Yet another which race series thread!

[SmartVenom]

lickatysplit said:

MPlb21 said:

The Coupe Cup has a wide range of driving abilities and there's always great fun to be had wherever you find yourself in the pack.

All the cars are pretty much identical with a strict set of control parts such as AVO suspension, SD cage, EBC Blue Stuff brake pads, and a PiperX air intake. The engines and gearbox (which I consider the expensive stuff) are bog standard with no mods permitted. There are a few permitted extras such as an oil cooler and a coffee table size spoiler which comes in handy in between races for a place to eat/drink from.

Personally speaking, the time between races in/around the paddock is half the fun with all the cars/drivers together bantering about stuff (if your car's in one piece and you're not trying to fix it) and nonsense. It gives me a welcome break from working and living in the Middle East.

We're out to play at Thruxton on June 3rd & 4th as part of the support programme to the (insane) British Truck Racing Association Championship.

There'll be 19 (possibly one or two more) Coupes on the grid which beats our previous record. If anyone (with a race licence) wants to try out a truly fun series of our teams has an Arrive & Drive available for the weekend. Checkout the recent post on www.facebook.com/racecoupecup for details.

I've contacted misty racing, what other teams run an arrive and drive on the grid?

I would recommend contacting Jon Winter the guy behind the series, I'm not sure if he has an arrive and drive car at the moment, but if he doesn't he'll know who has. PM if you can't find his number on the coupe cup site.

[MR2_SC]

I've joined the Graduates series this year with no previous racing experience in anything.

I'm loving the atmosphere around the paddock and friendliness of all involved. It really doesn't matter where I come as it's great fun and I'm learning how to race.

I bought a used racer from 2002 that hasn't had engine or gearbox rebuild for 10 years, bought 1 set of new tyres to complement the used set on the car and got the suspension setup.

I've qualified 7th, 5th, 7th, 8th and 4th. The 4th was only 0.2s from being on the front row. There really is no one cheating and a quick driver should be able to win on a sensible budget.

If you're serious about racing in a championship where money doesn't decide the winner then grads is a great place to start and £10k is a healthy budget (if you avoid crashing).

[NickOrangeCars]

Just going to throw in Ginetta as alternative, 4th largest manufacturer of race cars - they have a whole series of classes that cater (like Caterham) for different levels of experience.

GRDC and GRDC+ cater for those new or with 1-2 years experience to get into a single class series GT car and enjoy being involved in larger events, both which run alongside British GT. Both run Ginetta G40 but with control tyres (in GRDC+ you get choice of two)

Then when ready can move up to GT5 which is still G40 but 160bhp and a sequential box plus race slicks, which is a super competitive (like 4 seconds top/bottom of the field of 30 cars) - but also has Amateur/gentleman entries - plus televised alongside British GT + Touring Cars.

Across all 3 classes regs are very strict - factory sealed engines, gearboxes, fixed number of tyres for a season (for GT5) - so really does promote close + fair racing.

The paddock is super friendly within Ginetta classes (especially GRDC/GRDC+) - and really teaches racecraft as nobody has any advantage.

[lickatysplit]

obviously a driver has to put towards their own racing, but what is the potential sponsorship you can make towards the lower end series?

[Mark Benson]

lickatysplit said:

obviously a driver has to put towards their own racing, but what is the potential sponsorship you can make towards the lower end series?

As an unknown - nothing unless you can convince friends/family and they expect nothing in return.
As an experienced club racer with nearly 20 years under your belt - not much more unless you can convince friends/family and they expect nothing much in return. You can sit in my camper and have your cup of sponsor's tea though, instead of that other blokes gazebo.

You might get discount on parts/tyres/rolling road/workshop time if you agree to put some stickers on your car, but for a tenner or so I can go and see you race, take a packed lunch and hang about under draughty gazebos with pretty much anyone I choose - what are you offering over and above that to tempt me to part with £100s or £1000s?

If you can consistently win and you're in a reasonably high profile series you'll potentially get bigger discounts but let's face it, most of the BTCC grid have to put a fair chunk of their own/family money behind them to be able to race, so why would clubbies attract anything much?

Best to budget on paying for it all yourself and cut your cloth accordingly, anything extra is a bonus.

[lickatysplit]

Mark Benson said:

As an unknown - nothing unless you can convince friends/family and they expect nothing in return.
As an experienced club racer with nearly 20 years under your belt - not much more unless you can convince friends/family and they expect nothing much in return. You can sit in my camper and have your cup of sponsor's tea though, instead of that other blokes gazebo.

You might get discount on parts/tyres/rolling road/workshop time if you agree to put some stickers on your car, but for a tenner or so I can go and see you race, take a packed lunch and hang about under draughty gazebos with pretty much anyone I choose - what are you offering over and above that to tempt me to part with £100s or £1000s?

If you can consistently win and you're in a reasonably high profile series you'll potentially get bigger discounts but let's face it, most of the BTCC grid have to put a fair chunk of their own/family money behind them to be able to race, so why would clubbies attract anything much?

Best to budget on paying for it all yourself and cut your cloth accordingly, anything extra is a bonus.

Ok, cheers Mark

[BertBert]

I'd agree that there is almost no sponsorship possible unless it's someone you know who wants to waste some money. There is a little bit of help from people such as OPIE oils who have a good race support discount.

There are quite a few people who sponsor with their own companies. If they can get their company to pay towards the costs and also avoid the ire on HMRC, they are doing well!

Bert

[Thurbs]

BertBert said:

I'd agree that there is almost no sponsorship possible unless it's someone you know who wants to waste some money. There is a little bit of help from people such as OPIE oils who have a good race support discount.

There are quite a few people who sponsor with their own companies. If they can get their company to pay towards the costs and also avoid the ire on HMRC, they are doing well!

Bert

I'd check that if I were you. HMRC have tightened the rules here so you would need a informal relationship with another racer to reciprocate.

[snowen250]

is it not the case, and please correct me if I am wrong, that if you have your own business. And splash the company name all over your racing car you can then claim back the VAT on all racing related expenses as part of a marketing campaign?

I am sure I have heard this before, and with my girlfriend setting up her own business I am hoping it is true......... she cant turn down my powerpoint presentation on sponsoring me again if it includes pushing her floristry business.....

Simon

[lewisr81]

There are BIK (Benefit In Kind) issues with backing your own racing ventures through your company. If you were to be investigated you need to be in a position to prove that the advertising has done something for the business involved rather than subsidise a hobby.

There are a few court cases available to look at on the web.

[lickatysplit]

andy97 said:

Another option for a good budget racing series is the Puma Cup

http://pumacup.com

Good cars that are very well built, handle extremely well and are very cost effective.

There's a mix of 40 min races and sprint races so you could share a car with a second driver to keep costs even lower. Once you have a National A race licence (6 signatures) you also have the opportunity to race at Spa once a year with the CSCC.

Driving standards in CSCC are generally pretty good and there's a very good paddock atmosphere.

There are a couple of second hand cars available for £5k and running costs should be low.

The organisers will know if anyone does "arrive and drive". EMC Motorsport may have a car available to hire.

Edited by andy97 on Monday 5th June 10:31

so that's the car bought, now for the build :-)

[MegaCat]

I started in the Caterham Academy, moved to Caterham Roadsport B and then moved onto Caterham Graduates. So I have tried 3 different series, all Caterham of course! Each was brilliant, but the one I spent most time with was the Caterham Graduate series - great club, great racing, great people and relatively cheap motor racing.

If I had the time I'd be straight back there now!

[andy97]

lickatysplit said:

andy97 said:

Another option for a good budget racing series is the Puma Cup

http://pumacup.com

Good cars that are very well built, handle extremely well and are very cost effective.

There's a mix of 40 min races and sprint races so you could share a car with a second driver to keep costs even lower. Once you have a National A race licence (6 signatures) you also have the opportunity to race at Spa once a year with the CSCC.

Driving standards in CSCC are generally pretty good and there's a very good paddock atmosphere.

There are a couple of second hand cars available for £5k and running costs should be low.

The organisers will know if anyone does "arrive and drive". EMC Motorsport may have a car available to hire.

Edited by andy97 on Monday 5th June 10:31

so that's the car bought, now for the build :-)

Good luck, and most of all, enjoy.

[andy97]

MegaCat said:

I started in the Caterham Academy, moved to Caterham Roadsport B and then moved onto Caterham Graduates. So I have tried 3 different series, all Caterham of course! Each was brilliant, but the one I spent most time with was the Caterham Graduate series - great club, great racing, great people and relatively cheap motor racing.

If I had the time I'd be straight back there now!

I have just bought a MegaGrad and I have looked at the Graduates series but two day meetings are a nine starter for me, So I will give Mag7s a go.

[MegaCat]

andy97 said:

I have just bought a MegaGrad and I have looked at the Graduates series but two day meetings are a nine starter for me, So I will give Mag7s a go.

To do the series 'properly' you really need to do testing on a Friday as well. Putting aside 8-10 weekends proved to be harder for me than the money 💰 n the end, however for the seasons I did it it was brilliant - racing at Spa 3 weekends was incredible. Any race series is better than trackdays and any trackday is better than road driving ; )

[Thurbs]

lickatysplit said:

so that's the car bought, now for the build :-)

Great, keep the thread updated with the build or start a new one. Love to hear progress.

[Matt W]

MegaCat said:

To do the series 'properly' you really need to do testing on a Friday as well. Putting aside 8-10 weekends proved to be harder for me than the money ?? n the end, however for the seasons I did it it was brilliant - racing at Spa 3 weekends was incredible. Any race series is better than trackdays and any trackday is better than road driving ; )

I race with the Caterham Graduates and do not necessarily agree with the above. I'm the opposite to MegaCat in that cost is far more of an issue for me than time. I can rarely afford to test but still manage to be at the front and win the occasional race. The social side of the club is incredibly important to me and I just love being at a race weekend so often turn up on the Friday to soak up the atmosphere even if I'm not testing. I am not a fan of one day meetings as it is all over before you know it and you don't have the chance to enjoy the social side of racing or to savour the experience. I appreciate that this does not work for all though, especially those with young families.

[MegaCat]

Matt W said:

I race with the Caterham Graduates and do not necessarily agree with the above. I'm the opposite to MegaCat in that cost is far more of an issue for me than time. I can rarely afford to test but still manage to be at the front and win the occasional race. The social side of the club is incredibly important to me and I just love being at a race weekend so often turn up on the Friday to soak up the atmosphere even if I'm not testing. I am not a fan of one day meetings as it is all over before you know it and you don't have the chance to enjoy the social side of racing or to savour the experience. I appreciate that this does not work for all though, especially those with young families.

Hi Matt, you're just more talented than I ever was! For me testing got me in the right place, so quali on Saturday worked better and I would be nearer the front in the races. Just my lack of talent made it necessary for me to test, which meant it cost a bit more and took more time. If I could switch over from road driving quicker I'd might have been able to do without testing - but it was great fun as well - being on a test day race track with the Aston Martin LeMans team was a highlight!