BARGAIN BASEMENT ST - Building a budget race car
Discussion
2023 - NEW CAR - NEW SERIES - NEW CHALLENGE
So we had some decisions to make at the end of the 2022 season.
Here are the options as we saw them:
1.) Keep the same car, and race it again in Class B of Modified Fords (this was by far the easiest option because we already have the car, wouldn't need to invest huge additional money into it, and could just do some power upgrades)
2.) Keep the same car, but follow the current trend of engine-swapping it for a 1.6 EcoBoost (this would up power to 240+bhp but also bump us up into Class B+ in Modified Fords whilst also costing us at least £5K investment into the engine upgrades)
3.) Keep the same car, but race in the single-make BRSCC ST150 Challenge (we have always wanted to race in a single-make series so this was actually a hugely attractive option for us - but the series calendar is northern biased, and we'd also need to downgrade our car by removing some of the high-spec components on it)
4.) Buy a new car and race in a new series (we looked at BRSCC Fiesta Championship in Mk7's, the Civic Cup, and the Type R Trophy, the Mini Challenge Clubsport, and a couple of the brand new series on the block)
After a HUGE amount of thought, lots of conversation with mates, arduous reading of all the various series regulations, detailed pricing up of the cost of each option, meetings with our sponsors, several test drives in other cars, and even a trip up to Autosport International, we made our decision.. and put our beloved Fiesta 'JNR' up for sale.
We are going with option 4. A new race car in a new race series.
It's all change for 2023, as me and Dad continue our motorsport journey by stepping into a single-make series this season.
So we had some decisions to make at the end of the 2022 season.
Here are the options as we saw them:
1.) Keep the same car, and race it again in Class B of Modified Fords (this was by far the easiest option because we already have the car, wouldn't need to invest huge additional money into it, and could just do some power upgrades)
2.) Keep the same car, but follow the current trend of engine-swapping it for a 1.6 EcoBoost (this would up power to 240+bhp but also bump us up into Class B+ in Modified Fords whilst also costing us at least £5K investment into the engine upgrades)
3.) Keep the same car, but race in the single-make BRSCC ST150 Challenge (we have always wanted to race in a single-make series so this was actually a hugely attractive option for us - but the series calendar is northern biased, and we'd also need to downgrade our car by removing some of the high-spec components on it)
4.) Buy a new car and race in a new series (we looked at BRSCC Fiesta Championship in Mk7's, the Civic Cup, and the Type R Trophy, the Mini Challenge Clubsport, and a couple of the brand new series on the block)
After a HUGE amount of thought, lots of conversation with mates, arduous reading of all the various series regulations, detailed pricing up of the cost of each option, meetings with our sponsors, several test drives in other cars, and even a trip up to Autosport International, we made our decision.. and put our beloved Fiesta 'JNR' up for sale.
We are going with option 4. A new race car in a new race series.
It's all change for 2023, as me and Dad continue our motorsport journey by stepping into a single-make series this season.
AUDI TTCR
Yes indeed. We’ve decided to race in the new BRSCC TTCR series.
Its a brand new formula for 2023. We thought very long and hard about it. The series is designed around the principles of low entry costs, and a level playing field - with all cars being (almost!) identical.
All cars will run the same strict mandatory parts kit, same tyres, same engine map, and there is very little wiggle room for weight reduction or other performance enhancements.
The control parts kit can be bought for £8K. Which is much less money than pretty much any of the other series out there (and includes rollcage fitting!) and donor cars can be had for as little as £3K for a roadworthy car. Or there are a couple of good teams offering fully built cars for very reasonable money.
We placed an order for a freshly built car at the Autosport show - alongside a couple of other people. The series appears to have avoided the common problem of being a great idea that receives little uptake.. orders for the cars + build kits have now topped 40, and I personally have seen over a dozen of the completed cars in the metal.
Its going to be a busy first year for the new series and we’re excited to be part of it. It’ll be interesting to see how many cars line up for the first round at Brands Hatch in April.. I dont think it will be a disappointing turnout!
We’ve always been set on racing in a single-make series. So this is going to be right up our street. The calendars on the other series (such as ST150 Challenge) just didnt make sense for us. But TTCR ticked all of the boxes.
Its a shame to move away from racing our trusty Fiestas.. but we will no doubt be back in a Ford within a year or two.
I’m not sure whether I’ll keep this blog updated with our season of racing ahead. It is afterall a build thread for a Ford Fiesta. Perhaps I’ll start a fresh thread for our new season, in case anyone is interested.
In the meantime, anyone who’s not bored by daily updates of pictures of the same cars taken over and over again from a hundred different angles.. you can follow us on instagram
@sparrowhawk.racing
Yes indeed. We’ve decided to race in the new BRSCC TTCR series.
Its a brand new formula for 2023. We thought very long and hard about it. The series is designed around the principles of low entry costs, and a level playing field - with all cars being (almost!) identical.
All cars will run the same strict mandatory parts kit, same tyres, same engine map, and there is very little wiggle room for weight reduction or other performance enhancements.
The control parts kit can be bought for £8K. Which is much less money than pretty much any of the other series out there (and includes rollcage fitting!) and donor cars can be had for as little as £3K for a roadworthy car. Or there are a couple of good teams offering fully built cars for very reasonable money.
We placed an order for a freshly built car at the Autosport show - alongside a couple of other people. The series appears to have avoided the common problem of being a great idea that receives little uptake.. orders for the cars + build kits have now topped 40, and I personally have seen over a dozen of the completed cars in the metal.
Its going to be a busy first year for the new series and we’re excited to be part of it. It’ll be interesting to see how many cars line up for the first round at Brands Hatch in April.. I dont think it will be a disappointing turnout!
We’ve always been set on racing in a single-make series. So this is going to be right up our street. The calendars on the other series (such as ST150 Challenge) just didnt make sense for us. But TTCR ticked all of the boxes.
Its a shame to move away from racing our trusty Fiestas.. but we will no doubt be back in a Ford within a year or two.
I’m not sure whether I’ll keep this blog updated with our season of racing ahead. It is afterall a build thread for a Ford Fiesta. Perhaps I’ll start a fresh thread for our new season, in case anyone is interested.
In the meantime, anyone who’s not bored by daily updates of pictures of the same cars taken over and over again from a hundred different angles.. you can follow us on instagram
@sparrowhawk.racing
Edited by SparrowHawk on Tuesday 28th February 18:51
NEW FIESTA!
And as this is a Fiesta ST thread, the other update from us is...
We've bought a new Fiesta ST to race alongside our AUDI TTCR in the 2023 season.
Having had so much fun racing with Modified Fords over the past year or two, we couldn't give it up. So we have bought this pretty little red ST from our friend Nick.
The red car will primarily be Dad's race car. But I'll also be doing some races in it too - starting this coming weekend at the BRSCC season-opener at Silverstone.
So that's our stable of race cars for 2023. The white Audi TTCR and the red Fiesta ST.
The main focus will be competing in the full TTCR season; with our eye on competing for race wins. But our other key goal for the season is to get at least one race with both myself and Dad both racing in the same race...
And as this is a Fiesta ST thread, the other update from us is...
We've bought a new Fiesta ST to race alongside our AUDI TTCR in the 2023 season.
Having had so much fun racing with Modified Fords over the past year or two, we couldn't give it up. So we have bought this pretty little red ST from our friend Nick.
The red car will primarily be Dad's race car. But I'll also be doing some races in it too - starting this coming weekend at the BRSCC season-opener at Silverstone.
So that's our stable of race cars for 2023. The white Audi TTCR and the red Fiesta ST.
The main focus will be competing in the full TTCR season; with our eye on competing for race wins. But our other key goal for the season is to get at least one race with both myself and Dad both racing in the same race...
SILVERSTONE - MODIFIED FORDS - ROUND 1
What better way to prepare for our season in the new AUDI TTCR series, than by entering a race at Silverstone in a slightly different 2.0 FWD tin top...?
We bought this red ST150 from our friend Nick, who raced in last season alongside us in BRSCC Modified Fords. The car is primarily meant for Dad, but I thought why not grab a race weekend at the start of the season to get my eye-in.
The new car was good. Lots of traction, really appreciating the Gripper diff, which is a definite upgrade over the Quaife ATB diffs we've always had in our other Fiestas.
Weather conditions were extremely changeable. Over the course of Saturday we had damp/greasy conditions in Qualifying, dry track in Race 1, and then full rain in Race 2. Tyres choice was pretty key. The best tyre strategy (in hindsight) would have been; semi-slicks in Quali; slicks in Race 1; then race wets in Race 2.
However, we went for the slightly unimaginitive and also rather lazy tyre strategy of; semi-slicks in Quali; semi-slicks in Race 1; semi-slicks in Race 2.
This hardly made us the fastest car out there - and we certainly didn't bother the lads in the Class B podium positions all day. But our strategy did keep us on the track and out of the gravel all day.
Looking back to how we raced in Modified Fords last season, I would certainly have disappeared from the assembly area before Race 2 as the heavens opened and a full downpour of rain ensued.. I'd have been straight back to the paddock for my race wets (like everyone else!).
But things are different in 2023. Our focus is on the TTCR series, in the new Audi. And we were here at Silverstone to get seat-time and have fun. So we sat patiently in the assembly area, on our semi-slick tyres, and waited for everyone else to come back.
In the TTCR we have to run a control tyre in all conditions, which is a semi-slick. Getting a full day of racing under my belt in very changeable conditions, on the semi-slicks, was perfect experience for me - and a great way to prepare for our season ahead.
We had good fun all day, and had some close racing with our old rivals from last season, #12 Tim and #124 Jason. Although they both had the better of us on the day.
BRSCC Modified Ford Series continues to be one of the best race paddocks, and certainly one of the best looking and most exciting grid of of cars, anywhere in the UK. If you've not seen them, make sure to catch them at Ford Power Live at Brands Hatch this year, or another of their !!9!! race weekends across 2023.
What better way to prepare for our season in the new AUDI TTCR series, than by entering a race at Silverstone in a slightly different 2.0 FWD tin top...?
We bought this red ST150 from our friend Nick, who raced in last season alongside us in BRSCC Modified Fords. The car is primarily meant for Dad, but I thought why not grab a race weekend at the start of the season to get my eye-in.
The new car was good. Lots of traction, really appreciating the Gripper diff, which is a definite upgrade over the Quaife ATB diffs we've always had in our other Fiestas.
Weather conditions were extremely changeable. Over the course of Saturday we had damp/greasy conditions in Qualifying, dry track in Race 1, and then full rain in Race 2. Tyres choice was pretty key. The best tyre strategy (in hindsight) would have been; semi-slicks in Quali; slicks in Race 1; then race wets in Race 2.
However, we went for the slightly unimaginitive and also rather lazy tyre strategy of; semi-slicks in Quali; semi-slicks in Race 1; semi-slicks in Race 2.
This hardly made us the fastest car out there - and we certainly didn't bother the lads in the Class B podium positions all day. But our strategy did keep us on the track and out of the gravel all day.
Looking back to how we raced in Modified Fords last season, I would certainly have disappeared from the assembly area before Race 2 as the heavens opened and a full downpour of rain ensued.. I'd have been straight back to the paddock for my race wets (like everyone else!).
But things are different in 2023. Our focus is on the TTCR series, in the new Audi. And we were here at Silverstone to get seat-time and have fun. So we sat patiently in the assembly area, on our semi-slick tyres, and waited for everyone else to come back.
In the TTCR we have to run a control tyre in all conditions, which is a semi-slick. Getting a full day of racing under my belt in very changeable conditions, on the semi-slicks, was perfect experience for me - and a great way to prepare for our season ahead.
We had good fun all day, and had some close racing with our old rivals from last season, #12 Tim and #124 Jason. Although they both had the better of us on the day.
BRSCC Modified Ford Series continues to be one of the best race paddocks, and certainly one of the best looking and most exciting grid of of cars, anywhere in the UK. If you've not seen them, make sure to catch them at Ford Power Live at Brands Hatch this year, or another of their !!9!! race weekends across 2023.
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