How much do ARDS instructors make?

How much do ARDS instructors make?

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Will_typeR

Original Poster:

1 posts

61 months

Thursday 3rd October 2019
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Hi all,

Done a few seasons of racing now (750mc if anyones interested), hold a National A license atm, and (I hope!) am pretty decent at driving - so now looking at becoming a racing instructor.

Wondering if anyone on here is/knows anyone who is an ARDS instructor at a proper racing venue, like Silverstone/MSV, and could please share what they make a day? Not interested in those £99 virgin supercar experience type things, but proper instructor at a proper venue.

Obviously id be starting out at the bottom, Probationary C, so imagine the pay isnt great, but really interested in doing it, but obviously if im doing it for the same amount as working in KFC, i might be less keen!

Cheers,
Will

Dynion Araf Uchaf

4,683 posts

230 months

Thursday 3rd October 2019
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firstly it is difficult to get into it as an official instructor, it is a bit of a closed shop and you really need to know someone already an instructor to get you in.

It helps a lot if you live near a circuit. Castle Combe give preference to champions in their local series.

As you state you start as a C instructor which is basically seat belts and pit lane, then move on from there.

As for earnings, if you are just intending to be a bog standard instructor and not Grade A or S, then rates are anywhere from £125 to £200 per day. But you won't get the latter amount due to your inexperience. And you won't get 250 days a year.

If you intend to take it seriously and become an MUK coach then you could charge £300-£500 per day, but you'd need to have a good track record in motorsport yourself which it doesn't sound like you have. And then develop your own private client work which is generally more lucrative. But again no one is going to pay you £500 if you can't demonstrate a high level of achievement as a driver.

You could also go into the manufacturer product demonstrator stuff, I think this is run by companies like Osbourne Purdie. This is where you teach sales people about the product after an detailed induction. Locations can be good - i.e. abroad and sometimes the cars are interesting. But then again you could be product demonstrating a MG3 in Lutterworth.

so to answer your question - £20-30k as a basic instructor, a bit more if you take it seriously and more again if you can develop private client work.

Oh and make sure you aren't susceptible to car sickness.

I am a BARS instructor, which is easier to get into. ( And I've never rallied)

ChevronB19

6,375 posts

170 months

Thursday 3rd October 2019
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I used to instruct (only ARDS grade C) in the early 2000’s part time. Was quite good fun, but very hard work, you were run off your feet as the circuit wanted to get as many people as possible in on one day in order to maximise profits.

It’s a very customer facing role, and it can be very satisfying getting people to push harder than they thought they were capable of. I used to get paid £110 per day. Even as grade C I used to take people round in all kinds of things, but mostly did experience days. We had carte Blanche as to how hard to let customers push the cars, it was all down to how confident you were with them. Was great fun doing the hot laps too.

Be aware, it’s a very in demand job for 17 year old F1 hopefuls and also retired (as in over 55) people who still race, so any transgressions of any form and you will be sacked, also it’s a small industry so your name gets around, which can be a good or a bad thing. For customer days you don’t need to be an F1 hero, it’s more about being a good teacher, although in interview I was asked about race results, plus did a few laps with me driving and ‘teaching’, also a few laps with the trainer (grade A) acting as a ‘bad customer’ - I should’ve shut him down, but didn’t, which was a bit of a black mark.

EYA to say that the £110 per day was before tax, plus the experience days I did were all on a proper circuit, not an airfield, and it doing so many laps definitely helped my lap times in races!

Edited by ChevronB19 on Saturday 5th October 22:36

andy97

4,741 posts

229 months

Friday 4th October 2019
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To hold an ARDS instructor licence you will need to have a race school to sponsor your licence application/ renewal each year. Speak to “The Motorsports School” at Mallory Park (Pete and Mel Edwards) - they run ARDS Imstructor Licence courses.

You may not be interested in those “£99 Virgin experience things” but as I understand it you have to do a fair few of those days as an instructor to get upgraded to a B Grade, and it’s at that grade where proper instructing probably starts really.

Also, there are far more “experience day” opportunities than “proper instructing” so you may have to do plenty of those just to get work, and fill in time. Plenty of very good instructors with Grade A or B licences do these days, because they have to, to help make ends meet. You can expect to earn £100 to £200 per day as an instructor on an experience day, and will probably have to pay for your own uniform, transport, food and (possibly) accom costs out of that.

Edited by andy97 on Friday 4th October 01:25

fat80b

2,465 posts

228 months

Friday 4th October 2019
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andy97 said:
Plenty of very good instructors with Grade A or B licences do these days, because they have to, to help make ends meet.
I only know one professional instructor / driver and it is definitely this.

Grade A, been doing it for years, supposedly quite good and does get paid drives in some fairly big races but the every day involves schlepping hundreds of miles up and down the country living out of his car for a hundred quid or so.

Definitely not lucrative.

RobM77

35,349 posts

241 months

Wednesday 9th October 2019
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I've done spots of this in the past. As a permanent employee of a school you won't earn much, although if your day job is flexible (unlike mine) it'd be a nice thing to do a few times a month. Independent coaches earn a lot more, but you need to build a good reputation.