{"id":6057,"date":"2023-06-13T09:16:29","date_gmt":"2023-06-13T13:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/?p=6057"},"modified":"2023-06-14T09:17:46","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T13:17:46","slug":"barbosa-enjoys-rewards-of-driver-coaching-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/13\/barbosa-enjoys-rewards-of-driver-coaching-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Barbosa enjoys rewards of driver coaching work"},"content":{"rendered":"

The four-time Rolex 24 winner imparts his knowledge to drivers beginning their racing careers<\/em><\/p>\n

Jupiter, Fla. (13 June 2023) \u2013 Three months is a long time to wait in between IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship races, but Sean Creech Motorsport (SCM) driver Joao Barbosa has continued to spend his share of time at the racetrack \u2013 not behind the wheel, but as a driver coach.<\/p>\n

Barbosa, with four Rolex 24 at Daytona wins and two IMSA WeatherTech series championship titles on his CV, knows better than most how to get the most out of a race car, whether it\u2019s a GT car or the team\u2019s No. 33 SCM Focal One Ligier JS P320. He began coaching \u201cseven or eight years ago\u201d as a way to help a team\u2019s young drivers and over the past few years, has seen that side of his racing life take off \u2013 in a big way.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, I didn\u2019t think I would enjoy it when I first started coaching, but the more I do it, the more I enjoy it,\u201d said Barbosa. \u201cNow I work with several drivers, in many different stages of their careers \u2013 from young drivers to more experienced drivers, and a few \u201cgentlemen\u201d drivers as well who are looking to improve their driving skills. I work with drivers in Ferrari Challenge, Porsche Cup and open wheel.”<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very rewarding, seeing the drivers progress over time. They\u2019re all really nice people to work with and very much want to learn. Like the driver in Ferrari Challenge \u2013 she only did two races last year and is fairly new to racing, but she\u2019s done a super job and is very motivated to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaching input can range from just spotting, looking through video and data, and making suggestions on driving style to working on sim training with the driver before and after race weekends. The key is to figure out early exactly what the driver wants.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery driver and every series is different \u2013 there\u2019s not one way that works for everyone. On the Ferrari Challenge side, it starts with testing. I\u2019ll put down a lap to give us something to compare to, to find out where the strong points and weak points are and where we need to improve. Throughout the weekend, it\u2019s about improving driving style and driving techniques, using all the knowledge I\u2019ve accumulated over the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen on the race weekend, it\u2019s a matter of passing on my racing experience, so they know what to expect around other cars \u2013 how to behave, what to do and what not to do, giving them a heads up so they know how to react in different situations during the race. It\u2019s quite rewarding, seeing their race craft improving, seeing everything come together. At the tracks where we can get a good view, I\u2019m talking to the driver during the session, finding spots where they can improve time and help to keep them motivated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The key to being a successful coach is to delve deeply into each driver\u2019s thought processes \u2013 how they process information, how they like to receive information, what is their level of skill and how hard they want\/need to be pushed. Barbosa works hard to understand each driver and establish that relationship as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach driver has a different set of priorities and responds to different inputs so that\u2019s really the challenge \u2013 to make sure communication is working for the individual driver. Some get up to speed more quickly than others, and some drive at the same speed no matter if they have new tires or old tires \u2013 they have to learn to trust the grip of new tires. I don\u2019t have a set list of what every driver should do \u2013 they have to adapt at their own speed. It\u2019s also about the type of communication they want to hear, and how they want to hear it, learning how to understand each other. It\u2019s a process.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not necessarily a straightforward learning curve, for someone with little experience. There\u2019s a great deal involved in learning to drive a race car at speed \u2013 technique, learning how to hit apexes, driving lines. It\u2019s not just about driving fast, it\u2019s about race craft. I can share my experience of what to do in a race situation, and that\u2019s the biggest challenge for drivers just starting out. It\u2019s great to watch them improve. It\u2019s good to learn from your mistakes but if you have someone working with you who\u2019s done it, the process goes much more quickly. More information is better!\u201d<\/p>\n

Barbosa has a new task on hand, having recently begun working with a young driver in the US F4 Championship Powered by Honda. Does working with a junior open wheel series versus a sports car series require a difference in coaching style?<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s really all the same,\u201d said Barbosa. \u201cThe techniques in an open-wheel car are a bit different than a sports car, and it\u2019s also different working with a young driver. The goals are different for every driver, especially when the driver is just starting out and is looking to move up the ladder. But it\u2019s just as much fun to watch them learn and progress and improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next up for Barbosa and co-drivers Lance Willsey and Nico Pino will be the Sahlen\u2019s Six Hours of the Glen, June 22 \u2013 25 at Watkins Glen International.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The four-time Rolex 24 winner imparts his knowledge to drivers beginning their racing careers Jupiter, Fla. (13 June 2023) \u2013 Three months is a long time [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6058,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-sean-creech-motorsports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6057"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6059,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6057\/revisions\/6059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sundaymanagement.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}