Questions on Drivers

[Tim Northcutt]

Just out of curiosity, I'd be interested in knowing approximately what a team owner could expect to pay in compensation (a median figure somewhere remotely in the ballpark would be fine) to drivers in the following respective racing series:

Trans-Am
Toyota Atlantic
Speed World Challenge
FIA-GT
Formula Mazda
Formula 3000
British GT

The various European Touring Car Series....

I'm still pulling things together for my "Running an LMP1 program on a Shoestring, yet be Competitive" thread....

so I'm looking at some talent from one or more of these levels with one driver having solid experience, but not a Boris Said or Scott Pruett-sized paycheck, in -- say Trans Am -- plus a young charger with some promise from a feeder series like Toyota Atlantic or so...

Any thoughts on this subject, with some ballpark ranges, would be appreciated...

BTW...I think racing cheaply...but effectively...is VERY do-able after doing some searching around...

Thanks!

[billnchristy]

Why not look to Porsche Cup, Ferrari Challenge and Grand Am Cup. You would probably be able to get someone pretty cheap that would be a good driver from there.

Also, source the Runoffs. I bet 99% of those guys and gals would be delighted to be offered a ride in a pro series no matter what you pay them.

Thats my 2 cents. (probably about what id get paid)

[billnchristy]

BTW are we looking like LMP2 class? and what exactly is cheap?

[Tim Northcutt]

Sure...

Sounds Great...any ideas on a ballpark range for drivers in those series????

Also, Formula Renault and others as well....don't let my list limit your thinking or your input...

As a matter of fact...

If I get a good veteran Trans-Am driver, I'd be MORE THAN WILLING to give Dauntless a call to talk to his son....

He'd probably love to drive a prototype and learn from his co-driver, and I'd be helping a young "Star of the Future" in road racing....

He drove the wheels off that Formula Atlantic in the Run-Offs, didn't he???

It was great to watch....

[billnchristy]

indeed it was.

I have no ideas, all my contacts in the racing community are more or less set with their teams so its not really a question of money I guess.

[Tim Northcutt]

I could do LMP2 class, but after digging around a little, that would almost be too easy.....

I'm looking at LMP1 as my focus, but I will share some info on the LMP2 class as well.....I found out even better info for that class...

In the LMP2s, if you feel you can't affort to race there, then you really don't want to race....period....

Buit I'll share as much as I have once I can get some price ranges for drivers at various levels of competition...I want to make sure that my own "personal cap" for an "LMP1 on a Shoestring" is fairly realistic...

[billnchristy]

Chris Fowler of Chris Fowler Racing, who has not let Cystic Fibrosis keep him from living out his dream of becoming a professional race car, is seeking a ride with a serious team for 2004 ALMS Season.

Young, Talented and very marketable!

for more information:
http://www.fowlerracing.com

From the race site.

Guy Cosmo

Available for testing, development and 2004 season in the American Le Mans Series. Competed in 2003 12 Hours of Sebring, LMP900 with American Spirit Racing, and tested with JML Team Panoz; LMP-01. 3 Podiums and 2 Fourths in only 5 starts of the 2003 Rolex Daytona Prototype schedule, including the Rolex 24.

Extensive experience in car development, tire testing, driver coaching, data acquisition and knowledge of tracks on the 2004 schedule. Solid history of preserving equipment.

Young, marketable, professional and fun to work with!

Currently living in Florida. Full resume available - contact:

Guy Cosmo

516-413-4340
guy@guycosmo.com

www.GuyCosmo.com

Jon Lewis of ALMS/TA fame is available for questions I would assume:

American Spirit Racing has listed its driver program for the 2004 ALMS LMP2 Championship on their website at: www.americanspiritracing.com under "DRIVER OPS". I think you will find it to be one of the most cost effective, yet powerful programs in current prototype history.

Those drivers interested in participating in the 2004 LMP2 Championship should visit the site. American Spirit Racing hopes to be making its decision on the four full-time drivers chosen soon after the Petit Le Mans race weekend on October 18th.

If you are interested, you should contact Jon Lewis immediately at 239-910-3361 or via email at asrlmp900@aol.com.

[Tim Northcutt]

I'm just looking for a hypotheticals, without trying to be intrusive...

the $$$ an actual driver makes is none of my business....

But if I can get a general price range or a middle range to give me a rough guideline, I can at least work up a ballpark cost for the whole thing...

Some of my numbers are quite solid and very real....others, like what I'll spend for drivers, would have to be estimated...but I need a baseline of some sort to work from to guage where I'd do my hiring and how much it would cost me...

It's not like I'm the CEO of "Northcutt Racing"...and thus familiar with what drivers make at these levels of the sport...

[billnchristy]

thats why I would ask Jon or even Guy, guy is a pretty cool dude, I met him at Mt. Tremblant...very funny guy.

If you ask Mr. Lewis the same hypothetical question Im sure he could answer you from a team owner standpoint, remember that he just went through this very same thing. (recruiting drivers)

[Tim Northcutt]

American Spirit gave me the idea to take the approach i'm taking on on this.....

But I have no idea what kind of $$$ range certain levels of experience in various types of cars would pay...

and I won't name dirvers in my thread, because I wouldn't want someone to read it and think "boy, he/she is sure underpaid" when I have no idea what the market would say a given driver is worth!!!!

[Tim Northcutt]

I almost feel like that is prying into personnel matters....

Mr. Lewis has answered various questions of mine over the past 6-8 months, and has been a very forthright guy on many subjects with me...

But I'd be uncomfortable asking anyone a question that I'm sure they wouldn't want the answer shared, even as a hypothetical....

[billnchristy]

ok, maybe someone that has raced can let us in.

Theres gotta be someone with contacts.

[Tim Northcutt]

Whether someone has read it,

or has been around a particular series long enough to know,

or has seen any kind of general figures like these published when a writer has done a story on the cost of racing at a certain level...

You can send it to me as a PM or an e-mail and I'll just use it as a
"this is what I have found out"....without attributing it to anyone...

But the cost of drivers is a key piece of this puzzle....becuase that could run a full spectrum of figures....

[Duffacus]

Couldn't you do what Justin Wilson did in Formula 1 this year and get your driver to sell shares in himself, then saving money for something else concerning an LMP1 car

[jhansen]

Yeah, there are always pay drivers. But I have a question. What about the Audi drivers? They are Audi contracted drivers right? So does Audi pay their salaries, or do teams like Joest pay the salaries. Have been wondering about that.

[Tim Northcutt]

Once you see the options that will be available, at least in the "Very Thin Shoestring" or the next step up from it "SHoestring that can be Competitive," I don't know if the "paying driver" option will be there,

But the next step up from there, the "Very Frugal with some Money" option could very well be a "paying driver" scenario...

I'm up to my eyeballs right now at work, but sometime today I'm going to begin that thread....

I'm not getting any responses via PMs or anything that will give me guidance, so I'm just going to budget $225,000 for my two drivers that would be slpit out according to level of experience and go from there....

After all, this is "Racing on s Shoestring"....I haveno idea what kind of talent that will buy me....but I would think that for 6 figures for a season each (if equally experienced), at least the pilots will have some decent competitive racing under their belts and will have some degree of competence behind the wheel...

For whatever it is worth...

[RobweenerPI]

What about Moses Smith from Star Mazda. I've seen him race several times, and he was clearly the class of the feild everytime. Just throwing that one out there but I'm sure he'd be available cheap. John Heinricy Perhaps, he obliterates everyone in SCCA talking to Tom Oates at Road A over the summer he was highly touted.

[Garp]

The best drivers in FIA-GT can be hired for $1500 a race weekend.
That buys you JCW CristopheB TCoronel quality. This price is without plane/hotel/food etc..

[Tim Northcutt]

You're Kidding!!!!!!

Holy Cow!!!!

That kind of talent can be gotten for that price?????

Take a gander at my "LMP1 on a Shoestring" and calculate from there...

That gets me a "Next Step Up" chassis with no sweat....and I know for sure that my "Costs to Race" are High...I purposely built a lot of extra money into that to cover disasters....

[19dodge]

This is pretty interesting. Lister is looking for pay drivers for their Storm FIA GT season next year. It looks like they will only run 1 car, and asking any driver willing to bring in 300,000 Euros for the full season.
now thats: 30,000 Euros per race! The driver has to pay the team.. kinda crazy if you ask me..

[Mags]

I can tell you right now of one driver that would race for free in the Atlantics.

[Mackmot]

300,000Euro for a season in FIA GT is cheap, that is subsidised so they will be picking someone fairly decent for that. Remamber that British F3 will cost a driver £450,000.