Calls to ditch ‘gentleman racer’ tag

‘Gentleman racer’ was a term adopted to describe non-professional, part-time competitors, many of whom had financed their own way into the sport later in life.

Habul says that the racers defined in that category have always, and will always, be a vital ingredient to the success of international GT and sportscar racing, but the level of skill being consistently displayed by those amateur drivers has now outgrown the ‘gentleman racer’ badge.

Habul has made his comments on the eve of this weekend’s Repco Bathurst 12 Hour where he returns in pursuit of a three-peat of victories at the Mount Panorama circuit with professional drivers Luca Stolz and Jules Gounon.

“I just think the use of the terminology ‘gentleman Racer’ has become redundant at this level of the sport,” said Habul.

“The term conjures up an image of a bunch of old guys going for a weekend drive, making up the numbers.

“That could not be further from the truth when you consider some of us are flat going across the top [of Mount Panorama] this weekend – just like the full-time professional drivers.

“We are all here because we are having fun, but the majority of us take this extremely seriously.

“GT racing has been built on major involvement from part-time competitors and that will always be the case, but the competition and skill level has reached a terrific standard and that is testament to Stephane Ratel and what the SRO has created.

“Given all that, I think the term ‘gentleman racer’ is a little degrading and irrelevant. It is not an official term, so the situation can be easily fixed with a change of mindset.

“I understand its origins and it might still have some relevance at a local historics meeting or something like that, but not in international GT and sportscar racing.

“I am not a big believer in people being labeled, but I have no problem with simply being called an amateur or bronze driver.

“When you look at the increasing level of women involved in the sport, the term is also somewhat out of date.”

There are four levels of driver categorisation internationally – Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze, with the ‘gentlemen racer’ tag usually applied to the Bronze category.

Several high-profile drivers came out in support of Habul and his call for elimination of the ‘gentlemen racer’ terminology , including long-time Mercedes-AMG factory driver, Maro Engel.

“Kenny’s natural ability and car control is incredibly high and what he has achieved at many of the great race tracks around the world has been outstanding,” said Engel.

“I would suggest he is one of the best, if not the best, amateur GT3 driver in the world.

“The tag ‘gentlemen racer’ certainly does fit him or many of the quicker amateur drivers and I probably agree that it should be eliminated.”

Australian Supercars ace Chaz Mostert, who drove for Habul’s team to win last year’s Spa 24 Hour, agreed the ‘gentlemen racer’ reference is long out of date.

“Kenny is the furthest thing from a ‘gentleman racer’ that I have had anything to do with,” said Mostert.

“Sure, he pays his own way after his enormous business success, but I am sure he would like to be referred to as a racecar driver first and businessman second if he has his way. I am sure that would apply to many Bronze drivers.

“In fact, it is probably even wrong to call Kenny an amateur racer because he works so hard at his craft and despite being 50, is actually getting faster.”

Seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup, who is also racing a Mercedes-AMG GT3 this weekend, also threw his weight behind the scrapping of the ‘gentlemen racer’ tag.

“There is definitely an issue with the term when you look at someone like Kenny,” said Whincup.

“What he achieves in a car, given the amount of time he spends behind the wheel, is incredibly impressive.

“Driving these things is all about muscle memory, and that comes when you are doing it day-in day-out, but to just get in and go and be on the pace, especially at a place like [Bathurst] demands respect.

“Events like these would not be possible without guys like Kenny who have worked hard all their lives to build incredible businesses and who now enjoy the fruits of their labour by going racing. In turn, that provides the professional drivers with opportunities to join them.”

Habul started racing karts at the age of seven and progressed to some junior categories before a lack of funds forced him out of the sport and motivated him to create one of the world’s biggest solar development companies.

As soon as he had the personal funding to go back racing he did and has competed in a myriad of categories including NASCAR, CASCAR and IMSA.

The majority of competitors referred to as ‘gentlemen drivers’ sit in the Bronze classification and while there are several criteria the main ones are:

• The driver was 30 years old or older when his or her first racing license was issued and has little or no single-seater experience.
• The driver is aged above 30 and has been categorized as Silver but didn’t meet the Silver requirements the three years.
• The driver is aged under 30 years old when his racing license was issued and didn’t compete in any karting or racing competition that would qualify for Silver.
• The driver meets two of the requirements of Gold but is aged over 55 years old.
• The driver meets the requirements of Silver but is aged over 50 years old.