Starting off competing in Motor Sport - Advice wanted

[lord summerisle]

RT106 said:

The lass says he wants to go rallying, and everyone gives her advice about racing...

Rallying's great. I've got a vaguely standard 106 1.3 Rallye that's pretty competitive in its class. I'm not any good, but generally pick up 2nd and 3rds in class in a car that you could probably buy for a couple of grand. Much more importantly, it's brilliantly good fun.

The www.britishrally.co.uk/forum is a great source of information, and the people there won't try to convince you to go racing instead!

Regarding championships... in my experience you're much better off picking and chosing events that you can afford, and that you actually want to do. I'm 2004 Heart of England Rally Champion, but I don't give a sh*t and neither does anyone else...

EFA

[JP_Midget]

Um, you'll still have to learn your left from your right if you're actually driving the rally car.

Which side of the road are you going to set yourself up on if "blind crest into 90 right" is called?

[chris_w]

Another vote for sprinting here, why wait till '09 when you could get a taste for competition in your current road car (I've seen a Kia C'eed sprinting in the road car class!).

[dougc]

As the Lord has suggested, consider marshalling next season to get some experience in and then take it from there. If you're SW based, keep an eye on the Castle Combe website for the date of next years training day.

[onomatopoeia]

Jacs said:

I don't have much driving experience but would like to compete in some kind of motor sport, or at least give it a go, to see how I get on.

Have pretty much ruled out any kind of single seater racing as the costs are just too high, unless someone can tell me otherwise.

Have been thinking about rallying but would be useless as a co-driver as I am awful at map reading and don't know my left from my right, which only leaves rally driving itself.

There's more to motorsport than racing and rallying. Cheaper too.

The first motorsport event that I did that required a competition licence from the RAC was a sprint run by Bristol MC (for like pablo above, I am on the committee) at Castle Combe in 1992. I used what was my every day road car, a 16 year old Hillman Imp that cost me £300, drove it to the circuit and home again. The most recent motorsport event I have done that required a competition licence was a Classic Reliability Trial last month in my 1968 Singer Chamois (a Hillman Imp with wood trim) that cost me £600 and is parked outside work at this very moment.

Both disciplines are a tremendous amount of fun and far, far cheaper than racing or stage rallying.

[RT106]

lord summerisle said:

EFA

European Fighter Aircraft?

[GavinPearson]

Ian Davidson said:

Karting anyone?

The best get paid to race Karts...You don't get paid to race FFord, or even F3 etc...

Karting is the best place to learn the limits of yourself and tyres.

Karting is an excellent sport but nobody starting off is going to get paid. The best deal you're going to get as an enthusiastic amateur is factory support, where they tell you the settings they found work best, that way you stand a chance of doing well. But you still need to have the ability to win, and the machine you have needs to be capable of winning to even have a chance of a win. Assuming all the stars align, and you get a championship, will there ever be a thought of paying somebody to drive.

[Pork_n_Beem]

Have a look at www.205cup.com

Its the lowest cost / most competitive championship i have come across.

Its run by Pat Flynn,

I have run in 2005, 6, 7

Its good for beginners, has training days / test days / and a number of female competitors have been very successful.