How to become a racing driver – and not break the bank

Motorsport isn’t cheap. To get a drive at the very top level in Formula One, you have to have talent – but also the bank balance. There are notable exceptions: Lewis Hamilton had a relatively humble background. Increasingly, though, much of the grid was born into wealth. Lance Stroll’s billionaire father Lawrence co-owns Aston Martin, while Lando Norris’s father Adam is one of Britain’s richest men. The estimated cost of participating in an F2 season, the feeder category to F1, is around £2mn. 

Ninety-nine point nine per cent of us would never make it. But that doesn’t mean being a competitive racing driver should be forever out of reach. Founded in 1958, Ginetta has become the gateway for many – of all ages – into the world of motorsport. At its factory in Leeds, owned by Lawrence Tomlinson, it builds both road-going sports cars and race cars. The brand’s flagship product is its Junior Racing Championship, for 14- to 17-year-olds, which is a platform for turning juniors into champions. It nurtures young drivers who have graduated from karting, and acts as a bump stop on the way to single seater racing. Notable names to pass through it include W Series champion Jamie Chadwick and four-time F1 Grand Prix winner Lando Norris, who was the 2014 Rookie Champion. A season with Ginetta’s in-house racing team will cost from £60,000-£140,000 depending on the level of support required, and £59,000 plus VAT for the car.

The next age level up is the Ginetta GT Academy. Ginetta describes it as a “championship that serves as the ultimate lifetime indulgence”, and it is exactly that. Open to rookie and experienced adult drivers alike, it is a seven-round, one-make car series that takes place at the UK’s finest race tracks, from Brands Hatch to Donington Park (a car will cost £85,000 plus VAT, and the season from £66,000 plus VAT). Those that enter come from a range of professions, from business owners and bankers to lawyers and managing directors. The most recent GT Academy winner was a 54-year-old, Julian Wantling from Shenfield in Essex, who previously worked in finance in London. He only started motor racing with Ginetta five years ago. The next step up would be the Ginetta GT Championship, and success there could lead to the higher echelons of GT racing and the Le Mans series.

The car used in the GT Academy series is the two-seater Ginetta G56 GTA. A full-on race car, it has a six-speed, straight-cut gearbox and a Ford V6 engine, producing 270bhp, that tops out at 140mph. Climbing into it is intimidating at first, with the stripped-back interior, figure-hugging Corbeau bucket seat and racing harness leaving no doubt about what they are there for. And pulling out of the old pits at Silverstone is intimidating. On my first attempt, I crawl off the clutch with enough revs to prevent stalling, then chug along with the transmission whining. But when I get up to speed on the Wellington Straight the car comes alive, the V6 roars and the gear light indicator flashes red to alert me to snap through the gears. Within a few laps I am taking Copse corner in fourth gear and pushing it all the way out on the exit. It is a unique feeling that even new supercars can’t come close to.

My instructor in the passenger seat is 17-year-old Mckenzie Douglass, a Ginetta GT Champion who tells me exactly when to brake and when to put my foot down. He’s been karting since he was four, and graduated through the Ginetta Junior programme. “If you can drive one of these cars quickly, you can drive any car quickly,” he tells me when we return to the pits. “It’s a world-class level.” 

Six more ways to get into racing

Club100

At this UK-based karting series, entrants “arrive and drive”, paying a one-off £55 registration fee and then £200 for academy days and £285 for races, including kart and race wear hire. It is widely considered one of the cheapest and simplest entry point into motorsport in the UK, and is an excellent way to hone your race craft. racing@club100.co.uk

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750 Motor Club

The club started in 1939, with previous members including Lotus founder Colin Chapman and F1 designer Gordon Murray. Today it organises a number of series, from Formula Vee single seaters with 1300cc VW engines that cost from £6,000 to the popular MX-5 Cup, featuring race-prepared Mk1 Mazda MX-5s that can be picked up used for around the same amount. Entry fees for “double-header” races typically cost between £360 and £430. 750mc.co.uk

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Radical Cup Series

Radical Cup series can be found all over the world, from the UK and USA to Australia and South Korea. Following a “spec racer” format, in which every car entered is identical, each series aims to keep the field as fair as possible, putting the focus on the driver rather than the car. The Cup UK series is open only to Radical’s best-selling model, the SR3, and is now open to driver teams, so you can split the seat time and costs with a friend. The cost of a full season, including hiring of a car and team support ranges between £100,000 and £120,000 plus VAT. radicalmotorsport.com

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Caterham Academy

The Caterham Academy is designed specifically for novices, so participants can rest assured knowing that everyone else on the grid has never previously held a race licence. The package deal costs from £38,990, which includes a full-season race entry, technical support, a race licence and a Seven Academy road-legal race car. After the season is over, you can choose to upgrade the car, which allows you to progress into the 270R and 310R championships. caterhamcars.com

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Autocross

The Sports Car Club of America offers one of the cheapest ways of competing in the form of autocross. Taking place in empty car parks and airfields across the USA, “circuits” are created by using traffic cones, making for short, twisty and technical layouts that are generally safe and competitive. As long as you have a driving licence, a helmet and a working vehicle you can enter into a respective class. Events typically cost between $25 and $60. scca.com

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Fun Cup 

Run throughout France, Belgium and the UK, the Fun Cup is a single-spec car series using VW Beetles. A full season of six to seven races, including the car, costs around €100,000, divided between four drivers. Circuits include F1-approved Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort and Le Mans, but the approach aims to be democratic. To compete in a one-off one-hour race costs €1,300; or you can pay €500 to be a passenger. kronosfuncup.com