Driver Talent V's Daddy's Cash?

[Notso Swift]

[QUOTE=Silver 3]

Originally Posted by tiko

I think what many people fail to understand when discussin
I dont think there are any drivers in the V8Supercar pitlane where their parents bought their first go-kart or their first race car.


You are kidding -right? The talent getting thru is in the minority and those that come thru without sheer money behind them come with a father with mechanical aptitude that helps to at least provide some of the opportunity.No one is going to fund a motor racing career on the basic wage and the are some great examples of those that beat the odds and good on them. Just spare a thought for the talent that is frustrated out of the sport thru lack of funds.Equally be a little mindfull that some would have never have even got close without the money behind them. As some one much wiser than me once said "motor racing is the most unfair sport man ever invented".

Agree Silver, these guys are on drugs.

Senna was was asked what it was like to be the best driver there ever was (rightly or wrongly, it doesn't matter) and his answer, basically, was that he wasn't, there was a homeless kid in San Paulo that was the best there ever was, but no-one would ever find out.

Tiko - Lowndes being a known driver who made his way with minimal support from family backing... That would be Craig Lowndes, son of Frank Lowndes, former Series scruit for the ATCC, the guy who use to build the best Kent (FF1600) motors in the country and supplied them to his son, who had the most powerful FF when he won the championship. No that is not a legup, no support in that, Craig did it all by himself, despite his parents.

[Gaz170]

So how about naming some of those who should of got to the top, but ran out of money along the way.

[Woolley]

The general rule is that with enough money behind you - rich parents or benevolent sponsor, you can pretty much drive anything subject to getting the appropriate licence. At a professional level, it's not going to make you successful, you need talent to win.

With some luck, a talented driver can pick up the sponsors that will pay for his graduation until eventually the talent alone is sufficient that an ambitious team will want you to drive for them, so a driver of outstanding ability may go far on little initial outlay. Sadly, they're going to be the exception, because they needs the starting point to show the ability and then a backer who can spot that early enough.

[Senna05]

I know as a team owner, I'd prefer to get a young kid with a truckload of talent, get him (or even a her...) to win me the cup and get the sposors. Those guys will arguably give you more money than "mummy and daddy" ever can.

You get the odd one (yhe kelly's arent "legends" but they are proven race winners) who can do both, of course.

[GTRMagic]

There is a fundamental difference to me between having a family who pays for a child to go racing, and another who builds a business around it.

PWR for example built a strong motorsport equipment business on the back of their racing involvement, in the radiators and braking systems and the like. I doubt it could every sustain the racing team should they lose their major sponsor (nudge nudge) but it is a way of recouping the investment in the sport.

PMM is another team who has built a racing team, an engineering and manufacturing facility in the sport, as opposed to simply preparing other people's cars.

Some of the drivers who have been slung at in this thread are not currently pay drivers, and indeed enjoy a (small) stipend from their employers.

Perception ends up being reality in the Motorsport world... if a brand rocks up on a racing car, and a driver who has previously been associated with that brand also rocks up at that team, it is a better than tote odds chance that the driver has contributed to the team sponsorship pool by introducing their backers to that squad.

A question also... at Sandown, the GRM cars had Doric Products branding on their headlights. Given that Mr SciFleet is associated with the Doric group, and is no longer on the GRM driver roster, will this brand now disappear from the GRM cars for Bathurst??

[Timu]

I dont think theyd be one family out of those 62 drivers who would be on the bones of their arses.. They simply wouldn't be there in the first place!

I think Larry Perkins is possibly the best example of starting with virtually nothing and carving out a career and a multi-million dollar business...

[GTRMagic]

I think you may be surprised Timu, there are a couple of guys with mountainous debts from local or foreign campaigns that are still to be fully repaid to their backers....

[BlueMax]

Originally Posted by Timu

I dont think theyd be one family out of those 62 drivers who would be on the bones of their arses.. They simply wouldn't be there in the first place!

I think Larry Perkins is possibly the best example of starting with virtually nothing and carving out a career and a multi-million dollar business...

Colin Gilltrap funded Larry's early Touring Car campaign. Larry needed a car to promote his expertise as a engineer. But had no real money. So he approched Mr Gilltrap to own a Group A Commodore in 1986, and from this he was able to demonstrate what he could build and from that help build his business.

[krusty1]

There is a big difference between that and 'here you go son here is $3m worth of race car and team to play with for a year or two!!'

[mctshirt]

Originally Posted by krusty1

Isn't Murph related to the owner of the Tasman motorsport team?

It wasn't always like that. There is a story in Murphs Law about how Murphy had to win a Kart race with a first prize of a colour TV (we're going back in time here to when colour TV's were a bit flash Harry young fella ) which Greg's dad had presold in order to have the entry fee for a Formula Ford scholarship race. Winner of that race got a year with Richard Lesters team from Manfield. Murphy won the TV then the scholarship race and Richard gave him a job as a gofer at his Racing School IIRC. Greg Murphy had the complete and utter backing of his father but they never had any money. When Greg graduated to Formula Pacific he had to win prize money to afford to do the next round. It's a while since I read the book so I could stand to be corrected I seem to remember something about Kmart Racing came about by Greg putting the whole deal together so he would have a drive so I guess you could say he did the hard way.

[Silver 3]

Greg Murphy is not really an example here-- although he does fit the group that had mechanically apt parent that helped get a start-- similar to Lowndes in that respect-- both have proven their class and quality beyond question and are absoloute top class. There is a big difference to coming thru the ranks like those two compared to financial free ride in Karts to advancing to fully financed -money no object F/Ford drive that keeps driver progressing without retardation caused by fimancial grief.