jrgordonsenior

Looking at the photos I posed over the weekend of Ross Bentley's POC seminar I was pretty amazed at the considerable number of heads of grey and white hair in the audience. I realized many of the racers I run with I only see individually in the paddock or at impound after a race. What struck me was who's going to fill the gap in Porsche club racing as we seniors slowly retire from the sport over the next 10 years or so.

I see younger people racing and running DE events at NASA weekends but usually in beaters not Porsches. There are younger drivers in expensive new P-cars that show up for our DE events and some of those drivers will move up to a race car at some point but those cars won't become racers for many more years. I know the BSR's are doing well and maybe more and more that will become the most prevalent and affordable Porsche spec series for young drivers to transcend into but many of them seem stuck on high HP cars with nanny controls. It may be different in your part of the country, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts....

White/grey hairs indeed.....

Astroman

Needless to say, racing a Porsche is really really expensive. The vast majority of people in their 20s and 30s simply can't afford it.

I'm 43. I started racing when I was 36. There are not many 30-somethings in the paddock, for sure.

Pferrf1

The younger demo also seems to be more inclined to do time attacks than racing these days.

TXE36

I think some of it is the younger generation just isn't as interested in cars. On track weekends, my rig ends up parked in the street in front of the house and I've had about 5 people come up and ask about it - all, except for one, had grey hair.

Growing up and being a 10 year old boy, if someone had parked a race car on an open trailer in my neighborhood - all the neighborhood boys would have gone nuts over it.

It's pretty sad when an effective anti-theft device is a manual transmission.

-Mike

sbelles

Mine isn't grey yet! Well, not all of it anyway.

Most people in their twenties or thirties are too busy building careers to go racing. I had to take a two decade hiatus but I came back. I see 3-6 new rookies at every PCA race so I'm not too worried.

Cory M

I'm not surprised at all. I remember being the youngest guy at the track when I was in my mid twenties, now that I'm in my late thirties I'm still usually one of the youngest. It's just too damn expensive. Younger people today in the corporate world don't have pensions, good medical benefits, profit sharing, stock options, good raises, good bonuses, etc. All of that stuff has been eliminated. Salaries are lucky to keep up with inflation and the cost of living continues to rise. Racing is a stupid thing to spend your money on really.

I work with a ton of gearheads in their 30-40's. Most own vintage cars or something sporty and do their own wrenching. These are all professionals with degrees, 10+ years of work experience, and relatively good salaries. I'm the only one who races, and I do a very limited number of events. The cost of entry, including all of the safety gear and performance modifications to convert a street car, are just too much. Then when I tell them what I spend on entry fees, tires, and fuel they look at me like I'm nuts.

I struggle with racing myself and constantly contemplate whether I should continue. I often think about selling my racecar and buying something street legal I can take to track days. I've started threads on this board about getting a used Z06 or Cayman S. One of the only things stopping me is the sad fact that I probably wouldn't ever be able to replace my 911 if I sold it.

mglobe

It's not just Club Racing. It's PCA in general that is getting older. In the last 10 years the demographics of te clu have gotten almost 10 years older. The club is still growing, but it's also growing older.

mark kibort

Ha ha. that's what i thought when i first saw the picture!
yep, thats why im trying to get my kids involved and exposed so maybe they will want to drive "dad's " car someday soon!
unless you do this sport on a budget, it takes a small fortune to race. Not many youngsters have the cash to play, unless they run the spec miatas and "dad" fits the bill and provides track side support and transportation.
Ive talked about this with SCCA.... they need to capture future racers by making it easy to espose them to the sport. i think all organizations should have a DE class for street cars for one run group each day. Thats the best way to expose the young'uns to racing. Im proof...with out DE, i never would have known that there was an affordable path to being able to be a race car driver!
clubs need to think about their futures in this way. what ever it takes..... add a group, not a race group or a TT group, but a DE group to every day that the track is being rented! That's the funnel for the future of the group! again..... my opinion.

LuigiVampa

30s are when you build your career and start a family. 40s are when you start to enjoy life again as you (hopefully) have a little more money and your kids get older.

I think instead of 20 year olds getting involved it will be more people in their late 30s and early 40s that will be replacing the people who leave.

I'm pretty confident that the picture is always going to look like a bunch of old guys.

mark kibort

go to a NASA weekend......not as many of the grey hair folk!

mark kibort

That might make the 928 more popular!

cometb

While the folks in my local PCA club are all great individuals, the process for getting your race license is, IMHO, somewhat cumbersome. I have been doing DE's for 5+ years and instruct during regional NASA events. I am a 50 something mid pack driver. Not overly aggressive and (I think) generally considered a safe driver. My attempt at racing with my local PCA club was so frustrating (they wanted to get to know me better and for me to make a commitment to a minimum # of DEs), I simply started racing with NASA in their GTS series. Simple, straight forward process and excellent "comp school". May try again with PCA- depends on my level of patience and tolerance

gbuff

I'm not a racer but have been an avid track rat for 20 years now; I just turned 60 and mentioned this fact in conversation a number of times at recent DEs/track days. The overwhelming response was various iterations of "Ah, to be that young"......

The country, in general, is aging......

Gary

LuigiVampa

I've driven with NASA but the same holds true if you go to DEs in regions which allow non-Porsche cars. I've been at LRP with other regions and the Porches are in the minority and the age demographic goes way down.

The cars do tend to be more in the line of "tuners" with coffee can mufflers.

It is the price of owning and maintaining a Porsche that makes it an "older guy" sport.

brownan

Sorry, can you repeat the question louder into my ear trumpet thing?