Whats the cheapest and easiest motorsport to enter?
Discussion
You know, the kind of thing that doesnt cost ££££'s of pounds.
I know there's those times rallies on roads, but i was more thinking of trackday stuff, but with a seasonal competitive element?
Im aware of karting, but i was thinking of something with full size vehicles.
Anybody know, or is cheap motorsport a total myth?
I know there's those times rallies on roads, but i was more thinking of trackday stuff, but with a seasonal competitive element?
Im aware of karting, but i was thinking of something with full size vehicles.
Anybody know, or is cheap motorsport a total myth?
Piepiepie said:
You know, the kind of thing that doesnt cost ££££'s of pounds.
I know there's those times rallies on roads, but i was more thinking of trackday stuff, but with a seasonal competitive element?
Im aware of karting, but i was thinking of something with full size vehicles.
Anybody know, or is cheap motorsport a total myth?
For karting, something like this: http://www.club100.co.uk/I know there's those times rallies on roads, but i was more thinking of trackday stuff, but with a seasonal competitive element?
Im aware of karting, but i was thinking of something with full size vehicles.
Anybody know, or is cheap motorsport a total myth?
For cars, default PH answer, but MX5 championship? Or possibly autocross/sprint/hillclimb.
Green laneing expeditions?
I know of a few clubs that do treasure hunts in cars.
Drive from point to point, take photos of specific quiz items, come back.
Not so much motor sport as just a days driving.
As far as I know, any sort of race on a track needs a huge setup costs for race suits, helmets, fire extinguisher, race licence and so forth.
Hillclimbs I think might be an option for you.
But that might just be another type of sprint.
If you want to compete against people and have the fun of driving a car fast…
….
Um..
Get an xbox for the competition and a track day for the speed.
I know of a few clubs that do treasure hunts in cars.
Drive from point to point, take photos of specific quiz items, come back.
Not so much motor sport as just a days driving.
As far as I know, any sort of race on a track needs a huge setup costs for race suits, helmets, fire extinguisher, race licence and so forth.
Hillclimbs I think might be an option for you.
But that might just be another type of sprint.
If you want to compete against people and have the fun of driving a car fast…
….
Um..
Get an xbox for the competition and a track day for the speed.
I'd agree that sprints are one of the most affordable ways to get into motorsport although you don't get a great deal of track time for your money.
My first sprint car was a £2300 clio 172, similar cars could be had for not much more than £1k now. Ideal for the upto 2.0 category, only mods were some decent tyres, some yellow tape around the -ve battery cable and a home made timing strut that still going strong 3 years later. Almost any road car will fit into one of the categories.
Sprints also have the advantage of only requiring a national B no race license which is circa £26 a year and doesn't require the £400-500ish required to pass the ards test and medical.
Other significant expenses will be racewear helmet, gloves and a suit will all be required and are not cheap
My first sprint car was a £2300 clio 172, similar cars could be had for not much more than £1k now. Ideal for the upto 2.0 category, only mods were some decent tyres, some yellow tape around the -ve battery cable and a home made timing strut that still going strong 3 years later. Almost any road car will fit into one of the categories.
Sprints also have the advantage of only requiring a national B no race license which is circa £26 a year and doesn't require the £400-500ish required to pass the ards test and medical.
Other significant expenses will be racewear helmet, gloves and a suit will all be required and are not cheap
Cheap circuit racing does exist, yes. Championships like the 750 Motor Club's Stock Hatch or MR2 series have great racing, as does my first ever racing championship, the Metro Cup. You should be able to get on the grid for under £10k a year in those, and maybe around £5k if you really watch the pennies and skip a few races. Don't be put off by those cars' humble road cousins, even a race prepared Metro handles beautifully and is a decent bit quicker than the road version ever was (circa Lotus Elise lap times IIRC).
However, don't expect to do very well on a limited budget. In most of these championships there are always people with £20k+ to spend on a year's racing, and if they're half decent they will beat you if you've got a modest budget, no matter how good you are. For example, in the last car I drove the team were chuffed to bits with my times for that particular car, but comparing it to recent qualifying times is a sobering thing to do (for one of their cars, the fastest time it had ever done in ten years of their ownership was equivalent to 8th on the grid. And that's with a very talented team - it's just all about money at every level, whether driving or prep). Even with a pro driver with international experience in that same car we couldn't get the car onto the podium unless something freaky happened like a thunderstorm or a crash at just the right time in qualifying. Oh, and then there's cheating, which is more common than you'd think at club level...
Provided you understand all of that though, there's a lot of fun to be had. Myself and my mates all knew that and it didn't put us of - it was fun
I recently quit racing after ten years and I loved every race, test and corner that I drove - it was great! Also, once you've race competitively you'll find that track days are like hiring a squash court on your own compared with being in a club and playing league matches - whatever your ability it's always miles more rewarding and fun. You'll also improve your driving hugely once you have metrics to work with (namely lap times!).
If you'd like to know more about circuit racing, feel free to e-mail me. I've raced everything from a Metro I prepared in my back garden to a slicks and wings single seater with a professional team, and I know a few coaches as well so I should be able to answer your questions.
Oh, and on a final note, do think about the safety aspects of whatever car you drive. Lots of my friends have been seriously injured in motorsport. It was one of the contributing factors to me quitting.
However, don't expect to do very well on a limited budget. In most of these championships there are always people with £20k+ to spend on a year's racing, and if they're half decent they will beat you if you've got a modest budget, no matter how good you are. For example, in the last car I drove the team were chuffed to bits with my times for that particular car, but comparing it to recent qualifying times is a sobering thing to do (for one of their cars, the fastest time it had ever done in ten years of their ownership was equivalent to 8th on the grid. And that's with a very talented team - it's just all about money at every level, whether driving or prep). Even with a pro driver with international experience in that same car we couldn't get the car onto the podium unless something freaky happened like a thunderstorm or a crash at just the right time in qualifying. Oh, and then there's cheating, which is more common than you'd think at club level...
Provided you understand all of that though, there's a lot of fun to be had. Myself and my mates all knew that and it didn't put us of - it was fun
I recently quit racing after ten years and I loved every race, test and corner that I drove - it was great! Also, once you've race competitively you'll find that track days are like hiring a squash court on your own compared with being in a club and playing league matches - whatever your ability it's always miles more rewarding and fun. You'll also improve your driving hugely once you have metrics to work with (namely lap times!).If you'd like to know more about circuit racing, feel free to e-mail me. I've raced everything from a Metro I prepared in my back garden to a slicks and wings single seater with a professional team, and I know a few coaches as well so I should be able to answer your questions.
Oh, and on a final note, do think about the safety aspects of whatever car you drive. Lots of my friends have been seriously injured in motorsport. It was one of the contributing factors to me quitting.
BAKS42 said:
Caterham Academy 
Caterham racing is fantastic and Classic Graduates are much cheaper than Academy! But I'd never describe it as 'cheap'... I would say it's good value for money though. The cheapest motorsport for cars at least must be Hillclimbs/Sprints/Autotesting/Grasstrack etc as mentioned.
I chap I worked with many years ago raced 3 series BMWs.
I asked him about it, and how do I get into it, and what does it cost.
I can't remember exactly.
But I'm pretty sure he said that it would cost me at least £3k to get prepped – before I'd even bought the car.
The whole racing suit, the helmet, gloves.
The racing licence.
The training to be able to get that licence.
You'll then need a car.
A trailer for the car.
A car to tow the trailer with the car on it.
It was stunningly expensive, and he wasn't really earning a crazy amount of money.
It took almost all his disposable income and most of his holidays.
Basically, he raced at the expense of almost everything else in life – which suited him, because he loved it.
I think most racers have to make the same decision – unless they are lucky enough to have some wealth behind them.
I asked him about it, and how do I get into it, and what does it cost.
I can't remember exactly.
But I'm pretty sure he said that it would cost me at least £3k to get prepped – before I'd even bought the car.
The whole racing suit, the helmet, gloves.
The racing licence.
The training to be able to get that licence.
You'll then need a car.
A trailer for the car.
A car to tow the trailer with the car on it.
It was stunningly expensive, and he wasn't really earning a crazy amount of money.
It took almost all his disposable income and most of his holidays.
Basically, he raced at the expense of almost everything else in life – which suited him, because he loved it.
I think most racers have to make the same decision – unless they are lucky enough to have some wealth behind them.
Snowboy said:
...I'm pretty sure he said that it would cost me at least £3k to get prepped – before I'd even bought the car.
...and you can add to that all the other thousands to make the car competetive. This is why single specification racing is better. I have spent next to nothing on performance mods to my Caterham because we simpy aren't allowed to, and I'm damn sure that my car can win races, dispite the engine which is completely standard and hasn't been opened in twelve years! Not to mention the amount that brakes, suspension, lightweight parts etcv would've cost for the beemer.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff