Hyl - New Year, New Drivers, New Focus

[RaceTime]

Yet it still comes down to the driver having money to pay for that drive.

James Manderson is a good example - damn good driver - quick etc - but a 2004 drive still depends on the right backing for him (btw - has James obtained a drive yet??)

[Onlooker]

But in reality everything in life comes down to being able to fund the dream,it is pretty hard to get anyone to "give you money" to operate a non profit company that has a small chance of returning an income to it's investor.

[RaceTime]

Sure I don;t deny that. But at the same time I have always found it hard to comprehend when somone with an obvious talent for racing (not merely driving) has to go to such lengths to find the squillions they need before anyone overseas will believe in them.

[Onlooker]

One of the problems i think is ,and it is a catch 22 thing, unless you actually move over there you are not taken seriuosly and unless you are taken seroiusly it is hard to justify moving over there.
If a backer really believes that a guy has talent then instead of backing him in a class in Australia that gets bugger all coverage anyway ,they would be better off to send them O/S straight away.An australian driver who say finishes 5th in every round of the aussie F3,FH or Carreera Cup would gat far less coverage in the local press than say a string of 5ths in the British FF championship or Formula BMW,F Renault,Formula Nippon. Mark Webber didn't really set the world on fire in Australia, finished OK in the FF championship and what won the AGP race in an oldish car, but with a bit of cash and forsight by Yellow Pages and an astute PR gal achieved what every young driver ultimatly dreams of.Being in the country and establishing new contacts that can actually help you in the teams and board rooms in the northern hemisphere ultimatly prove to be valuable.gardner backed himself on the bilkes and James Courtny and Ryan Briscoe don't have to many wins under their belts in Australia but have landed plum rides over the years. Marcos Ambrose struggled to fund a decent program but boy the lessons learned have put him in good stead to achieve what almost no driver to have won the FF championship has achieved, an ATCC.
Tander beat Ambrose in the 97 championship and I would think that MA is a far more rounded and complete driver than GT.Infact apart from Lownes who has (in recent times really done that well in V8's as a FF champ who stayed in Australia,most of the champions are guys who weren't winners in FF.Skaife - never contested,Seto ditto,Bowe? but then we have only had 5 different champions and 3.Gold Star winners make up only 2 of those.

[Panzer]

I think they should scrub F4000 and make F3 our Gold Star class what do you guys think.

[Onlooker]

Then they wuld only be 2 years late in making the right choice eh!!

[105octane]

Thats true chucky but how many of the top 5 in F3 have finally got a drive OS.I dont think one of them has, Caruso should have with Coloni but hasnt,Cressey bombed out in his test in Europe in Renault V6 and has now reverted to Carrera Cup in Oz, not sure whats happened to Mawer and the other two i havnt heard what they are up to at all.