A letter from the Team Manager

First of all – I wish to congratulate and welcome you to the next level of motorsports! I hope that you will read this document and find it helpful in making an informed decision on your motorsports career.

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 being the optimist amongst naysayers, and most of all (if you are not funded yet) - seeking out sponsors!

You will meet many new faces and teams – many will approach you with offers to drive for them, 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, originally based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been in this motorsport “business” for more than two decades. We have competed in karting, Formula Ford, F2000, Formula Renault, GT cars, Indy Lights, and Formula BMW. We race in Canada, the USA, and in Asia as well as in the Swiss Formula LO-Lista Series. We were all drivers in our “previous” lives. We understand the pain and agony that you may experience 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 that chaos is part of racing – don’t be fooled!

I firmly believe that all drivers should spend two years in a junior Formula environment to gain adequate experience to advance in motorsports. Some Formula BMW alumni seem to prove this – Vettel, Schumacher, Buemi, etc; they all spent two years in FBMW. Equally, don’t get trapped in the sole idea of winning the Series in your first year! It is more important for your racing future to utilize what Junior series’ were designed for – a true training ground for aspiring formula and Sports car drivers.

To assist driver without any or with very limited funding, I have talked to many corporations and came up with a special reward, pricing, and payment structure. I strongly recommend to you to compare, in detail, all costs when you receive offers which are too good to be true. Ask questions and seek clarification - prior to signing on!

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

Yours in Motorsport,

Rolf-Ingo Strackerjan
Team Owner/Manager
Atlantic Racing Team