Sprinting - Hillclimbimg what vehicle do you use?

[grasum]

Sprinting - Hillclimbimg what vehicle do you use?

Hi everyone iam new to the forum! Just wondering if any of you guys get involved in this and what is you weopon of choice, Post a pic wether it be Car Or Bike even Trike if you want, where do you race - and your best times? i am trying to get a feel for what seems to be a Competative yet friendly but reasonably economical form of motorsport that everyone can get involved in! Other Questions are licenses what do i need, clubs to join? insurance to racee?

Thanks for reading

G

[andyps]

Take a look here. There are plenty of photos of the kinds of cars used, a page about getting started and a link to the essential bookto buy if you are considering sprinting and hillclimbing.

[Get Karter]

Go and watch a couple of local events first.

See what classes are well supported (you don't want to buy a car and then be in a class all on your own).

As you say, it is a friendly sport....so you'll be able to approach the competitors and ask them anything you need to know.

I have entered a few sprints in my standard road car, and it is still great fun. No need to splash out on a specialist machine to start with.

Good luck.

[CNHSS1]

agree with all above.
visit a few venues local to you and get a feel for the scene. ive seen bog std road cars put a bigger grin on the drivers face than a £100k single seater. what you drive doesnt necessarily dicate the fun or success you have.
have a go in your road car and see if you enjoy it (you will!) and then look to purchase, prep and modify a suitable toy if you wish to become a regular.
take a bit of time to decide which series you wish to compete in. no good building a pug 205 if the series is primarily kit cars or single seaters and vice versa.

irrespective of which class and car you decide upon, the common denominators at a sprint or hillclimb are that everyone enjoys themselves, has a good 'social' and your greatest class rival is also the guy or gal most likely to lend you a spanner or spare to repair your car after an off.

EDIT: just seen your profile, the company demonstrator would be an ideal car to have a go with lol!

[grasum]

CNHSS1 said:

agree with all above.
visit a few venues local to you and get a feel for the scene. ive seen bog std road cars put a bigger grin on the drivers face than a £100k single seater. what you drive doesnt necessarily dicate the fun or success you have.
have a go in your road car and see if you enjoy it (you will!) and then look to purchase, prep and modify a suitable toy if you wish to become a regular.
take a bit of time to decide which series you wish to compete in. no good building a pug 205 if the series is primarily kit cars or single seaters and vice versa.

irrespective of which class and car you decide upon, the common denominators at a sprint or hillclimb are that everyone enjoys themselves, has a good 'social' and your greatest class rival is also the guy or gal most likely to lend you a spanner or spare to repair your car after an off.

EDIT: just seen your profile, the company demonstrator would be an ideal car to have a go with lol!

if i used my MINI my p45 would be lying on my desk when i got back on a monday

G

[CNHSS1]

rumour has it that a certain ex BTCC and national race driver used to compete in autotests in his youth in hire cars.
remember its only wrong if you get caught

[chris_w]

Yep, I'm sure I've seen someone using their company hack before, curiously also looked very committed too!

I use a classic mini which is very effective on tighter courses.

[D_G]

As above really, key thing is to first get involved with a local motor club that runs speed events. You will need a National 'B' licence (around £40), approved helmet and fireproof overalls. If you run in production class then all you need is a valid MOT, timing strut fitted (easily made), loose items removed from inside/outside and pretty much away you go.
It's great fun, relatively cheap and you will meet some great people along the way too!
Have a look at the MSA website, loads of info on there : www.msauk.org

Anyway, here my track toy:



Dave

Edited by D_G on Wednesday 4th June 08:55

[onomatopoeia]

grasum said:

Sprinting - Hillclimbimg what vehicle do you use?

I use a Davrian running Hillman Imp mechanicals. Well there always has to be one .

If you want to run in a class that's liable to be fairly full, so you have plenty of people to compete against then stick to roadgoing. Roadgoing kit car classes in particular attract a lot of entries, at least the capacities that most sevenesque vehicles fall into but the saloon classes usually have a good entry as well.

If you don't mind having a relatively empty class then running in modified lets you use proper slicks and saves the worry of keeping the car road legal, taxed, MOTed and insured. Probably best to get a bit of experience in a roadgoing car first though and running a modified car on your own is a lot of work.

Plenty of competitors on here and even a few licensed Clerks of the Course so no shortage of advice available. If you're in South Wales, we ran at Llandow outside Cardiff on the last Bank Holiday and there will be another meeting there run by a different club on July 19th which is a British Championship round.

[aquilamotorsport]

i always thought bike engiend cars were a good way to go you can pick up a decent radical clubsport or jedi for under 10K these days...pretty good for what they are. even cheeper still is something like a k sports 1600 mallock or something

[HiRich]

I helped out for a couple of years with the Caterhams (at www.blatchat.com), spannering & marshalling. If you are tempted by a Se7en, they are a very friendly bunch indeed. A wide selection of events and interesting venues, large entries (so you've always got someone to beat on the day, and some really fast people to gauge your absolute speed), and very helpful. You're under no obligation to run the entire series, so you can run to your own schedule and budget.

If you wanted a Se7en anyway, it's a very good introduction to speed events. But be warned, it's very addictive.

[Nick_F]

I use this:



but you can't, because it's mine. So there.

If I was starting again I'd get an Elise.

[K4TRV]

grasum said:

Sprinting - Hillclimbimg what vehicle do you use?

Hi everyone iam new to the forum! Just wondering if any of you guys get involved in this and what is you weopon of choice, Post a pic wether it be Car Or Bike even Trike if you want, where do you race - and your best times? i am trying to get a feel for what seems to be a Competative yet friendly but reasonably economical form of motorsport that everyone can get involved in! Other Questions are licenses what do i need, clubs to join? insurance to racee?

Thanks for reading

G

Join your local Motor Club. They'll have local fixtures.Get a Non-race Nat B licnese from MSA, £35-ish. Helmet and Nomex Overall. Insurance, why ? Cost about £70+ a day's sprint/hillclimb.

I use a TVR Chimaera so it gets used for what it all about. May not win prizes, but it all against the clock and yourself.

Go try.

Trev McM

[jimbobs]

I had my first go at sprinting last year in my Elise. I run it completely un-modified (although the temptation to start upgrading is nagging away at me!).

I'm competing again this year with the Nottingham Sports Car Club (www.gosprinting.co.uk). Their website has a pretty good beginners section which you might find useful. This is me at Hethel last year:



Can you pursuade your boss that a bit of sprinting might be a good advertisement for the car?

I'd certainly recommend it to anyone. It's so different from driving on trackdays where it's very easy to settle into a groove & not really challenge yourself. Once you've got a stopwatch running it certainly focusses the mind!

Cheers

Jim

[Shireen]

Get Karter said:

As you say, it is a friendly sport....so you'll be able to approach the competitors and ask them anything you need to know.

We have just got back from a weekend at Loton Park which is near Shrewsbury, and I agree wholeheartedly with everything that has been said so far. The drivers always happy to answer questions (unless they are in their car getting ready for a run lol) My hubby is a licenced rescue crew member and hillclimbing is like a very big family.

The main thing is to have fun

Edited by Shireen on Sunday 8th June 23:52