Making a career in Motorsport

Most people who start their motorsport journey in karting, want to make a successful career in racing. But with only a limited number of seats available in the upper echelon of motor racing, there are other opportunities for racers who want to stay involved.

The first option we will look at is the driving position as this is the most lucrative when it comes to motor racing. There is more to being a driver than just driving fast! The driver needs to be marketable (sponsors are the ones who pay the bills), presentable (unlikely face tattoos are well received) & able to work within a team.

Racers want to drive fast, so being able to hit your marks consistently, handling pressure and going out and winning races is the best way for teams to notice you. It’s important that as a driver, you can communicate well with your team as these are the people who are likely preparing the car, setting it up across a race weekend and have your back when things aren’t going well.

Off track is just as important these days as drivers need to obtain sponsorship to provide to teams to fund their racing. Being presentable, well spoken & confident in front of a camera are all integral to forging a career as a driver. It might be wise for drivers to get media training, so they get familiar with speaking to the media and promoting their sponsors when given the opportunity.

If driving isn’t your forte, no problems there are other avenues to make a living in motor racing. Behind every racing driver is a mechanic, engineer, and team principal. These are the men & women who are making sure the car is prepared, maintained and setup adjustments are made. Depending on which position you are looking to get into, a university degree could be required to be an engineer & a diploma for a mechanical job (or just work experience). Although this part of the team personnel may not get the spotlight, they play an integral role in any motor racing outfit.

With race teams requiring sponsorship to fund their racing, more jobs have become available. Social media is a huge part of any race team to promote brands that provide funding, so now most teams have social media managers who handle updates to fans.

Last vacancy we will discuss when it comes to finding a job in motorsport is in transport. If you enjoy driving, then being the truck driver who travels around the country or to multiple countries, this could be an avenue for you. Most truck drivers maintain a role in the race team, so they are still a valuable piece over the race weekend. Whether that’s being a mechanic, the tyre pressure person, or even a general helping hand, it’s still a position that’s required to go racing.

As you can see, it takes more than just the driver to go racing over a weekend. If you don’t happen to make it as a racing driver, there are still plenty of opportunities to remain in a team and receive a wage doing what you love.