What's stopping you giving motorsport a go?
Discussion
Until last Sunday I had a sportscar that is reasonably quick and vague aspirations of doing something motorsporty with it - sprinting or hillclimbs perhaps. To be honest I had been shooting the breeze for years, and was actually shit scared of breaking the thing.
Last Sunday I went to the Streetwars drag racing at the Dakota strip in Devon and lost my track virginity. And it was simpler and cheaper and more fun than I had ever thought possible - I just wish I'd discovered this kind of thing earlier and got on with it.
It cost a total of £25 for the day, with as many runs as I could manage. This turned out to be 2 each for myself and g/f. Borrowing a helmet was free from the organiser on retention of my driver's licence until the helmet was returned. Timing read-outs were provided for free.
What was also great was meeting up with some other TVR owners who we raced against, and had a short chat with a couple of other people who showed interest in buying an S series TVR.
So... there must be lots of other people out there coveting an Elise, TVR, Porsche, BMW or similar pride-and-joy who are talking the talk but something is stopping them.
So what's stopping you getting into grass roots motorsport?
Last Sunday I went to the Streetwars drag racing at the Dakota strip in Devon and lost my track virginity. And it was simpler and cheaper and more fun than I had ever thought possible - I just wish I'd discovered this kind of thing earlier and got on with it.
It cost a total of £25 for the day, with as many runs as I could manage. This turned out to be 2 each for myself and g/f. Borrowing a helmet was free from the organiser on retention of my driver's licence until the helmet was returned. Timing read-outs were provided for free.
What was also great was meeting up with some other TVR owners who we raced against, and had a short chat with a couple of other people who showed interest in buying an S series TVR.
So... there must be lots of other people out there coveting an Elise, TVR, Porsche, BMW or similar pride-and-joy who are talking the talk but something is stopping them.
So what's stopping you getting into grass roots motorsport?
Maybe it's just that - it's the fact that they "covet" their Elise, Porsche or TVR 
Seriously though, whilst I wouldn't dream of putting my pride and joy into competitive duty, I've been racing since my early twenties, and have just always had a dedicated car for it. It needn't be too expensive. It's also great to have something to tinker with when your pride and joy just sits there looking smug and reliable all day! My first racing car cost me £2,500; gave me five seasons of pleasure (and trophies!), and was sold on for a similar amount. Racing gets seriously expensive very quickly, but at the grass roots level needn't cost that much.
Seriously though, whilst I wouldn't dream of putting my pride and joy into competitive duty, I've been racing since my early twenties, and have just always had a dedicated car for it. It needn't be too expensive. It's also great to have something to tinker with when your pride and joy just sits there looking smug and reliable all day! My first racing car cost me £2,500; gave me five seasons of pleasure (and trophies!), and was sold on for a similar amount. Racing gets seriously expensive very quickly, but at the grass roots level needn't cost that much.
RobM77 said:
Maybe it's just that - it's the fact that they "covet" their Elise, Porsche or TVR
Seriously though, whilst I wouldn't dream of putting my pride and joy into competitive duty, I've been racing since my early twenties, and have just always had a dedicated car for it. It needn't be too expensive. It's also great to have something to tinker with when your pride and joy just sits there looking smug and reliable all day! My first racing car cost me £2,500; gave me five seasons of pleasure (and trophies!), and was sold on for a similar amount. Racing gets seriously expensive very quickly, but at the grass roots level needn't cost that much.
I see your point but I covet my Tiv. I realised a drag strip for instance is no different than the normal nailing it from the lights shenanigans that many PHers get up to.Seriously though, whilst I wouldn't dream of putting my pride and joy into competitive duty, I've been racing since my early twenties, and have just always had a dedicated car for it. It needn't be too expensive. It's also great to have something to tinker with when your pride and joy just sits there looking smug and reliable all day! My first racing car cost me £2,500; gave me five seasons of pleasure (and trophies!), and was sold on for a similar amount. Racing gets seriously expensive very quickly, but at the grass roots level needn't cost that much.
Of course, I don't have the brakes or driving skills to do hillclimbing well.... yet.
Edited by V8S on Friday 9th November 15:11
the lack of funds to prep my alfa is whats stopping me getting into grass roots racing
oh and the fafct i would want a daily snotter too so that i had something to drive to work in and go and see the OH or trips to cornwall with the OH and lil'un etc, currently on the save for something saloon diesel ish
(yes, its as bad as it sounds )
oh and the fafct i would want a daily snotter too so that i had something to drive to work in and go and see the OH or trips to cornwall with the OH and lil'un etc, currently on the save for something saloon diesel ish
(yes, its as bad as it sounds )K50 DEL said:
If you want to get into basic motorsport as cheap as possible.
Road Rallying is your answer.
great fun, great people and entry fees under £75 - can't go wrong.
I've always wanted to do a road rally - love the idea of a load of classic sportscars bombing around country lanes - but they're either miles away, or very long and miles away. You have to factor in transporting the car there and back and then fuel for the rally, and there's more chance of writing your car off on a rally than on a strip or sprint.Road Rallying is your answer.
great fun, great people and entry fees under £75 - can't go wrong.
Money. I'm only just out of university so it isn't surprising, but i'll be looking at rally if/when I have some money to hose at it. I wouldn't buy something that i'd be precious about breaking either. I'd love a 964 or a Mk1 Escort or an Escort Cosworth as a rally car, but I wouldn't be prepared to ruin it. I would want to really push it and not be held back by worries of breaking the car.
Money, time, location.
Nearest track Goodwood, silly expensive and rubbish noise limits.
Brands Hatch, much of the same but a little far out and short on time.
been on a few Strips, round Spa this year and go Kart racing once a month.
Main thing is money though. Oh and my gearbox is still broke, but that comes back to time again.
Nearest track Goodwood, silly expensive and rubbish noise limits.
Brands Hatch, much of the same but a little far out and short on time.
been on a few Strips, round Spa this year and go Kart racing once a month.
Main thing is money though. Oh and my gearbox is still broke, but that comes back to time again.
rhys27 said:
a 1998 1.4 5dr pug 306 ... dont really think it would like motorsport too much
and im too skint to get something like a GTi-6 or a 205 trackday slag!
one day though! im just a poor student at the moment!!
If it is a 1.4 it would be eligible for endurance rallying and thus the Lombard rally. a couple of grand could see you good to go.and im too skint to get something like a GTi-6 or a 205 trackday slag!
one day though! im just a poor student at the moment!!
cocopop said:
I'd love to start, but don't really have the cash, well I do, but my P&J needs to be upgraded from a mk5 Escort.
And I'm only 19 so that makes me a boyracer
But... there were a couple of standard Mk5 Escorts at the drag strip on Sunday, along with some proper sportscars, hot rods and many boy racers. It's mostly about your time up the strip, not whom you beat. You're usually up against a dissimilar car making who gets to the line first mostly irrelevant.And I'm only 19 so that makes me a boyracer
Edited by cocopop on Friday 9th November 15:30
I've done a few Track days in the 400SE and must say it really gets you in touch with your car. I think its a must for everyone. most car club days are very well organised, and unless your a total d1ckhe@d, and the car is in good condition, then no harms going to happen to you or the car.
Also sprinting can be done very cheaply.
and even entry level real racing can be done a reasonable price. you can buy a old race Tasmin for 3-8k depends on how much has got to be done, and how competitive you want to be.
I'm currently building a 4.0 RV8 Tasmin race car, total should be 8-10k finished. ( a v6 should cost 1/2 this).
There is no reason why I would not get 90-110% of this money back. esp. as all labour used to build this will be free.
The entry fee for a race is £300-£500 plus £200 a day testing (optional)
plus tires (unlike f1 a set can last 4-8 races) and travelling costs.
So its not mega expensive.
I've had to make a few sacrifices, like no holidays for 2 years. and been saying for a while for a rainy day. but its do-able, and should be tried before you too old to enjoy it.
Also sprinting can be done very cheaply.
and even entry level real racing can be done a reasonable price. you can buy a old race Tasmin for 3-8k depends on how much has got to be done, and how competitive you want to be.
I'm currently building a 4.0 RV8 Tasmin race car, total should be 8-10k finished. ( a v6 should cost 1/2 this).
There is no reason why I would not get 90-110% of this money back. esp. as all labour used to build this will be free.
The entry fee for a race is £300-£500 plus £200 a day testing (optional)
plus tires (unlike f1 a set can last 4-8 races) and travelling costs.
So its not mega expensive.
I've had to make a few sacrifices, like no holidays for 2 years. and been saying for a while for a rainy day. but its do-able, and should be tried before you too old to enjoy it.
Slight confusion going on here. Trackdays aren't Motorsport. They are neither timed or classed as a 'race'.
Racing involves money. Money spent on racing means less for beer and pizza.
I've done trackdays....round and round and round and yawn. I'd rather actually drive to somewhere.
I don't want to do motorsport because I'm just not bothered if the bloke in the next car has a quicker car than me, therefore I wouldn't be competitive. (I'm a Tiger, grrrr!)
Racing involves money. Money spent on racing means less for beer and pizza.
I've done trackdays....round and round and round and yawn. I'd rather actually drive to somewhere.
I don't want to do motorsport because I'm just not bothered if the bloke in the next car has a quicker car than me, therefore I wouldn't be competitive. (I'm a Tiger, grrrr!)
GreenV8S said:
V8S said:
Of course, I don't have the brakes or driving skills to do hillclimbing well.... yet.
You don't need big brakes to do hill climbs and sprints. The runs are only short, and brake cooling is never an issue.Also unless done correctly fitting bigger brakes can give longer stopping distances as they can affect the front rear balance.
Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff