I have made a bunch of threads about the hobby/passion I get to share with my son. I have been accused of bragging by a few and in this post I certainly AM!When it comes to your kids, there is a special feeling like none other when you see them surpass your own achievements. He has been driving on track since 14 with me. Yesterday he beat my best time by 1.3 seconds on track in our 211. (a factory built race car made by Lotus that brought less than 30 into the US to compete in Lotus Cup series)


Yesterday he was asked to test for F4. On the circuit we were at is a race team and the guy who runs the shop has talked to us over the last couple years. We chat about lots of stuff. SUPER nice guy. He has asked questions about my son, inquiring about his lap times, and such. Just small talk. (so I thought). At the track yesterday, he invited my son to test in a F4 car and did a 'fitting' for him. First he had to make sure he was strong enough to generate the required brake pressures. A lot of younger kids cant push on the brakes hard enough. You have to generate 1000psi on un-boosted brakes. He passed that test generating 1700 psi of peak force. His fitment in the car was almost perfect. (there are no seat adjustments in the car and no seat really). It is a foam plug made to suit each driver. With my sons growth spurt, he said he had a car he felt was perfect for him.

So in a week he is getting his shot. The guy is flying out a coach for a full day and they are testing one other driver as well. He said he was really interested to see what my son can do since he does NOT come from karting. He said karting drivers have too many bad habits to break. This is not a pay for play type thing. Ligier (the chassis manuf) is picking up the tab. We just have to show up and they want to see what he can do in their car with a coach for a day. My mind is totally blown and even if nothing comes out of this, it will be an incredible thing he will never forget.





He drove incredible and beat my best times yesterday. On one session, he got out of the car and was smiling nervously. He told me he made the most incredible save ever. Said he lost it at 70 in a turn and went to full opposite lock and then back and save the car from going into the tire wall. I thought he was exaggerating since the chances of putting in that much input at those speeds AND driving away would be slim at best. He was not kidding. He really did it. It is the second 'save'. The first being a minor one on a very tricky turn.




This was his best lap yesterday if you want to see what it is like driving a 1500lb 300whp race car. He makes it look easy but no computers helping this thing stay on track. Just a driver and all analog inputs.

Amazing thread Srs.

Pretty fukkin dope man

Good healthy feel good thread. Best of luck to your boy, like you said regardless of what happen it’s an awesome life experience.

That looks really fun, glad he got to experience it.

Can you adopt me for a day so I can do the same?

CMP is fun af srs

How steep is the learning curve of the aero grip?

Too soon juniour.

That's bad ass, it must have been tons of fun

Mirin

Always mirin OP and his relationship with his son.

Does Flex know this ?

Awesome post man. Good on you for being proud of him passing you.

Reminds me of the day when I was 14 or 15 and I just destroyed my dad in tennis 6-1, 6-1 after we had been going back and forth for the past year and he was like "welp thats that" and he never took another set off of me again lol.

I love CMP. It is the first place we ever tracked and where we go most often. I consider it out 'home' track. SUPER hard on brakes and if you will ever find the limit of what your brakes can handle, it will be at that track. A guy in an newer M3 found that limit yesterday and ended up in the tire wall.

Driving an 'aero' car is so much different. I mean it has 4 wheels, but the dynamics are totally opposite. In a downforce car, you have to go fast enough to make it through a corner or you will lose downforce and spin or lockup brakes. They are knife edge on the handling limit and VERY unforgiving. He does quite well on sim in I-racing. Even in 'rookie' year on sim, he is getting placed in div 2/3 lobbies. (there are 10 divisions). He has not done tons of I-racing, but he has a knack for understanding what he can do in the cars. I have a hard time even driving them they are so different.

But....it is another thing being in a real car with life and property on the line. If he breaks the car, I will have to own it. The team leader made that clear and I have to cover damages if he bends or breaks it. But his coach is should guide him. His coach is in his 20's. He used to race (and win) against Lando Norris. But he ran out of money at the upper levels of the sport and now makes a living coaching. They have full telemetry in the cars and coms so it should be quite a day and quite a bit of learning. My son is well beyond anything I can teach him and I now take his advice on improving my driving.At least I get free race coaching!

Thanks on the kind words. Being a parent is really awesome. It is filled with every emotion. Sometimes it is heartbreak and sadness, and others like now, it is pure JOY! I have mentioned this, but many probably dont know. I was almost killed when he was just 2 years old. I should not have survived. These experiences take on even more meaning for me because every one of them is a true gift.

This was his first time ever on track. Looks so little. We had him up on foam pads to see over the steering wheel

congrats!

i hope he looks up to ayrton

Brb putting in my application to be adopted by OP.

get him into an activity with a decent sized talent pool

otherwise its just willy waving

cheeky kent

Wow great video , has my adrenaline pumping . Kids got some mad skills

nascar > f1

lol

It's funny that he's actually "old" relative to how current F1 drivers started out.

Those F1 parents had their kids racing in karting when they were literally little children.

It makes me wonder if they even appreciate racing in F1 because that is all they've ever known.

Kid probably wouldn’t talk to him if he didn’t have race cars for him

Neat. jpg. The rally school I used to hang out at used to trot these F3 cars out every time they had a public event.

He and I both are big fans of all motorsports. Gotten into it much more in last few years. Truth be told, it is something that his excitement for, has fueled mine. I was not really into cars at all for many years. I was into helicopters. As a kid he love ANYTHING with 4 wheels. It is his excitement for cars that motivated me to buy my first sports car in 20 years. I was driving a mini van at the time and was perfectly happy. (srs). Really been a cool journey for us both. Dont even care where it leads. Just making memories along the way!There are few things that can motivate you like seeing your kids happy. But it is a slippery slope and no one wants to raise an entitled brat. My son is growing up with MUCH more than I had. My dad was an electrician and my mom was a mom. My dad left my mom high and dry when I was in high school and did not help her with any child support. It is why I dropped out of college. My mom was doing all she could but I could not stand the thought of her sending me money in college to live while she I knew she was only making $7.00 an hour.

You want to make sure your kids appreciate what is important in life. For us and our family, that is love, family and friends. "Stuff" is nice, but not even close to being on the level of 'important'. My kids are very grounded and I have my wife to thank for that. When you see that all is in line there, you dont worry about 'spoiling' them. Their center is inline and they know where to place the importance in life. Does not mean you cant enjoy yourself....just keep things sorted in their place.I think he has a natural ability for sure But there is something to just doing what you love. Dont have to be the best. Go out and do your own best and enjoy the day!I live in NASCAR country. I know a few drivers. I track with one of them from time to time I am actually designing one very famous drivers x-wives house right now. SO I am pretty familiar with NASCAR. Not a huge fan. If you dont know, NASCAR is basically rigged. They make the drivers that they want to win, win, and push down those that they dont want to. It is a big racket. Much more to do with the sponsorship relationships and business deals behind the scenes than it is for pure competition. I would share more details but I have been told this by several people over the years. Not just random people. Some people that work with the biggest names in the sport and been a part of it for decades. Kinda took the fun out of it for me, but yes....totally fixed by a few very strong people.Yep, much of the current gen were in karts before they could walk. It is just the nature of the way the sport works. Never got into this for anything other than enjoyment. If that is all that it stays, then great! But I certainly will let him have the opportunity to show what he can do in a car if they want to test him!



On another cool note, I have been building him his own car since Christmas. Yesterday was our first run in the car. I had built the motor and it is dry sumped w/ sequential trans. Stand alone Haltech ecu. I did my first tune (tuned it myself so I could do a shake down on track with it, make sure no leaks and motor ran well and sequential shifted. The sequential comes with no instructions. It is a race trans built by a company out of the UK. Probably not even 10 in the US. I had to figure out set up etc and get all the linkage adjusted properly. Very finicky stuff.

I got the fuel maps dialed in and this is a vid of my last run of the car. I am not running the motor at 100%. It was a fresh motor build and I was taking it easy. I was shifting at 7000 rpm and only opening throttle to 80%. Maxed out at 12psi boost. I think it should make about 17psi. Should be just over 400hp out of the 1.8l motor. Running 100 oct. The sequential shifted incredibly and was addicting. Just so much fun. A little vid of what the shifting is like. No clutch used on upshifts. Addicting. This car is going to be a killer! Fully caged, fire suppression system. Top is off so I can open the rear clam easily between runs. Car ran great and after an oil change and a trip to a dyno to dial in timing, it will be ready for our next track day at 100%. We have 2 days in Georgia later this month!

Are those cars fully insured? Would they even be covered for damage on a race track from like a tire blow out or something?

Thanks man. He has been on cloud 9 since. Last night he was running F4 on I-racing 'prepping'. If anything it will just be an awesome memory. I have always wanted to drive a true 'downforce' car, but my attempts on the sim show me what a HANDFULL they are. I have trouble keeping the car on track, let alone a good clean competitive lap. They are a razor edge type car. You can see it in the driver wheel inputs when you want in-car views that that the wheel is always moving. His save in this vid is UNREAL to me. (the second save) Losing a car going 70mph and over 1.2 g in a corner and being fast enough to save cleanly is well beyond what I can do, so I am excited to see how he does behind the wheel with a coach to guide him.


If you are driving a street car that carries insurance, there is no coverage on track. When you get on a track, you are taking your risks in your own hands. If someone makes a mistake and crashes you by their fault, there is also no obligation for them to pay. You can sue them I guess, but there is not much legal basis. The laws that govern 'fault' on the road dont apply on a race track. There is no 'legal' right and 'wrong' for a guy coming 'offline' or 'late move'. In sport, there are judgments and penalties for drivers, but it is something subjective by the organizing body and there are no legal precedents.

You are also responsible for damage to the track. Say you hit a wall or blow an engine and leak oil all over the track that requires clean up / remediation. Just the way it works if you want to go out on a race track.

You can buy 'track insurance'. It is pretty expensive. (relatively). But a lot of guys who go out once or twice a year will buy it. About 600-800 per day depending on cars value. Covers value of the car w/ 10% deductible. I dont buy any because there is no track insurance that will write a policy for under 25 so my son is not covered. You just go out on track knowing that your responsible for your fate. Dont drive something you cant afford to lose or fix on your dime.

To me, if we have a bad wreck, I just want to make sure we are safe and anything beyond that is a bonus. We wear full fire suits, and both cars have roll cages and fire suppression systems. You dont even think about the speed, but you are essentially spending all day going 100+. That track we were on only sees about 130, but our next track we see 150 every lap and at the end is a 90' deg corner with a line of trees about 30 yards out and a dirt burm if you miss the corner. Just the nature of racing. If you lose it, you will survive, but the car is done....

Sweet videos. Can’t imagine how nervous I’d be if I put one of my kids behind a wheel going that fast.

Gotta get in line boyo, I asked a long time ago SRS

Hell yeah OP. Can't wait to see your son winning races in F1 in the future!

Blessed man. That's awesome.

That's awesome man.
Hope he can make it to the top

The very real risk is that his son turns out to be just as boring as his dad droning on

Reminds me of a friend of my dad who always raced Lotus Super 7's. Now his son is doing racing with his old car.

What is this?