I am often asked how I prepare myself for each race weekend.  We have already discussed the many business, fitness and media aspects that fill a race car driver’s day; however, there is still something to be said for preparing your actual driving for each race.

The hardest thing I come up against in this area is that the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup only receives a very small amount of track time at each race event.  At each race weekend all I receive is 30 minutes of on track practice and then it’s straight into qualifying.  The half hour practice session means you really only have about 15 laps to (a) learn the track (b) shake off the rust from being out of the car for weeks (c) decide how to approach qualifying.  Sometimes, should you have fresh brake pads, the first few laps are wasted trying to properly put the new pads through a heat cycle.

So there is a lot of pressure on each driver to show up and be on the limit immediately upon hitting the track for the very first laps of the practice session.  Because by qualifying, you need to be ready to absolutely wring the neck of your car within the first few laps in order to make use of the new tires.

There are several things I do as a driver to prepare for each event.  If I had a surplus of cash lying around I would get myself into a race car as often as possible because there is no substitute for seat time.  However, there are other, less expensive, ways to prepare.

One option is to scour YouTube for onboard videos taken from other races at the track you will be going to.  A simple search of the track’s name will often provide these results and allow you to immediately gain a perspective on what the track looks like, which way to turn, elevation change, etc.

Another great option is to make use of the many computer simulation games out there.  I have found a couple of games which users are able to modify and create new tracks.  Through the magic of the internet I am able to download most of the actual tracks we will be competing on and drive them on the computer simulation.  The tracks on these computer games are so realistic and detailed that the same 2×2 foot concrete patch on the track will show up in the game!  This way when I arrive at a race weekend, I already have the track 100% memorized.

There are a few tracks we are racing on this year that I was able to race at during last year’s championship.  This gives the returning drivers a great advantage as we already have all of the data collected from our cars over the course of last year’s race.  Meaning, I am able to pull up all of the past data on my computer and I can see exactly when to shift, what speed to go and where to put my car on the race track.  This is by far the best way to prepare for a race as you already have all of the information necessary allowing you to be extremely quick the moment you drive on track.

Upon showing up at the race track there is another thing that a driver can do to prepare.  Before each race weekend all of the drivers are given an opportunity to go on a track walk.  This gives me the chance to walk around the track, study each corner in detail and you will often discover bumps, cracks and other things which will escape your detection when in the race car itself.  Each track walk is another valuable opportunity to learn more about the track before you even take a car on it.

So my work in preparing to drive on the race track begins many days prior to even arriving in the same country as the facility I will be competing at.  This preparation provides valuable insight into each track and allows me to be on the limit the moment the green flag drops on the first practice session.

We’ve already looked at the financial aspect of auto racing and how extremely important it is for every driver to look at their career as a business first and foremost.  Far too often drivers put all of their energy and efforts into what takes place on the track, but neglect to focus on Media Relations.   The media is one of our primary sources in drawing attention to those partnering with us and providing our opportunity to go racing at the highest level possible.

The Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup does a fantastic job addressing this important reality of racing and encourages each driver to focus on strengthening their abilities in this area.  The press can be our greatest friend or our worst enemy, depending on how a driver chooses to act.  We recently had the Executive Editor of Car & Driver, Mark Gillis, competing with us as a guest driver in Ohio.  Mark verified this notion and said a driver’s attitude towards the press will determine if the story will be positive or negative.

In an effort to encourage each driver to work on their relationship with the press, Volkswagen has taken the initiative in creating a media contest between all of the drivers in the Jetta TDI Cup.  Each driver is responsible for tracking all of their media attention throughout the season and submitting this to Volkswagen for evaluation.  The driver who can receive the most media attention is chosen as the winner and provided with an amazing prize to further their racing career.

Last season, through the support of many individuals in the public and media community, we were fortunate enough to win the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup media contest with almost double the amount of exposure as any other driver in the series.  The prize…an all expense paid trip to Germany and the chance to race at the world famous Hockenheimring in the Volkswagen Polo Cup.  Not only was it an amazing prize, but even more important to me was the fact that I can claim to be the best driver at promoting a brand and creating awareness for a project.  This gives me something tangible to work with when discussing business with any potential partner.

This year the prize for winning the media contest is just as exciting.  Volkswagen will provide the winning driver with an all expense paid trip to Germany to accompany  a massive North American press junket for the unveiling of the brand new Volkswagen Golf.  Another cool prize, but more importantly, another chance for each driver to showcase their abilities in providing the media with unique and interesting stories.

One question I get asked a lot is “What does a race car driver do when they are not at the track”?  In my last blog I talked at length about the realities and trials that each young driver must face in regards to the business side of auto racing.  So much of a driver’s time is taken up with that.  But there IS more to racing than just driving and business.

Take for example the fitness side of things.  At first glance, one would think that being a driver means you simply have to sit in a seat and steer a wheel.  Admittedly I used to be under that impression as well until I got into the sport. But I quickly realized after my first season of racing karts that if I were to move up to the fast 125cc machines, it was going to be a necessity for me to begin physically training.

I have done many different things in life and played a wide variety of sports, but I was shocked at how physically demanding it was to drive a race car on the limit lap after lap.  In the Jetta TDI Cup cars it isn’t as bad as a single-seater race car (F1, Indy, etc) but in a closed cockpit car there is the additional element of heat that a driver needs to deal with as well. 

Some race cars are simply so fast that the strain on a human body is massive.  A Formula 1 car can create upwards of 5 times the force of gravity while under braking, corning and acceleration.  So imagine picking the car up and holding it by the rear wheels so the front is dangling freely towards the ground.  Now imagine you are sitting in the cockpit of that car, strapped in and dangling from the belts.  The force of gravity would cause your neck to fall forward and you would need to overcome a force just to raise your arms.  Now imagine piling 5 of yourself on top of you while hanging there.  It would be all you could do to even hold your head up at that point…this is 5 g’s and a normal braking force felt in a Formula 1 car.

 A driver must be able deal with the extreme braking forces going into a corner, then handle the lateral forces when going through the corner, then face the sheer speed of the acceleration coming out of a corner.  If a race track usually has over 10 corners in one lap and a race is 1.5 hours long, you can quickly realize how physically demanding it is to last for an entire race distance.

As a driver, if you are not in peak physical condition you will be exhausted towards the end of a race.  The problem is that when you get extremely tired your mind will start to focus on how tired you are rather than on driving the car at it’s maximum potential…it clouds your judgment, mistakes happen, and this is often where races are won and lost.

If I want to compete in the fastest cars, at the highest level, I need to be ready to go when the opportunity arises and not have to quit a test session early because my neck or arms are too sore.  So physical fitness and training is a career long commitment for any aspiring race car driver. 

Fitness training is just one of the additional things which I need to work on when not taking part in a race weekend.  It’s a necessity of the career I have chosen.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is “What’s it like to be a race car driver”?  Most people are shocked or think I’m kidding when I start to explain what being a professional race car driver truly means.

From the outside looking in, driving race cars seems like living the high life.  Money, women, parties and fast cars seem to be the name of the game when stereotyping a race car driver.  But this is about as true as saying that a Canadian is someone who’s a lumberjack, wears plaid, and can talk to beavers.

Let me briefly give you a glimpse into the reality of life as a race car driver, and let me preface the following by saying that this is not a sob story nor am I looking for pity, as I truly am living a “dream”, but rather these are the choices I have made and chosen to live with in order to succeed.

Racing is a business first and foremost! If you can’t beat someone in the boardroom, you won’t even have the chance to beat them on the track.  It is unlike hockey, baseball, football, etc where if you have the talent, chances are you will at least get a shot.  Racing is the only sport in the world where talent guarantees you nothing!

Unless your parents, relatives, or a great friend are billionaires, the sport is extremely difficult to break into.  In order to get a spot in many of the entry level professional racing series, young drivers are expected to find upwards of $250,000 to fund their race season.  This cost sky rockets as a driver advances through the ranks and can reach multiple millions of dollars for a season in a series such as IndyCar.

As a race car driver with a considerable amount of talent you have 2 options, go home to cry and complain about how unfair things are … OR go out, pull up your socks, and attack the business of racing. 

I won’t go into all of the business details here but I will clarify a negative stereotype of racing and business.  Most people assume that when I talk to a potential sponsor I am looking for a boatload of money in exchange for putting their sticker on my car; this couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Being successful at the business of racing means creating “Win-Win” partnerships between someone and yourself which usually entails the necessity to provide a huge return on their investment in you.  I have put my Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) Degree to good use and have been fortunate to place myself in a position where a company would be better off investing in what I am doing rather than putting their marketing dollars in anything else.

When I started racing karts back in 2001, I cut everything else out of my life and made racing a total commitment.   I dropped my football season tickets, I stopped going out for lunch, buying CDs, video games, or whatever else I would have spent money on at the time.  Everything I had went into chasing what seemed like an impossible dream.

I turned 27 this month and little has changed.  I rarely go for an evening out because I can’t afford gas, nor an activity, and one’s social life takes a pounding because of this.  I still live at home with my parents so I can avoid rent payments for now, and fortunately we all get along.  I have simply put everything I have into pursuing a career as a race car driver.

Fortunately I was able to use my talent and earn a spot racing for Volkswagen this season.  This has significantly reduced my expenses for the season but still leaves me with having to meet a budget greater than most people’s annual income.  By my shoestrings I am surviving. 

Oh, did I mention crash damage yet?  I am responsible for covering the cost of repairing any damage on Volkswagen’s race car…no matter how it happened!  I could be lapping the track doing a fine job when another car could simply run into me, through no fault of my own, and I will be the one getting an invoice for up to $7,000.  Imagine you’re parked at a red light and someone hits you from behind, or runs a stop sign and broadsides your car, now imagine getting an invoice for the full amount of damage in the mail…it’s a tough pill to swallow.

Try driving a race car at life-risking speeds around a track and have expectations to be the fastest driver there.  Then pile on the fact that you can’t afford to race again if even a small scratch appears on your race car.  Now try to race wheel to wheel against one of the lucky few that has a billionaire funding their racing and doesn’t care if they crash into you…welcome to life as a professional race car driver!

I am now sitting on a plane flying home after Round 3 of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup which took place just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah.  Allow me to briefly touch on the reality of a race weekend as a race car driver. 

I flew into Salt Lake City and arrived late Thursday after midnight.  I rented the cheapest rental car possible and found a hotel for $40 a night… it was 2am Friday before I got to bed.   On Friday I went to Miller Motorsport Park for the first time to place some sponsor decals on my car for the race weekend and allowed myself to take 5 minutes to enjoy the view of snow-capped mountains and lakes surrounding the track. Saturday morning was a 5am wakeup as we needed to be at the track for 6am, Volkswagen had us engaged all day and it was not until 9pm that I was able to get back to my hotel to fall into bed.  Sunday morning was again very early as race day was upon us, and once again, it wasn’t until late in the day that I was able to take a breather and enjoy a few minutes of the track activities.  Monday morning was a 4.30am wakeup call so I could catch my early morning flight back home.

So from the outside, a Grand Prix weekend may seem very glamorous for a driver but it is no different from the long work days of any other profession.

Driving race cars, and all that it entails, is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in life…but because of this, it is also one of the most rewarding.   When I have given everything, am dead tired and question whether the hardships are worth it, all I have to do is look into the grandstands and realize I am one of the lucky few as there are 40,000 spectators who would love even the smallest chance to be in my position.

Seeing as this is my first blog it may be a good idea to take the time and introduce myself to you.  I am 26 years old and reside in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada where I have lived my entire life.  I grew up on a family farm just outside of a small town of around 2,500.  Our farm consisted of chicken eggs, pigs, and about 1600 acres of land for growing crops.  My daily job was to gather the eggs in our 9,000 hen chicken barn, needless to say it was a fairly long and tedious job at first.  But with time, I was able to gather all 9,000 chicken eggs in about an hour and half…and i’m proud to say that my personal record is 1hr 10 mins.

Growing up my passion, like many other young Canadians, was to be a hockey player.  My life revolved around the sport of hockey and it is all I would think or talk about.  Stories are recounted to me of how my teachers in elementary school actually banned me from referring to hockey in any of my assignments as I somehow had a knack for turning everything into a hockey analogy.  The peas on my dinner plate would break out into a hockey game or my grandma would have to wait while holding the car door open to let all of the imaginary hockey players into the car with me.  Hockey was life.

It wasn’t until many years later when I started to develop a passion for auto racing.  I remember sitting in front of the television and watching a Formula 1 Grand Prix event.  It intrigued me.  Maybe it was the speed, the glamour, or just watching a human being try to control such a quick machine.  My passion for the sport grew and I began to learn more and more about it.  An opportunity came up to attend the 2001 United States Grand Prix held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  It was there that I stood in the upper deck seating on the front straight, I looked down at the cars streaking by, and decided that I would much rather be down in the cars driving than up in the stands watching.

This event set things in motion and I haven’t looked back since.  I could fill pages of text recounting events of the past 7 years…and if the interest is there, I will do so, but let’s fast forward to the present date.

I am now racing as a driver for the world’s 3^rd largest automobile manufacture, Volkswagen.  From a group of 3,900 drivers from across North America, I was fortunate enough to be selected as one of the top  young drivers.  This earned me the right to compete in a newly formed race series called the Jetta TDI Cup.  It is the first all diesel powered series in the world and features Volkswagen’s new Clean Diesel technology in all of the Jetta TDI Cup cars.  The series consists of 10 races at many of this continent’s most famous facilities, many of the events taking place in conjunction with major grand prix weekends such as Grand Am and American Le Mans Series races.

In the weeks to come I will take you behind the scenes and provide a little insight into what life is like as a race car driver.  I am currently on a flight home from Virginia where our first event took place so my next blog will most certainly recount some stories from the opening laps of the season.

Till next time…

Visit Richert Racing at www.richertracing.com

David can be reached at david@richertracing.com