New Liecence Reg for 2017
Discussion
Order66 said:
Had notions of looking at the Scottish Sports and Saloons - not now.
Order66 said:
Yes, this is my thoughts - it would be cheaper to go on some intensive training course to convince someone you are comfortable driving the car involved.
As it stands the cheapest it looks like I can get into racing in the car I want is about £10k
Really? so you were planning to go motor racing, but now you are never going to because you would have to do complete 6 races with a measly 340bhp/ton in order to qualify for a license? As it stands the cheapest it looks like I can get into racing in the car I want is about £10k
You are very easily dissuaded. Are you, on your deathbed, going to lament that season you went racing in a car with less than 340bhp/ton?
Bit silly to go and have to buy/rent/borrow a car you dont own, pay to race in it, which will bare no resemblance to the car you already do own and want to race so will prove or learn nothing anyway...but the rules dont allow purely because of a silly bit of paper.
And then do that 6 times ?
Nope, it doesnt make sense.
And then do that 6 times ?
Nope, it doesnt make sense.
HustleRussell said:
Really? so you were planning to go motor racing, but now you are never going to because you would have to do complete 6 races with a measly 340bhp/ton in order to qualify for a license?
You are very easily dissuaded. Are you, on your deathbed, going to lament that season you went racing in a car with less than 340bhp/ton?
You're missing the point. I have the car already that I want to go racing in. The new rule ups the cost to get me to the first race that I actually want to be in by about 10 grand. If I could compete in those races for a reasonable amount I would quite happily do it. The bhp/ton has nothing to do with it - its all about cost.You are very easily dissuaded. Are you, on your deathbed, going to lament that season you went racing in a car with less than 340bhp/ton?
If you call that kind of spend for entry "easily dissuaded" then you have a different view of money than I do.
Edited by Order66 on Saturday 27th May 09:11
Order66 said:
Gsr88 said:
You could arrive and drive 3 double header meetings for less than £10k
Where?Racing is the dream for me, I have skint myself doing it, I have in the past slept in the back of my 5-series estate in the Arden forest as it was the only way I could afford to race at Spa... I can not imagine living a life where I let such a minor inconvenience keep me from ever racing.
Tend to agree with this;
Gsr88 said:
Guess it all depends if you want to be a race driver because you love racing or you're happy talking about being a race driver!
You could arrive and drive 3 double header meetings for less than £10k
Sounds like you've found the excuse you were looking for not to go racing
You could arrive and drive 3 double header meetings for less than £10k
Sounds like you've found the excuse you were looking for not to go racing
HustleRussell said:
So long as you're not including the cost of buying your safety gear etc as that is an inevitable start up cost
Nope, those costs are already sunk.HustleRussell said:
there are a multitude of championships where you could arrive and drive 6 races within that budget- pretty much anything in the 750 motor club, MX5s, formula Ford 1600, Caterham graduates etc etc
My question was "Where?" - I don't see it unreasonable to (given my geography) limit this to something I can drive to on the Friday night and drive back from on Sunday night which really means no more than 300 miles away. That limits me to the Nothern English (or lets face it, ideally Knockhill based) series.Most of the series you mention are based predominantly at the southern circuts (Silverstone, brands, with the occasional round at Oulton/Anglesey or Croft. None of them offer a series of 3 races this year at circuits I could reasonably get to (it might make me "uncommitted" but I've got a job and family). To be honest, I would also limit it to these circuits as I've driven them and am familiar. I don't see much point in me turning up at my first race in a car I've never driven at a circuit I've never driven - I don't see that as safe, and certainly not safer than me turning up in my familiar car at a familiar circuit, regardless of the bhp. You might find this a poor excuse to not venture further South, perhaps I'm not as adventurous as you.
Then lets get to the costs. I've been offered a couple of "arrive and drive" options. For the 3 meets and a single test day I would be looking north of £5K for the car (minimum). Excluding damage and thats just for the 3 meets. Say I am unlucky and need a 4th weekend as I have a single DNF?. Add in the club/race fees fuel and accommodation we're probably adding a couple of grand. So it could probably be done for around £7K minimum and with a DNF and or some damage I could be edging towards my guess punt of £10k quite easily. This wasn't my "budget" as you seem to have latched on to - it was an estimate of cost, when thinking about going racing I didn't have a "budget" of £10K just to get my license, I was originally thinking £1K would get me to the grid.
If I was going to do it then realistically I would be better off buying a ready to go car for the BMW compact cup or Fiestas for around £6K and hope to keep it in one piece and perhaps sell on again (although the market is not strong for either, I could be stuck with it).
I don't see how I could get into caterham grads for anywhere near this price - and otherwise there are a lot fewer arrive and drive options out there than would be suggested - just listing series doesn't help where there is no-one looking to rent a car just for 3 weekends - if I were talking about a full series and wanted to travel all over the country then perhaps, but again you have to remember the whole point of this is to get me into the race/car I want to.
The 750MC's website for arrive and drive options shows "No results found".
I may change my mind and decide to do a full series in something else, but the whole point of this conversation is that the new regs put up a fairly high entry barrier to some race series for new drivers. I don't feel that throwing in comments that I don't really want to race are facing up to the reality of what this rule means.
If someone can come up with a low-cost arrive and drive then I'm all ears and happy to be proved wrong, but don't think the accusations about my commitment/character help the debate.
I live at the other end of the country, Thruxton and Castle Combe are fairly local to me everything else overnighters. I will be honest here, I hated the travelling when I was racing off and on, 6+ hr drives through the night after a long day at the track, arriving home in the small hours, almost falling asleep at the wheel on that long slog from somewhere like Snetterton. However what is said above is 100% the truth, if one is not really willing to put up with all that and the 12 hour days on your feet then really club motorsport is not for you.
Whilst not racing head to head with other vehicles, what about some sprint or hillclimb type events ?
Javelin offer some without all the MSA BS to adhere to
http://www.javelinsprintdays.co.uk/sprint/
Or whilst not racing as such....trackdays ?
http://www.javelintrackdays.co.uk/trackdays/
Or as you mention Knockhill.
http://www.superlapscotland.co.uk/about-us
Obviously there are also various MSA based events too
Javelin offer some without all the MSA BS to adhere to
http://www.javelinsprintdays.co.uk/sprint/
Or whilst not racing as such....trackdays ?
http://www.javelintrackdays.co.uk/trackdays/
Or as you mention Knockhill.
http://www.superlapscotland.co.uk/about-us
Obviously there are also various MSA based events too
I'm up at the knockhill neck of the woods as well so can understand the frustration of track locations. I realise it’s not to plan but surely if you bought a vehicle of lower power for your first 6 races then it would sell for a similar price once you were done hence drastically reducing the spend to get a Nat A license. It’d just be the cost of the 6 races plus any maintenance/repairs, an added advantage would be your pride and joy would be avoiding the period when you were arguably most likely to have an incident?
Cheers,
Dunc.
Cheers,
Dunc.
Gassing Station | UK Club Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff