Driving talent only gets you so far in professional motorsport — if you want to make it, you’ll need the full package… Plus a healthy dose of luck.
In this episode, professional driver Billy Johnson gives us his thoughts on the challenges of turning driving into a job, the best way to spend 10k as a track newbie, why the Skyline GT-R is seriously overrated, the less glamorous realities of 24-hour racing, and much more.
Use “BILLY50” to get $50 off HPA’s Race Driving Fundamentals course: https://hpcdmy.co/raceb
Billy Johnson is a professional driving coach, race driver, and factory development driver who has had a long career in the game despite his young age.
We start by discussing the path Billy took to be able to drive for a living full-time, despite not coming from a motorsport family. Predictably, this involves a deep dive into karts and his progression through the ranks towards working for Ford developing the GT, GT350, and GT500.
Billy has also raced for Ford in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and NASCAR, as well as many other prestigious competitions all over the globe, meaning he’s able to give some great insight into what it takes to drive these gruelling competitions and the extremely long stints they sometimes demand.
This discussion provides a fascinating insight into the cutthroat world of motorsport at the higher levels, giving us a much better idea of what it takes to rise above all the other equally talented drivers out there gunning for the same seat.
The conversation also covers the cars themselves. With Billy’s experience behind the wheel of extremely rapid time-attack Honda NSXs, we have to ask him what makes this 90s icon so good, and, in his opinion, why it's so superior to another popular time attack weapon — the Skyline GT-R.
With some interesting discussion around motorsport-level driving aids, simulators, and the best beginner track car for under 10 and 50k (is Miata always the answer?), this episode is packed with great info!
Follow Billy here:
IG: @billyjracing
FB: Billy J Racing
X: @billyjracing
LI: Billy Johnson
WWW: billyjohnsonracing.com
Don’t forget, you can use “BILLY50” to get $50 off HPA’s Race Driving Fundamentals course: https://hpcdmy.co/raceb
Timestamps:
4:04 How did you develop an interest in cars?
13:38 Having an understanding of engineering as a driver
18:49 Why are karts a normal stepping stone into a motorsport career?
20:28 What is race craft?
31:18 What is it that makes time attack an interesting form of racing?
39:24 Difficulties of going from one warm-up lap to a flying lap in time attack?
44:21 What do I do to improve my lap times?
54:28 Time Attack NSX and its handling
1:07:14 Engine package in the NSX
1:09:08 Oil starvation and dry sumps
1:15:53 NSX aero package
1:18:18 Driver aids
1:32:40 24-hour endurance racing, physical and mental fitness
1:37:13 Tyre management over a long stint
1:44:29 Tips for novice drivers taking their car to the track
1:50:41 Does sim driving improve driver skills?
1:56:32 What is a good entry-level track car?
2:03:29 Final three questions
