Connor O’Brien talks racing, life off the track and more.
When did you get into race driving?
My first race was in 2016 where I competed in Ginetta Juniors at Rockingham. How I got into racing was, I did a couple of Junior Rally’s when I was 14, but it wasn’t what I thought it was and I wasn’t enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I had to skip the next round due to my School exams being very close to the event. I got bored of doing school work and turned to the TV on and started watching the BTCC ( British Touring Car Championship) The Ginetta Juniors race came on, and I was totally mind blown with the racing how close they were and the amount of respect they had for each other. So I did some research and convinced my parents to let me have a go and that’s when I did my first race!!!
What is your greatest achievement as a race driver to date?
My greatest achievement in racing so far is finishing 4th from 14th! That was a fun race!
How long is a typical racing season?
Our calendar is 7 Race weekends starting in April and ending in September but we also do a lot of work in the off season like Testing, Sim prep etc.
In 2017, you dived into the deep end of the GT5 Challenge with Optimum Motorsport bagging a series of top 5 finishes along the way. How have you found performing in the GT5 Challenge?
Yes that’s correct 2017 was a hard season, with it being only my 2nd ever race and my first ever full season. The year had it’s ups and downs but I really enjoyed the year and I learned so much from the down parts as well the ups!
What is your ultimate goal as a racer?
The dream would be to get to a stage in my career where I am not having to fund my racing maybe even becoming a factory driver would be amazing but time will tell!
What are your plans for the season ahead?
At current I have nothing in the pipeline at the moment for next year yet but I would like to hope It will see me move up into GT4 in British GT.
GT4 has been getting more and more competitive over the last years and is now seeing more and more manufactures entering and building cars. You now have the choice of: Aston Martin, BMW, Ginetta, Jaguar, McLaren, Mercedes, Nissan and Toyota. So plenty to choose from!
What type of training do you do to compete as a race driver ?
The majority of my training is strength training to make sure that I’m in good shape and race ready! I also do quite a bit of Cycling and work on my reactions.
Do you play other sports ?
Not really I do a lot of training in the gym, but no real other sports other then racing. I use to play rugby when I was at school but I don’t want to hurt myself and not be able to race.
How has your experience been with dealing with brands/companies regarding sponsorship?
It is a very important skill and you can never be too good at it!! I have found it challenging at times and other times quite easy, it can be hard to get brands on board but I have picked up a few really good ones that have helped me loads and without them I wouldn’t be where I am now, so a big thanks to them!
What types of things does sponsorship cover for a typical driver like yourself?
It covers some of our costs for starters but the sport is very expensive so requires a few to really not have to fund it all by yourself. It also helps us as drivers when a big brand sponsors us to grow our profile and social media, which is a very important part of our job as well.
What types of sponsors would you like to work with going forward?
I would love to work with some big brands, companies that are high profile and have big social media followings.
Competing in an intense sport like car racing, can take a lot out of you. What sort of things do you do to unwind to recover mentally from the intensity of your sport?
Yes it takes a lot out of you mentally, 3 days of intense racing takes a lot out of you. Usual after a race weekend I will eat plenty of good foods and drink lots of fluid to make sure I’m getting the correct and most efficient fuels back into me to help speed up recovery physically. Mentally I like to chill out with family and friends, also studying data and video from the weekend just helps me to understand how my performance was and etc.
What does a typical day look like on a training day?
On a test day our day is mainly spent out on track but we also have data to go through and study that. Data tells us where we are braking, getting on the power, turning etc so it is very important for us! If a percentage of our day was to be broken down on out of on track vs going through data, it would probably be 70% track time and 30% data time just because we need to be out on track to write that data and to help us find out where we need to go faster.
What is the average lifespan of a race drivers career?
There is no real figure. However, Mercedes have a driver that is 53 and has been racing since he was 33. Most drivers will start off in karts from age 6, then move into cars at age 14 and keep progressing up the ladder but there is no real retiring age, of course the older you get the fear factor starts setting in and etc.
