How to become a race car driver?

Romanian motorsports has seen some rare records, including from the sport's legends.

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 28.10.2025, 14:00

Romanian motorsports has seen some rare records, including from the sport’s legends. One such example is Mihai Alexandrescu, a car engineer and race car driver in his youth, from 1976 to 1983, who, once he went back to his old hobby, has made headlines in professional publications, setting many records:

”I started racing again in 2011, I took part in many competitions, I set participation records, there were years when I took part in 40 races in five championships, I was made a sports master, and I still race today. There are many championships at the moment: circuit speed racing, rallies, hill climb racing, drifting, parallel slalom on gravel racing, city racing on street circuits, and that’s only if we talk about the main championships of the Romanian Automobile Federation, which are awarded at the end of the year, when the National Championship titles are awarded. But the Romanian Automobile Federation contains around 15 different disciplines.”

We asked Mihai Alexandrescu about the cars he drives in competitions in Romania:

“All kinds of cars can be used, from one-seaters, barchettas that are only for the circuit or for hill climb racing, or cars that have been modified from street cars, or cars specially made for rough terrain, such as off-road racing, which involve cars with the ability to overcome all kinds of bumps and obstacles, cars that are adapted for dirt roads, in parallel slalom races, which take place on rough terrain, or in autocross races. So there is a very wide variety of cars. There are also vintage cars that participate in these competitions, there is also a Historic Cars Championship, both for hill climb racing and for speed racing on the circuit, and cars that are over 30 years old participate in this championship. And they are also divided into all kinds of categories: by cylinder capacity, age groups, there is also a category of Dacia cars that have also become vintage and are very successful, and there’s quite a lot of them taking part in races.”

The year’s final speed circuit race was held in October at Adâncata, involving over 25 vintage Dacia cars, our interlocutor told us before the race, adding:

“In this speed competition on a circuit of vintage cars I’m racing with a 1974 Dacia, with a powerful 125 horsepower engine. Adâncata has a racing circuit like those of Formula 1, and is located near the town of Urziceni, 70 kilometers from Bucharest.”

We asked Mihai Alexandrescu if there’s a public for the Romanian races, for there surely is one for Formula 1 races, regularly following the televised broadcasts of international competitions:

“There are many who come for the hillclimbing races, which are a good opportunity for a trip into the mountains, like the recent race in Poiana Braşov, despite the rain. It’s a race that attracts many spectators, because they can stand along the entire length of the route. There’s plenty of spectators at the circuit races, but not in such large numbers as for the hillclimbing, while many watch on the internet, because they can follow who is ahead. Some like it better like this.”

How can someone become a race car driver? Mihai Alexandrescu:

“If someone wants to become a race car driver, they should start with some less dangerous competitions. There is a Super Slalom Championship, which is held on commercial platforms, where you can’t reach very high speeds, no more than 60-70-80 km per hour, and the test consists in a slalom, some turns, some bends at lower speeds, which would be a good introduction to speed racing and how to handle the car fast. After that, they can move on to other more spectacular races, at higher speeds and which are more dangerous. For this you have to get a race car driver’s license, which requires you to be in perfect health, and take some race car driving lessons if you want to take part in the more dangerous disciplines such as rallies and hillclimbing. The lessons take a few days, you get a license and you can also participate in this championship. There is no age limit: the oldest driver this year is 77 years old, and I am 72 myself.”

The Romanian Federation of Motorsports (FRAS) is the only national organization that manages, coordinates, organizes and promotes motorsports in Romania. It manages over 20 sports disciplines, including rallies, hill climbing, offroad, rally raid, rallycross, karting, parallel slalom, drifting, drag racing, circuit racing, Time Attack, autoslalom, skill racing, the Women’s Rally, the Super Rally and digital motorsport etc. The Romanian Federation of Motorsports has developed continuously in the last 20 years, growing from a few hundred athletes to over 4,000 licence holders and over 200 member clubs, all across the country, including cities like Bucharest, Sibiu, Brașov, Cluj, Iași, Târgu Mureș, Timișoara, Câmpulung, Reșița and Buzău.