- Faking. your: boat aut: ‘for’
the --weekend?.. How “about -
leaving .a: planned :. agenda
with:-.someone * on. “shore,

‘makes a: ‘brilliant move; it's:
usually “because a driver
made a” mistake. ‘OF was

pfront you haveto drive
right on; the -edge.-and be
disciplined enough ~ not to
‘exceed that point.

. “Laptimés -should never
‘wary by more than.a few
‘tenths of a second. ‘To -do
that ‘you have to. establish a —
rhythm, Which -can only
come from concentration.
‘The--moments of intense .
concentration required by a
professional golfer is not that
far removed from what a°
Ariver has.to produce for an
‘entire:race, and like in golf,

» To race side by side at 160
-auph.. “with. another open

wheel car only inches away,

| ‘OF to’ ‘dive-inside:of another’

ear ‘as you enter a corner

get. ~Mahood's
naline pumping
overtime: but he claims
otherwise. .

Speed is relative to the

. traffic. .you ‘re in. A Formula

Atlantic car may be. capable
of .160. mph, but after ac-
climatizing myself to that
speed — — tnd that only takes
a lap or two — my only

‘concern then becomes the

car beside me doing 162
mph. Most.drivers are wel .
aware of what is happening
in front and behind them at
all speeds, -As for the
adrenaline pumping. at peak
times it really tends to stay in
control ‘all race, You'd be a
nervous wreck if it was
constantly goitg up and.
down.” ;

Auto racing 1s cxpensive,
especially the exotic formula
racing machines. Mahood
estimated it would cost
about $200,000 to run his
own team in the 1981 North
American Formula Atlantic
Series. To date he’s managed
to put together cnough
funding to contest three of
the eleven races in the
serics.

“I've been fortunate in
being able to work with
Pentax Cameras over the
past two years. Together
we've developed a marketing
plan based on the racing

hours: 4
‘Canada Safety ‘Council has
; officially-appa cinted the week. ~

“professional.

. schedules,

. Sponsors,

‘halve! . Weather ‘

A> proposed . “trip
schedule that at-your home

- poin
minutes welts p prior to your

trip could” save you dong

organization. cand t have “been :

astr mental —

Formula
Atlantic. Valvoline:Oil have
also provided support:” = *

_ Few drivers ever make the | |
step ‘into Formula Atlantic —
-and even fewer progress

beyond. Every aspiring:

. river has ‘his:own unique~

story of what went wrong‘or

‘ what’ stalled his career but
ultimately-it comies down to .

a.case of money. '—
“You have to ‘be- part

businessman ‘and. part race -

driver. During the off-season
I ‘Spend every spare minute
organizing and preparing for
‘the’ next season. That in-
’ cludes developing budgets, -
mapping out marketing
plans, organizing time
attending
meetings with

or potential

‘business
sponsors

equipment,

preparing the
ear, etc.

’ Only about five per cent of ©

my time is actually spent on
the race track, the rest is
spent getting there.”

What about talent? How
does Mahood assess his
abilities to handle a race car?
How will he stack up against
the likes of current Formula

Atlantic stars Jacques
Villeneuve and Geoff
Brabham?

“{ have confidence in my
own abilities. It’s extremely
difficult to assess one driver

Over another. There are just

many factors to con-
sider. I know that when J've
got a good car I can win.
That may sound a bit cocky,
but an experienced driver
knows when he’s fooling
himself. Often the better
drivers don’t finish well
simply because they're in an
uncompetitive car. The
difference between a good
driver and an “ace”, given
equal cquipment, is
probably only about ‘a half a
second a lap. A. down on
power engine can cost a
driver two or more seconds a
lap.”

Mahood's first pro race
will be here at Westwood in
August when the Formula
Atlantic Serics makes
annual stop. From, there he'll
be. travelling to Trois
Rivieres and Montreal.

and

_ machinery have . waysof advises.’ canacian

purchasing .

its °

-: CPS .4s a nation-wide. ;
association of. boating. ete.
thusiasts, ‘banded:.together 5:
“On, a -now-profit” basis :t0 :

be. practised year round -

Doyou want to tellnearly
Ret orth Sha car: S marketabo ihe |

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