Driver Blog
MSA Master Classes
Friday, December 17th, 2010
I’ve been working closely with the MSA a lot throughout this year on the Master Classes programme, which is part of the MSA Race Academy.
The Master Classes aim to help drivers aged between 8 and 16 to succeed in racing and in life. The principals we teach include driver fitness and nutrition, mental agility, determination and what it takes to win.
There are several top drivers that work on the programme which is also supported by specialists such as nutritionists and the team from the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone who deliver the fitness programme. All the advice is free and is tailored to help the drivers succeed not just in motor racing but in sport in general.
Many of the things we teach are concepts I convey in my Bradley Ellis Racing performance coaching. I’ve been working with the MSA for sometime on the Master Classes, so I now have the qualifications to tutor the young drivers, which also looks great on my CV.
Above all, it’s something I enjoy doing. I enjoy bringing young drivers on and watching them improve. It’s immensely satisfying to see a young person take my advice and for my work to help someone else. I not only get immense job satisfaction but if the drivers I work with do well it naturally reflects on me too.
You can see the people who want to improve are there at every class. The skills we are helping to convey are life skills as well, so if their racing careers unfortunately don’t take off they have still learned tools to help them in any job in the motorsport world.
Unless you are very lucky, like a select few who get picked up by a manufacturer at a young age, then a lot of drivers struggle. It’s therefore vital to find a way to earn money and work in the wider sport while you are trying to build your career. That’s what I’ve had to do with developing Bradley Ellis Racing and I’m proud of what I’ve achieved.
It’s ok when your parents can support you, but that can only happen for so long and you have to support yourself and earn your own money and that can be tough. I think the Master Classes are a fantastic concept and I wish such a programme existed to help me when I was karting. It can only benefit the young drivers who are determined to do their best and make it in this fiercely competitive sport.