Home » Blog » Allan's Blog » JIM RUSSELL RACING DRIVERS SCHOOL . . .
12 October 2009 | Posted in Allan's Blog
A racing driver's job is full-on and non-stop but nevertheless very enjoyable, and immediately after the Petit Le Mans race in Georgia I flew to California and the Infineon Raceway north of San Francisco for the Audi Sportscar Experience.
It's a programme organised by the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School which I'm also directly involved with. It was a five-day event at one of the most legendary tracks in North America. The guest list was very exclusive and it was basically about giving a masterclass and driving around the track in the excellent R8 V10 - arguably the best Audi roadcar.
Bringing you up to speed with my involvement with Jim Russell, the Future Driver programme has recently been launched. The aim is simple: to find a talented future driver. There is a run-off at the end of December where drivers will be assessed on every parameter of being a racing driver.
At the end of those four days, two drivers will be chosen. The theory is that one of them will be the more ‘complete' driver, in terms of ability, understanding the car, the feel of it after set-up changes for qualifying and in race conditions, race finishing positions over the four days, mechanical sympathy, integrating with the team and presentability as a young man or woman.
The second ‘seat' available is for purely and simply the fastest driver in the Final. Sometimes, and I've seen it through my career, a driver may not be particularly polished in all areas because of never having the experience, what I'd classify as a rough diamond, a driver that has natural feel and they just drive.
Then in 2010, those two guys get a free ‘seat' in to a 16-race championship. That will give them both the opportunity to develop and hone their skills. At the end of next season they'll have done a detailed and very specific job alongside the other drivers in the series.
The car (the Jim Russell FJR-50) has been purpose-built to be the ideal learning platform for drivers. It's based on the Lola B06-30 championship winning Formula 3 car and has up to 300bhp.
I certainly believe that we must adapt our education, if you'd like to call it, of young drivers. Right now there are certain countries in danger of losing out on the race grids of the future. In North America, there is a very, very good talent base but those guys, in the past, may not have been developed enough in their early years so that's why the Jim Russell initiative has been proactive in this particular structure.
Having said that, it's not just for American drivers - far from it. The initiative is open to everyone around the world. It's a programme I'm looking forward to being involved with and the nitty gritty of it. You can find more information and application forms are available at:
http://www.jimrussellusa.com/programs/championship-series/future-driver
See ya soon . . .
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