Motorsport job opportunity

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Anybody interested in working in motorsport, job in autosport for a truck driver with Fortec, they do a lot of single seater racing, it’s on website or buy the mag.

Says Motorsport experience not essential, and there is a bit of a shortage of good motorsport truckies at the moment so it might be a chance for somebody.

I fully appreciate this job wouldn’t suit everybody, and I respect anybody who says it wouldn’t be for them, because to much time away, work weekends, don’t like physical graft, etc,

I don’t know a lot about Fortec, did a few days for them as a freelance truck driver about 5 years ago, but that’s it. But have been doing Motorsport for a long time and if you want an honest description of the job, the bad and the good, PM me and I’ll tell you what to expect when I get the chance.

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I just sent them an e mail. Fingers crossed.

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Good luck, :smiley:

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Just as a point of interest muckles, but what sort of graft is involved in the motorsport game?

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Evil8Beezle:
Just as a point of interest muckles, but what sort of graft is involved in the motorsport game?

I think you’ll be better asking the question what you won’t be doing :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

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Evil8Beezle:
Just as a point of interest muckles, but what sort of graft is involved in the motorsport game?

Basically you do everything but drive the race cars…

Load up, drive to circuit, arrive at circuit, set up garage, unload truck, clean truck, set up hospitality, get cooking and cleaning… The reverse for way home [emoji106]

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tommymini:

Evil8Beezle:
Just as a point of interest muckles, but what sort of graft is involved in the motorsport game?

Basically you do everything but drive the race cars…

Load up, drive to circuit, arrive at circuit, set up garage, unload truck, clean truck, set up hospitality, get cooking and cleaning… The reverse for way home [emoji106]

Cooking? :open_mouth: Blimey that is full on, and for the second time today, I’m out! :laughing:
But if I was a little younger and didn’t have a limp :wink: I think I’d be up for all of that…
Now days I’m more worried about keeping my back in one piece, so would have to decline! :cry:

Cheers for the info Tommy! :smiley:

8

Well in the case of the job I have now very little, rock up at the circuit, set the truck up and wait to sell parts if the drivers crash the car, but that’s an exception and it takes years to find a cushy number like this. But then on the down side I’m no longer really part of a race team, and I am missing that side of it.

Basically working for a team like Fortec, it’ll be turn up unload the truck and normally with the rest of the team set up the garage or awning, wash truck, set the truck up from a transport vehicle into an office, workshop, driver rest area.

Then get on with your race job, normally tyres or fuel for the truckies, so it’s get the fuel set up fueling equipment and fuel the cars as required or get the rims to the tyre fitters and then prep them to the engineers instruction. And maybe a bit of pit stop practice.

Repeat until you pack it all back into the truck and go home.

Oh and they’ll be a race in there somewhere, apparently that’s important.

But it doesn’t matter how well the race goes, it all has to be packed up afterwards.

At the workshop, it’ll be unload cars and equipment, prep truck and your equipment, clean wheels, run around in the van picking stuff up, if you’re handy with a bit of welding or maching or diy might be a bit of that. Depending on the team they might help you learn a few skills like that, either formally or informally. That side of the job can be pretty varied, depending on what the team needs and what your skills and interests are.

But far more physical graft than your average driving Job.

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Evil8Beezle:

tommymini:

Evil8Beezle:
Just as a point of interest muckles, but what sort of graft is involved in the motorsport game?

Basically you do everything but drive the race cars…

Load up, drive to circuit, arrive at circuit, set up garage, unload truck, clean truck, set up hospitality, get cooking and cleaning… The reverse for way home [emoji106]

Cooking? :open_mouth: Blimey that is full on, and for the second time today, I’m out! :laughing:
But if I was a little younger and didn’t have a limp :wink: I think I’d be up for all of that…
Now days I’m more worried about keeping my back in one piece, so would have to decline! :cry:

Cheers for the info Tommy! :smiley:

Most bigger teams have dedicated hospitality units, so unlikely to cook unless you work for them, but I think the hospitality is one of the hardest jobs, often at the circuit first and away last.

However I have been to a local supermarket and prepared a cold buffet for the team on odd occasions in the past like when we’ve been testing.

And far from people looking down their nose as those who do hospitality, I can’t think of a team member whether star race driver or truck drivers and mechanics who doesn’t appciate a good meal and a chance to sit down for a few minutes. Even more so if the hospitality is staffed by attractive young ladies.

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Cheers muckles, and wouldn’t it be ironic for truckers to look down on those in hospitality? :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

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tango boy:

Evil8Beezle:
Just as a point of interest muckles, but what sort of graft is involved in the motorsport game?

I think you’ll be better asking the question what you won’t be doing :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Not far wrong there, :laughing:

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Is the money normally good in this line of work?

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I have a mate on Formula 1, he says it’s hard work but he enjoys the variety. You have to be a bit of a Jack of all trades he reckons, and work in together.

Don’t know if it would appeal to me tbh, depends wholly on what they were paying, that’s more important to me than running Euro in a flash motor, past that stage.

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Judehamish:
Is the money normally good in this line of work?

Really depends on the team I started on very low wages compared haulage, but then it was only UK and I wasn’t doing the hours or the time away I was when I was tramping.

On double that now and although I can spend a few weeks away, I can also do a fair bit of time in the workshop on 8 hour days and I get the days I worked weekends back as time off. Any days weekended out aren’t counted as days off either.

However with Fortec, I don’t know what they’re expecting to pay, but I believe their mechanics aren’t paid well, so tend to be youngsters getting their foot in the door before moving on to better paid jobs.

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Judehamish:
Is the money normally good in this line of work?

This depends who you work for.

Stobarts earn half as much as some of the others.

You spend more time cleaning and being the garage ■■■■■ then driving a truck.

Although better teams are pretty much running straight these days so means payed rest in decent hotels normally.

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Not much different to the vendor side then really muckles don’t think they’ll like my rates

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Hello.

I’m interested in this sort of role. I don’t mind hard work and I love motor sport. I’ve done a bit of marshalling and scrutineering, not a massive amount but enough to tell I like being involved.
Is this role still available? Would you mind giving me a bit more info. I’ve had my licence since 2008, but have not been driving all that time. I have about 1 year of experience. Not been driving in a while and I currently have six points. I do have a mechanical background. Worked in a garage and I have done teacher training. Naturally thats not inline but there are many transferable skills from teaching such as communication and support which may be useful in hospitality. I do have my CPC and a digi tacho card. I don’t know much about driving for a race team. Do we all travel together to meets? Still learning really. Any info would be great.

Thank you.

Kind Regards
Andrew.

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I never got a reply from the e mail.

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AndrewECMA:
Hello.

I’m interested in this sort of role. I don’t mind hard work and I love motor sport. I’ve done a bit of marshalling and scrutineering, not a massive amount but enough to tell I like being involved.
Is this role still available? Would you mind giving me a bit more info. I’ve had my licence since 2008, but have not been driving all that time. I have about 1 year of experience. Not been driving in a while and I currently have six points. I do have a mechanical background. Worked in a garage and I have done teacher training. Naturally thats not inline but there are many transferable skills from teaching such as communication and support which may be useful in hospitality. I do have my CPC and a digi tacho card. I don’t know much about driving for a race team. Do we all travel together to meets? Still learning really. Any info would be great.

Thank you.

Kind Regards
Andrew.

I don’t know if the job is available as I know the team, but I don’t work for them.
As for info about the job, I did post a bit of general information about what to expect further up this thread.

Driving experience isn’t always a big requirement, I’ve known plenty of teams who’ve trained people up and let them loose in the trucks.
really depends on the type of team and what they expect.
In the bigger teams you’ll normally get a truckie who has the experience and is also the transport manager, so plans the routes, books ferries, hotels, organises the loading and sort out leave times etc.
They’ll quite often be running more than one vehicle to a circuit so you’d slot into the back of the convoy or be a co-driver with somebody more experienced.
In a smaller team, with one truck, you’d probably be looking after that side of things, or the team manger would do it, you also might be working on the cars etc,
The thing to remember is very little of your time is spent actually driving, so if you’re full time you’ll be expected to do loads of other stuff, some of it pretty menial.
If you’re not driving at the moment you could go round circuits at weekends and talk to various teams and see if they need, what’s called a weekend warrior, the fact you can drive a truck might interest a few as I know many are struggling to find truck drivers who can do weekends, but don’t always expect to see much of the race, I saw more of Le Mans this year than I ever did when I was working there. but you will be part of the team and share the good times and bad times.

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joe royal:
I never got a reply from the e mail.

It is just over 2 weeks since the job was advertised, so there is still a bit of time before you can write it off.
I’m sure they’ll get loads of responses, having put it on Autosport, it would be good if they sent a response to everybody, but I don’t know if they will, sadly seem to be a common practice with many companies.

If you are interested in doing that sort of work, might be better to find the address of teams and send them your CV or knock on their door if you’re close, most race teams have websites or the series they race on will have a website with information about the teams that race with them.