Are good drivers born or made?

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Permalink Reply by Mark Brown - RetroBeemer on May 29, 2008 at 3:12am

When I was working towards getting my race licence when I first started in competition it was generally agreed that women listened to the instructors more and learned more quickly as a result. Many of the guys struggled to leave their ego's in the pits and they went out and felt they immediately had something to prove. I think women like Vicky Butler Henderson and Sabine Schmidt prove that women can drive just as well as any man. It just boils down to the individual in my opinion.

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Permalink Reply by JJ on May 29, 2008 at 6:39am

It's an interesting topic, women in motorsport. I don't know if it's just me, but there seems to be fewer women in motorsport these days.

In the 1930s, there were a lot of girl racers, Kay Petrie, Dorothy Champney, Eileen Ellison - to name just a few.

Then WW2 came along and put a stop to racing in Europe. When the sport got back onto its feet, by the 1050s, again there were plenty of girls.

America, of course, has never got its head round girls in cars. Look at last weekend's Indy 500 - all that fuss because there were three girls in the race. Why not 30????

And the Danica Patrick phenomenon is amaing over here. Strange!

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Permalink Reply by Mark Brown - RetroBeemer on May 30, 2008 at 9:05pm

I guess sponsors see female race drivers as a gimmick and untill a particularly talented girl finds her way thru nothing will change. Even Ellen Lohr struggled despite good results in the DTM for Mercedes.

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Permalink Reply by JJ on May 31, 2008 at 5:35am

And yet I would have thought that girls would be an attractive proposition for sponsors, if only for the perceived novelty value.

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Permalink Reply by Richard-РИЧАРД on May 31, 2008 at 6:12am

I think Sabine Schmidt has to go down as one of the maddest drivers...male or female.. Just over 10 minutes round the "Ring" in a transit van...

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Permalink Reply by JJ on May 31, 2008 at 6:23am

I don't know anything about her Richard, tell us more.

But oh, the good old transit van!

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Permalink Reply by Richard-РИЧАРД on May 31, 2008 at 8:12am

Link to the top gear video.....Jeremy did the "Ring" in 10 minutes in a Jag I believe and the whole point was to beat his time in a VAN!!!!
http://www.topgear.com/content/timetoburn/sections/videos/18/broadb...

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Permalink Reply by JJ on May 31, 2008 at 10:58am

Thanks Richard!

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Permalink Reply by paul hughes on June 10, 2008 at 7:44pm

Hi Medera,
Nice pic.. :) are you a model??

Good drivers are not born , They are merely discovered (and /or) then coached intensivley.

Good drivers start out as normal moderate safe drivers, Impulsive and harsh drivers never make good racers,the fastest way around a race track is with your brain, not your right foot.To coin a fermiliar old phrase "slow is fast".
This means that the fastest and safest way around a corner is not by pushing the front until it slides wide , but breaking early and getting back on the power before or close to the apex of the corner, your result will be a faster exit and a faster arrival at the next breaking point. remember brakes slow you down faster than your engine speeds you up. (not rocket science). so if you go too deep you are waisting valuable acceleration time.
regards,
Paul,

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Permalink Reply by JJ on June 10, 2008 at 7:58pm

Good post Paul ... and it gives me the opportunity to tell a story from several years ago.

I was at a track day at Oulton Park and Jackie Stewart drove me round the circuit, explaining more or less what you posted, and demonstrating the exact breaking point for every corner. Not a couple of inches before and not a couple of inches after, but the exact breaking point.

Jackie Stewart is a charming, CHARMING man, but with a twinkle in his eye, he said to me "And you know how important a couple of inches are, don't you?"

:)

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