Renting out a race car

[SirLB89]

Does anyone here have any experience in renting out a race car?
I was wondering, if I would be willing to make the big investment of buying a race car
and have it run by a professional team, if this could generate enough money that I could race it
virtually "for free" some of the time as well.

Like for example renting it out in endurance events perhaps for 6 rounds
and hopefully doing 3-4 shorter format races with the rental income?

Is this realistic or even feasible? Does anyone have any experience?

[Nampahc Niloc]

I doubt the rental income would cover the cost of professional team support, and that’s assuming you could find the customers.

Edited by Nampahc Niloc on Thursday 8th October 13:33

[andrewcliffe]

Yes, we rented out a car.

The rental aspect is supposed to allow a driver the chance to race a car without requiring the capital to purchase the car in the first place, but also part of the cost is to cover the general wear and tear on the car that can't be easily quantified elsewhere and an allowance towards engine rebuild fees. Damage was covered separately, and the driver got their own tyres and fuel was easily accounted for. Running the car was also kept separate.

Unless what you have or proposed to buy is so special that you can ask almost anything for the chance to drive it, rental fees have a market value in whatever grid/championship you are eligible in, drivers are aware of this.

Also it means that the car has to be absolutely on the button as a paying driver will not accept silly faults that puts them out of a session. If they end up in a gravel trap due to their mistake, thats one thing, but if they end up in a gravel trap due to your mistake (you including the team looking after the car), then a driver may not be so happy.

If you have a car that is otherwise gathering dust because you can't race it for whatever reason, its an option, but I don't think it makes sense to invest a lot of money hoping to get some cheap events, you may as well bank the initial capital and just rent a car yourself.

[Dynion Araf Uchaf]

the only way you could make it pay for yourself to get a free race would be to run a fleet of cars in one championship. If you have 4 cars and charged £1250 for three of them, with you in the 4th, that might work. But you're going to need a serious capital out lay to make that happen, not forgetting paying for mechanics and having somewhere to store it all between races.

[BertBert]

Not too mention that renting out your race car is endless hassle. And add to that the number of people who find excuses not to pay!

[Jez-i9scb]

I own four we rent seats in.
We operate as a Ltd company and offer full service arrive and drive. You have to be on your game with maintenance etc if you are going to sell time.

It can be made to work but be sure of your real costs

[andygo]

Another option which I am heavily involved in is to buy a race car on finance. Spreading the cost of purchase over several years works well for lot of people - including for instance the owners of 16 BTCC cars that I have arranged funding for over the last few years, as well as numerous other classes, from F1 to WRC cars.

It's a niche market, with just a few select lenders able to play. Rates are slightly more expensive than buying a Kia for example, but certainly not credit card money!

[Notshortnottall]

Following this with interest.

Whenever I've looked at renting it seems to consist of:

1. Car rental fee
2. Insurance
3. Race entry
4. Tyres
5. Damage waiver
6. Some other stuff I've forgotten

Bluntly, you can easily be spending 3k+ on a weekend and I naively thought that it would be flat fee, upfront.

I currently own 2 historic race cars which can be rented out for a decent sum each (going price seems to be about 2k per weekend) and tbh at the minute it would be helpful to offset my race costs with a paid driver in the other seat. However, I'm really fumbling in the dark about how to practically go about doing this so if anyone can offer some help/guidance or point me in the direction of some resources that help walk through the process (Ltd companies, forms, waiver etc.) then I'd be very grateful. I want to ensure it's all above board.

Happy to offer beer tokens / recompense for anyone willing to take time out..

[Jez-i9scb]

I’d be happy to help you out if you want.

I won’t put my email here for slam reasons but if you search Forty40 Racing you’ll find us. Drop me a message either through the web or Facebook and I’ll steer you right