A letter from the Team Manager

First of all – I hope you will enjoy our new website design and the reading materials posted. Any comments are appreciated!

So, here you are – you decided to become a race car driver – good for you! I hope you know what this decision means for you and all people around you. Hard work, dedication, healthy life style, daily work-outs, giving up some favourite past times and food selection, getting used to “schmusing” (like be friendly to important people even if you don’t want to), always be the optimist amongst many naysayers and most of all if you are not funded yet - seeking out sponsors!

You will meet many new faces and teams – many with offers to drive for as that’s their primary business. The step into Formula motorsport is not easy nor is it inexpensive anymore – we all, teams, sponsors, parents, managers and drivers know this well.

My Atlantic Racing Team, a Canadian team, based originally in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been in this motorsport “business” for more than two centuries. We competed in karting, Formula Ford, F2000, FRenault, GT cars, Indy Lights, and BMW. We race in Canada, the USA and in Europe as well as running in the Swiss LO Lista series, and we were all drivers in our “previous” lives. We understand the pain and agony which you might undergo sooner than later when things don’t go the way you have envisioned.

My team is adamant about structure and discipline but it seems at times to an outsider and lay person that chaos is part of racing – don’t be fooled!

I firmly believe that two years in the Formula BMW environment is an important time for a driver. The FBMW alumni seems to prove this – Vettel, Schumacher, Rosberg etc, they all spent two years in FBMW. But equally important is that you don’t get trapped in the sole idea of winning the Formula BMW Series in your first year! It is more important for your racing future to utilize what FBMW was designed for – a true training ground for aspiring formula and Sports car drivers.

To facilitate the near impossible in terms of assisting a driver without or very limited funding – I talked to many corporations and we came up with a reward, pricing and payment structure without jeopardizing or short cutting the driver development procedures. Look into our website and download the “Driver Guide 2010” for all details. I further strongly recommend to you to compare in detail all costs when you receive offers which are too good to be true, prior to signing on.

I wish you all the success in your future racing endeavors, but most of all – have fun and enjoy racing!

Sincerely,

Rolf-Ingo Strackerjan
Team Owner/Manager
Atlantic Racing Team