Which Series?

[worldwidewebs]

Me and a fellow PH member have done plenty of trackdays (and I've done a bit of sprinting) but we are thinking about entering a race series next year and need suggestions as to which series to enter. The main criteria we need to fulfill are:
- we want to share a car yet get enough track time each
- must be rear wheel drive
- must be at the cheap end of the market!

So far we've seen the Future Classics series which would give us a 40 minutes race, with an enforced pit stop to allow driver changes - we'd probably go the 924/944 or MX5 route. On the face of it it's perfect but we'd like to weigh up our options before splashing out on a car. Also, what we don't have is any idea of which series are in the ascendancy and maybe are on their way out.

What would you suggest?

[worldwidewebs]

How're you finding the series? I really don't know much about "racing" so any advice regarding cars/series etc would be mpst welcome. Also, is there a difference between series and championship?

[worldwidewebs]

Porsche Racer said:

Buying a Porsche 924 and racing with the BRSCC Porsche Championship would fulfill your criteria.

Sharing a car - we shared a car to start with and plenty other new drivers have done the same. Then they get the bug and buy a second car
Rear wheel driver - The 924 is a very well balanced rear wheel drive car, with the engine in front and gearbox at the back
Cost - We have brought race prepared cars from as little as £2000

The championship has been fantastic this year with several drivers in with a chance of winning the title this year. The top 6-8 drivers have regularly had lap times within half a second, providing close and clean racing.

Take a look at our website www.porscheracingdrivers.co.uk and get in touch? Its a really friendly club

I have looked at that series and does interest me but I'm not sure how you go about sharing a car, IYSWIM. One of the main criteria for us is that we get lots of track time each from a single car. For a few reasons we won't be able to go down the 1 car each route unfortunately

[worldwidewebs]

roddo said:

Mx5 racing!!!!!
You have two choices......

Ma5da... Large grids but lot's of contact.

Max5.... Small grids (but building race on race) this year we have 5 newcomers.
I'm not going to type forever but a safe/friendly environment for new racers.

Please feel free to contact me for more info

Paul

Hi Paul
Yes, I'm quite familiar with the Ma5da series but it doesn't really stack up with one car and two drivers. It's a shame really as we both love MX5s. Having said that, I'm a wuss and would prefer something with a roof - one of the reasons I sold my Westfield was I was sick of getting rained on at trackdays

[worldwidewebs]

ma5da90 said:

worldwidewebs said:

Hi Paul
Yes, I'm quite familiar with the Ma5da series but it doesn't really stack up with one car and two drivers. It's a shame really as we both love MX5s. Having said that, I'm a wuss and would prefer something with a roof - one of the reasons I sold my Westfield was I was sick of getting rained on at trackdays

I think car sharing in the Ma5da's would work the same as in the Porsche championship, one race each during the weekend. Bear in mind Ma5da track time is likely to be much more in 2011 than it has been this year.
I raced a 924 in the Porsche championship before Mazda's and i would say that contact between cars happens in both, it's largely down to how you drive, I've had clean races and picked up damage in both championships and wouldn't say either is worse in my experience.
I have discovered this year that the MX5 is considerably more reliable and less work maintaining than the 924 (simply a newer car?) and that at the moment it's much more competitive racing in the Ma5da's, but this can be both a good and bad thing depending on how you see it.

So how long is a normal Ma5da race? From memory, at Oulton it was about 5-6 laps which is about 11 - 13 mins. Does this sound about right?

How do you find the running costs of the 924 and are there any specialists around? What are the common issues with them?

[worldwidewebs]

I'm thinking the Future Classics is the way to go although if someone can get us a car for the SPEED series for about £5k that might be an option

Both the MX5 and 924 look like good options to buy and although I'm pretty familiar with Mazdas, I think I need to do a bit more research on the Porsches.

Who are the main 924 specialists?

Edited by worldwidewebs on Monday 23 August 18:41

[worldwidewebs]

juliann said:

worldwidewebs said:

What would you suggest?

Production BMW for one of you with the other driving the car in the sister series, Toyo Tires Racing Saloons. There's a few car sharers who do that.

No, we want to race together like in the Future Classics series (which is looking favourite at the mo)

[worldwidewebs]

I'm not around this weekend and have a drift day booked for the 4th but would have loved to have come down and hD a good nose around. I might have to send my budding team-mate instead!

Both the 924s and MX5s seem to fit the bill for us but I think we need to get a better idea of costs for each over a season - budget will be tight but won't stop us!