How to become a racing driver

If you live in the UK and you’re wondering how to get started in your racing career, the first thing you need to do is purchase a Go Racing Pack from Motorsport UK and attend a course organised by the Association of Racing Driver Schools (ARDS). It’s called the ARDS test, and it’s the gateway that all racing drivers pass through.

The Goodwood Motor Circuit is one of ten venues in the UK where you can sign up to complete an ARDS test. It’s an exam designed to prepare you for competing in motorsport, for which successful entrants are rewarded with a Race Club licence.

Learning how to be a racing driver

First up, the theory. Before you’re allowed anywhere near a race track there are a couple of fundamentals you need to grasp. Understanding the many flag signals marshals use is absolutely necessary, and a quick 20-minute written test brought back a whole load of rather unwelcome memories of school exams. The worst part is that I was made to wait for my results, only once I’d been out on the track would I learn whether it had all been for nought.

Even if the subject matter was based entirely around what I consider to be my main area of expertise, there was nothing like returning to an educational environment to kick up the old nerves and reduce me to a quivering wreck before having to head out onto the track and demonstrate that I was a suitably capable driver.

That being said, it was refreshing to have this information fed to me in a genuinely interesting way. My instructor was knowledgeable, vastly experienced and filled his theory session with several interesting anecdotes of his years in motorsport. While I know what a red flag means, it was eye opening to think about how to respond as a driver, outside of the TV coverage from which I’ve learned practically everything I know about racing.

The test is split into 28 questions, you’ll need to identify each of the fourteen flag signals and answer questions on track safety and general racing etiquette.

Getting out on the race track

With the squirmy bit out of the way my attention could turn to the practical element of the day – driving around the famous Goodwood Motor Circuit. Even behind the wheel of something as relatively mundane as a Mini Cooper S, there is an instant thrill that comes from lapping on a race track, especially one so fast and flowing as Goodwood.

Days like this nail down the idea that pure speed alone is not the be all and end all when it comes to getting that adrenaline fix. Sure, cataclysmic acceleration will get the heart pumping like little else, but even as I watched the speedometer just barely creep above 100mph down the Lavant Straight, the exhilaration was still enough to get my pulse up considerably.

That’s a good thing, because this is very much the initial step on the path to becoming a racing driver, and speed is a notion that is ranked a long way down on the list of priorities. Safety, consistency and confidence are all far more important here. And that is something that, as I came out of the other side of this experience, I am utterly in support of. I’ve experienced my fair share of track time, whether here at Goodwood, at Thruxton, or elsewhere in the UK, but never with any kind of pressure attached besides making sure I didn’t end up in the hedge.

So, coming into this more serious, assessed environment, this was the first time my driving would be scrutinised in any kind of meaningful way. I was concerned going in about how my performance would stack up, but it’s obvious that the ARDS test is designed to help people stay within their comfort zone. Every step of the way, I felt as though I was being set up to succeed. I may well have had a touch more track experience than the standard attendee, perhaps not, but I never felt as though I was dragged out of my depth.

Improving as a driver

It was the simple things, like an enforced restriction on gear changes. If I had been looking to maximise my enjoyment of the car’s power I’d have been keen to rattle up and down the six-speed box at every opportunity, but here it was dictated to me that I would be sticking in fourth gear for the entirety of the lap bar The Chicane.

What this did, with satisfying success, was force me to focus on what I know deep down is the most important aspect of driving fast: smoothness. At high-speed circuits like Goodwood, momentum is the fundamental key to success. Braking as little as possible can be the difference of seconds over a single lap. The level of focus allows you to concentrate on nailing the braking point, hitting the apex while maintaining good minimum speed, and getting back on the throttle as quickly as possible.

Over the course of an afternoon, I had 45 minutes of track time with which to get comfortable with the car and settle myself for the final test. Plenty of time really, but when it came to my assessment I was no longer concerned about whether I would pass or not. Never had I made so much progress on a track day before, and I was simply keen to continue that trend, knowing that by keeping up the principles of smoothness that I had been honing all afternoon that the stamp on my licence application would be a formality.

Lightening my touch on the brakes, nailing that turn in with ultimate confidence and feeding in the throttle earlier and earlier was my new goal, and by the end I felt as though I had genuinely achieved something, even beyond my new status as a qualified racing driver. Something clicked and over the space of an hour, I became a far more accomplished peddler than I had ever imagined.

Becoming a racing driver

The actual assessment itself was a vivid reminder of my driving test which now feels like far too long ago to bare thought. My instructor was sat in the passenger seat with his clipboard and list of criteria he was looking for me to meet. Aside from being able to complete three consecutive laps consistently, you’ll need to keep within track limits and demonstrate you can manoeuvre safely with other cars.

Even though this was a baby step cast into absolute insignificance in the grand scheme of the motorsport ladder, seeing that stamp land on my application form to confirm that I had indeed passed the ARDS test, and was in a position to call myself a qualified racing driver, was incredibly special. I had achieved something that seven-year-old me would be euphoric about. Indeed, the day my racing licence arrived in the post, I briefly returned to my childhood.

What can you do with an ARDS licence?

But then what? You’ve completed your ARDS test, you’ve got your race licence, what now? Well, you’re officially able to turn up at a race meeting and compete, but unfortunately there’s a little more to it than that.

There is plenty of preparation required before you can head out on track. Having already spent £104 on Motorsport UK’s starter pack, and a further £300 on the ARDS test itself, you’ll have to invest in some essential safety equipment.

Before you can even consider yourself ready to race, you’ll need to ensure you have purchased yourself a race helmet, a fireproof race suit, fireproof gloves and fireproof race boots and a HANS (head and neck safety) device. How much you spend is up to you, but each race meeting you attend will have a minimum requirement on the quality of your gear and it will need to pass scrutineering before you can get out on track.

The advice I received during my ARDS course was to spend as much as you can afford, and certainly do not settle for the cheapest option. When it comes to your safety, it’s not worth taking shortcuts.

You’ll also need a car to drive, and this really depends on the kind of racing you want to do. There are series for Mazda MX-5s, Renault Clios, even Citroën C1s. You’ll of course need to ensure your car meets the safety regulations for whichever event you choose.

Once you’re geared up and ready to go, and you have a car to drive, the racing world really is your oyster. At first, you’ll find you’re restricted to amateur level competition, but pick an event that is suited to your licence level and you are free to sign up and enter your first race.

Complete a race without incident and you’ll receive a signature on your licence from the Clerk of the Course. Get enough signatures and you’re eligible to upgrade to the next licence level, at which point you can look to compete in professional racing series.

Photography by Joe Harding.