Playing with speed

LOS ANGELES — From Australia to Malaysia, to Bahrain, to San Marino, to Spain, to Monaco, to Europe, to Canada, to United States, to France, to Britain; and on to Germany this coming weekend, people from all over the world are following the race. Filipino Formula One aficionados even give up a chunk of their sleep time to wake up in the wee hours of the morning, to catch the telecast on cable or the real time update on the Internet.

Thanks largely to the media; the world of Formula 1 Grand Prix is now closely followed with a passion by millions of racing enthusiasts. It actually represents the ultimate aim of many young people entering the sport. Here in the States, Filipino Americans are also stepping on the gas.

Unfortunately for them, however, catching up with Juan Pablo Montoya or Fernando Alonso is undoubtedly 10 million times more difficult than pronouncing Kimi Räïkkönen. It isn’t just a question of how many racing clinics one has gone to; or how much one knows about cars and engines.

"It takes passion and an astounding amount of talent that is nurtured at a very early age," said Patrick Veneracion, an amateur circuit driver here in the States.

Comparing the life stories of Montoya, Alonso, Räïkkönen and other known drivers, one would notice the common denominator which is these gods of speed were already champion karters by the age of 8.

But talent in the circuit is hardly acquired. Most experts agree that a driver is just either born with it or not. Fortunately for people born sans speed, F1 is by no means the only form of competition available. Each year, there are more than 200 race meetings, providing opportunities for a wide variety of cars — from road-going saloons to expensive single-seaters; and offering keenly-contested championships based on regions, individual circuits, make of car, or type of car.

The Sports Car Club of America holds races every month in different divisions, leagues and classes which can help enthusiasts get started in the racing circuit. Racing at club level is the backbone of the sport. As such, it need not be prohibitively expensive. But yes, motor sport is NOT cheap.

"Sure, they will let you out on the track in a beat up old Ford Fiesta that cost you $1,000 to buy, and $350 to put a roll cage and fire extinguisher in; but let’s be honest for once. That car will never be racing anyone — except possibly the marshals (circuit ref’s ) after they have finished packing up to go home," Veneracion added.

So what does it really cost? Well, there is no hard and fast rule. How much do you want to spend? There are some things you cannot do without, others you can skip: Race license is around $250. Race gear costs about $1,000. Club fees amount to $300 per year. Entry fees rack up a total of $3,500 a year if you do all the races. Running costs, fuel, tires, repairs, and improvement costs will vary. Ready built cars cost $10,500+. If you choose to build your own, get ready to spend between $5,000 to thousands of dollars. Trailer is $1,000. Optional testing costs ($100-$200/day) vary, depending on the circuit. And the list goes on.

It is costly, and one Filipino driver who could well be in F1 has had to step on the break because of the financial aspect of the game.

A name that constantly screeches in the Philippine racing circuit tracks is "Pastor," courtesy of brothers Enzo, 23, and Don, 19. The older Pastor first made headlines after winning the over-all championship in an international competition (Formula Renault, 2002). Last year, he was invited to tryout for F1 team Minardi.

"Unfortunately, he failed to get enough sponsorship to raise the P27.5 million needed for the test drive alone," said Don. For himself, the youngest Pastor has earned a scholarship from Formula BMW in Spain after finishing second out of 22 drivers in a tryout in 2003.

Read more about Don next week.

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