It’s a question I’ve been asked a lot over the last few weeks as not many people may realise an immediate link between elite level motorsport and Procurri’s technology services, but when you drill down into it, there’s plenty of parallels to be drawn. Procurri is a proud sponsor of ours, and there are a lot of comparisons to be drawn between what we are trying to achieve on track and what Procurri are helping others achieve from it.
My career in racing has been varied, and whilst I’ve enjoyed moments of success, there have been tough times too. Still involved with motorsport through my own participation and our driver management group, I’ve seen the industry move and change, rapid developments take place to the technological side of the sport (both in car and out) and people come and go across a thirty year career.
Across my career, I have embraced different disciplines be it single-seaters, sportscars or latterly my new challenge in the BTCC. The road to success, isn’t, as they say, always straightforward – but staying adaptable and open-minded, and embracing change has helped me achieve many of the things you dream about as you are just setting out in your career.
Not many know it, but my first interaction with motorsport came via two wheels in motocross before switching to four wheels at 17. The journey since has seen me enjoy the single-seater ladder progressing all the way up to Formula One and IndyCar, take on the world’s best in sportscars at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as television punditry and the driver management industry for the past fourteen years! To say it’s been varied would be an understatement; but I’ve enjoyed all of it.
This year, the British Touring Car Championship challenge is a completely new one for me. After thirty years with the rear wheels powering the car, I know have to adjust to it being the front’s instead! As such, I approach each race with realistic expectations and work hard with the team around me to problem solve and resolve any weak spots or issues before they arise. Everyone up and down the grid is trying to be one step ahead of the game and take a proactive approach every time - we are no different, but I am learning as I go! As a team, we get together after every session to discuss and debrief, analysing our failures as much as our successes – so that whenever stop learning and are always searching for every possible improvement. Whilst it still may be me sat behind the steering wheel, there is a whole support network around me that you don’t see; and it is a collective effort that goes into us trying to secure the results we want to achieve.
Throughout everything I have done, being open-minded and embracing new ideas has always been a key feature of our success. No one should ever stop learning and with me, as a 53-year-old taking on his most difficult challenge to date, I guess I am kind of proof if that!
I know that this is an attitude that I share with the team at Procurri: they constantly adapt to the circumstances and idiosyncrasies of their customers to understand them inside out and treat them exactly as the individuals they are – just like we do with each race and circuit. Adaptability is key, and in a sport that is separated by the finest of margins, the ability to adapt is what often separates those from the front of the field to those at the back.
If you’d like to learn more about Procurri’s IT services, join me, Jake Hill and the Procurri team on Tuesday 15 October at Procurri’s EMEA office in Cirencester, take on the pair of us behind the wheel in The Silverstone Challenge thanks to our professional grade driving simulator and discuss how they can help you deliver life-cycle IT services to your business.
