  |
|
|
|
How To Produce Top Drivers.
The starting point and foundation stone that many top drivers have base their career on is Karting. Drivers learn the basics of vehicle control and race craft in a highly competitive environment. The good thing is that it doesn't cost the earth. The slogan "Karting-affordable motorsport" is part of the Australian Karting Association's promotion of the sport. The young hopefuls get to find out how good they are. If the reality falls short of their dreams karting at club level is still fun. The kart in the picture is a National class kart. This is an entry level class common in Australia. They are powered by a Yamaha 100cc single cylinder 2 stroke with direct chain drive to the rear wheels and they run on long wearing control tyres. Beyond this level of karting money does become important. The drivers hope to perform well to gain sponsorship so that they can showcase their talents in increasingly high profile forms of racing. A popular next stage is Formula Ford where the drivers step up into a real racing car with gears and suspension. To help develop driving talent Ford Australia sponsor the national series. They support the Ford MAX Challenge where the outstanding karter gets a Formula Ford drive in a top team. Formula Holden is the next step up the ladder. This is Australia's premier open wheel category. The cars are a F3000 or Formula Nippon chassis with a Holden 3.8 litre V6 producing about 340 Hp. This series is popular with New Zealanders and this only adds to the intensity of the competition. Kiwi Scott Dixon spent two years driving in this series . He considered it a better preparation for winning the Indy Lights series than the Dodge Barber Pro Series where the cars have only 265hp. There are two endurance races for touring cars in Australia that play an important role in driver development. The most important one is the Bathurst 1000Km race with the other race providing a warm up. They require a co-driver for these races. The importance of these races means that cars come out of Go To Page: 1 2 |
|
|
|
