Motorsport, what's the best route in?

[SilverbackAlex]

Hi there, I'm just asking for some advice or if anyone has experience on this topic that would be greatly appreciated.

I'm 18 years of age and I currently do karting (Rotax Max). I have alays had a huge passion for Motorsport and cars and am fortunate enough to own an Abarth 500 esseesse which I saved long and hard for! My father gets alot of questions asked about my driving skills in karting and why I don't take the next step in Motorsport the truth is, we don't really have the money to go in blind. I would love the opportunity to go further in Motorsport so if anyone has any knowledge on the best routes to take or just general advice or opinion it would help massively.

Many thanks

Alex

PS Dad is silverbackmike on here so some of you may know him!

[Troubleatmill]

http://uk.caterhamcars.com/motorsport/academy

[silverback mike]

Where's that piggy bank Son .....

[rallycross]

Join up with 750 motor club and come to a meeting and see what it's all about - plenty of budget but competitive series to have a go in - whatever takes your fancy eg Locost, Bmw hatches, stock hatch, road sports, MR2 etc also take a look at Mx5 series for the older model.

[SilverbackAlex]

Brilliant, will definitely have a gander at that. It's the sort of thing I'm looking for. Is there a website or something that I can go to?

[MrBarry123]

Local McDonalds - midnight - bring the Fiat - challenge a chav.

Job jobbed. None of this "official motorsport" nonsense.

[rallycross]

http://www.750mc.co.uk

[slipstream 1985]

What results have you had at karting so far and how long have you been doing it?

[rallycross]

http://www.750mc.co.uk

[Jerry Can]

SilverbackAlex said:

Hi there, I'm just asking for some advice or if anyone has experience on this topic that would be greatly appreciated.

I'm 18 years of age and I currently do karting (Rotax Max). I have alays had a huge passion for Motorsport and cars and am fortunate enough to own an Abarth 500 esseesse which I saved long and hard for! My father gets alot of questions asked about my driving skills in karting and why I don't take the next step in Motorsport the truth is, we don't really have the money to go in blind. I would love the opportunity to go further in Motorsport so if anyone has any knowledge on the best routes to take or just general advice or opinion it would help massively.

Many thanks

Alex

PS Dad is silverbackmike on here so some of you may know him!

carry on dreaming!, if you really want to do it, you'll sell that, buy a race car and something to tow it with and then you've started. So are you prepared to sell the Abarth to fund the racing and run around in a knackered Transit?

[Graham]

The easy way? Spend the next 20 years becomi g a successfull hedge fund manager, sell up and then start gt racing and go to le mans.

Any other way is even fking harder

[SilverbackAlex]

slipstream 1985 said:

What results have you had at karting so far and how long have you been doing it?

Now, this is the tricky part. I have been asked this question many many times by other drivers and spectators during a session. In fact the last session I went on I was close to the Senior Rotax lap record at Clay Pigeon Raceway, only to discover afterwards that all 4 of my tyre pressures had a total difference of 6 psi!!. A lot of people ask my father how old I was when I started, how long do I usually spend in the kart and just generally ask us for advice but the truth is... I worked and saved hard and only bought the kart 6 months ago. I've been out 5 times in it. I really don't want to sound up myself but I'm still on the same slicks that came with it when I bought it. Ultimately I'm a novice however can have some good battles with serious competitors.

[slipstream 1985]

SilverbackAlex said:

slipstream 1985 said:

What results have you had at karting so far and how long have you been doing it?

Now, this is the tricky part. I have been asked this question many many times by other drivers and spectators during a session. In fact the last session I went on I was close to the Senior Rotax lap record at Clay Pigeon Raceway, only to discover afterwards that all 4 of my tyre pressures had a total difference of 6 psi!!. A lot of people ask my father how old I was when I started, how long do I usually spend in the kart and just generally ask us for advice but the truth is... I worked and saved hard and only bought the kart 6 months ago. I've been out 5 times in it. I really don't want to sound up myself but I'm still on the same slicks that came with it when I bought it. Ultimately I'm a novice however can have some good battles with serious competitors.

I assume you are looking at no further than club level racing? You have alot still to learn in karting before thinking about moving on. Karting will teach you more about racecraft than any other motorsport formula.

How close to the record at clay btw?

[SilverbackAlex]

slipstream 1985 said:

I assume you are looking at no further than club level racing? You have alot still to learn in karting before thinking about moving on. Karting will teach you more about racecraft than any other motorsport formula.

How close to the record at clay btw?

indeed, no further than club level. i will continue with karting of course, i absolutely love it. i fully understand what you are saying, i feel like I've already learned a lot and am determined to carry on learning and getting better overall track etiquette, awareness and lap times. i believe the previous years record was 34 seconds, i managed 35.5 which in my opinion is close for my 5th outing, however many people may disagree.

[slipstream 1985]

Can't see you in any of the results have you done any races? Being new 1.5 seconds off the pace is very good. However in another sense it is also a country mile in karting terms. Also it's one thing to be quick on your own but overtaking and being in a pack is a totally different ball game.

[SilverbackAlex]

slipstream 1985 said:

Can't see you in any of the results have you done any races? Being new 1.5 seconds off the pace is very good. However in another sense it is also a country mile in karting terms. Also it's one thing to be quick on your own but overtaking and being in a pack is a totally different ball game.

I haven't done any races as i haven't done my ARKS yet so i doubt i'll be in the results. i can imagine being in a pack is a completely different situation so I'm definitely up for getting everything sorted and start racing asap. i really appreciate your comments though, its made everything a bit clearer. i think I'll stick to karting for now, get some races and more hours under my belt. Cheers

[xr287]

You'll never learn everything you need to know from people telling you on a forum. My advice is join a low cost championship which runs all cars to the same regulations as the best way to get experience as cheaply as possible.

This will let you buy a used car that will require little to nothing doing to it to be eligible and won't require big money spent on it to keep competitive in at least the top half of the pack. It will also simplify things for you so you're not always chasing developments to improve your pace, you will get to judge your performance on your driving rather than budget (although money can always buy a slight performance advantage even in tightly regulated series although the return on investment can be very low!) it should also mean closer racing so your racecraft will come on.

After a season or two racing in these kind of series you will have learnt a lot about the world of racing for a (relatively) small cost and will be able to make an informed decision about what you want to go on to in the future.

Take a look at these series for some ideas, there are quite a few more out there though. Others on here will be able to give you ideas for open wheel series along the same lines if that is the route you want to take. If you see a series you fancy, go along to a race weekend and chat to some people in the paddock (best on the testday rather than raceday) and get in touch with the championship coordinators. 99% of people will be happy to stop and chat to you about the series as long as they're not in a rush to prep the car for an imminent session!

http://www.750mc.co.uk/formulae/clio-series.htm
http://www.brscc.co.uk/Championships/QUAIFE-FIESTA...
http://www.brscc.co.uk/Championships/BRSCC-MAZDA-M...
http://www.brscc.co.uk/Championships/BMW-RACE-DAYS...

[PhillipM]

Money.
Money is the best route in.

In fact, it's pretty much the only route in.

[andy97]

Have a look at any of the CSCC series or 750 Roadsports, Ie a series of 40/45 min races with a pit stop where 2 drivers can share a car and share costs. Buy something cheap to race where there are lots of spares and knowledge available like an mx5, mr2, fiesta, puma, Porsche 924 etc. and enjoy! Share with your dad, or buy the car and get another driver to pay half the cost a give you a few quid on top as "hire" fee.

These sorts of series are probably the most cost effective series and a set of list 1 b or 1 c tyres will probably last about 6 meetings.

[andye30m3]

I think a lot will depend on your budget, mechanical skills and what your looking to achieve

Are you looking for someone to run the car or can you do it yourself?

The initial costs to any circuit racing are high as you really need a tow car and trailer plus the race car itself

There's loads of budget 1 make series in the uk worth looking at compact cup (lots of good cars seam to be available at the moment), clio 182's etc etc

I started 4 years ago in production BMW www.pbmwc.co.uk which is a great budget series not quite as controlled as some as you don't need specific shocks, cages it ecu's that some series make you run.

Best to get to a local track and see what inspires you.