The Rush of racing

Entry-level racecars aimed at providing cheap thrills are nothing new, but what sets the Rush SR-1 apart is the innovative way in which many of its components are produced in-house. This has resulted in a svelte, sports car bodies, single-seater with an affordable price tag

- LAWRENCE BUTCHER

The Rush SR-1 is the brainchild of mechanical engineer David Hosie, who originally harks from Scotland. Having completed his engineering degree in Aberdeen the oil and gas industry was the natural place for him to hone his skills, and this explains why he now resides in Houston.

Hosie serves on the board of directors of an oil and gas company but, parallel to his career in this industry he’s been heavily involved in racing for quite some time. ‘I’ve always been in motorsport for one reason or another, be it karting to running a five-car Formula Renault team [known as Fran Am 2000] for three years here in the US,’ says Hosie.

Working in junior open-wheel series brought Hosie into contact with many young racing hopefuls and their families and he started to notice the darker side of the motorsport progression ladder. ‘Running a junior formula team, you are basically a service company,’ he says. ‘Your customer is between the age of 16 to 22 and has access to half a million of Dad’s money to pursue their dream of becoming a racing driver. In the years I was involved, I saw that destroy families.’ he says.

Racing has never been cheap, but the current ladder system to becoming a top-level driver – karting and then through various single-seater championships – is very far from being affordable. While Hosie admires efforts such as that of the FIA F4 series, with cost caps keeping things under control, he still feels that ‘it hasn’t worked. An arrive and drive package with a decent team will still be $300,000.’

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