTs IMHO.
If you want to win stuff, from day one I would get used to the idea of being a ‘racer’ not a ‘driver’.
How serious do you want to be; it normally depends on how much you give up in order to stand a chance of success. Where do you want to get to in your version of ‘success’? It's as difficult to do well at motor sport or any other art or sport.
If you're serious, you need to go the single seater route; otherwise there so much fun to be had from GTs IMHO.
If you want to win stuff, from day one I would get used to the idea of being a ‘racer’ not a ‘driver’.
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