National B Race License

[mrmr96]

I hope to get one this year, once gotten what can I do with it?!

[10 Pence Short]

Race...

[woof]

most UK series are now National B (not that it's a good thing) Even the GT Britcar series is a B !

[sday12]

Read it, it says 'licence'

[Jetblackonetenth]

woof said:

most UK series are now National B (not that it's a good thing) Even the GT Britcar series is a B !

Britcar GT is National A, Britcar Production Cup is National B

[woof]

Jetblackonetenth said:

woof said:

most UK series are now National B (not that it's a good thing) Even the GT Britcar series is a B !

Britcar GT is National A, Britcar Production Cup is National B

Noted
Still a novice shouldn't be out on track with those types of cars around them.

[mrmr96]

Presumably I'd need to get a car which meets MSA standards in order to take part.
If I don't have a race car, are there still oppertunities to go racing? (I know they will be expensive if I'm using someone else' car)
Or are there classes to get into where a car can be had for not too much money?

[Graham]

yes many series have arrive and drive options from some of the teams, all id budget from 1k and rapidly upwards depending on the car, team and series.

[Jetblackonetenth]

woof said:

Noted
Still a novice shouldn't be out on track with those types of cars around them.

could not agree more, the closing speeds of the GT cars against the production cars is something to worry about

[anonymous-user]

autosport show had a few novice championships but if you are starting from scratch, most cahmpionship organsiers were quoting £5K for car and prep, buying a used car is far cheaper and you know its been scrutineered so shouldnt be a complete shed....caveat empor etc etc then budget another £5k for tow car, trailer, entry fees, safety gear etc etc... have alok at the 750MC web page, there should be something that appeals.

[mrmr96]

pablo said:

autosport show had a few novice championships but if you are starting from scratch, most cahmpionship organsiers were quoting £5K for car and prep, buying a used car is far cheaper and you know its been scrutineered so shouldnt be a complete shed....caveat empor etc etc then budget another £5k for tow car, trailer, entry fees, safety gear etc etc... have alok at the 750MC web page, there should be something that appeals.

Sounds good. Do you have a link for that? Will be an interesting read, but I still reckon an "arrive and drive" will be a better way to get a taster as I can do a couple of races rather than getting a car and all the gear to do a full season.

[covboy]

Without wishing to sound rude, I think if you are asking these sort of questions in a forum like this, you really should be doing a bit more research as to what is involved in racing.

Obviously there are racers on here willing to pass on advice, but you cant beat face to face contact. It sounds very much as though you've thought "this could be interesting, I'll get a licence and give it a go" without having enough background info

[mrmr96]

covboy said:

Without wishing to sound rude, I think if you are asking these sort of questions in a forum like this, you really should be doing a bit more research as to what is involved in racing.

Obviously there are racers on here willing to pass on advice, but you cant beat face to face contact. It sounds very much as though you've thought "this could be interesting, I'll get a licence and give it a go" without having enough background info

I think your analysis is absolutely spot on to be fair.

I wanted to get a race license as a personal challenge, it would be cool to have and also a fun/interesting process to obtain.
However I was chatting to a mate who asked the obvious question: so what are you going to do with it? And I realised that appart from "putting it in my wallet" and feeling good, I'd not really thought any further than that.

I enjoy regular trackadays, but obviously having a race license opens more oppertunities, so wondered what they might be. Just looking for "overview" type information at the moment so I can see if there's anything interesting that I could do and could afford to do. I'm trying to do that research now, hence the thread!

[anonymous-user]

mrmr96 said:

I think your analysis is absolutely spot on to be fair.

I wanted to get a race license as a personal challenge, it would be cool to have and also a fun/interesting process to obtain.
However I was chatting to a mate who asked the obvious question: so what are you going to do with it? And I realised that appart from "putting it in my wallet" and feeling good, I'd not really thought any further than that.

I enjoy regular trackadays, but obviously having a race license opens more oppertunities, so wondered what they might be. Just looking for "overview" type information at the moment so I can see if there's anything interesting that I could do and could afford to do. I'm trying to do that research now, hence the thread!

so whats your budget?

there are arrive and drive deals available all over the place and in pretty much every championship going. you really need to get to a race meeting and ask.

for example http://www.motorsportads.co.uk/drives-co-drivers-r... and http://www.motorsportads.co.uk/drives-co-drivers-r... but they are always cagey about costs in adverts online as they want to get you on the phone and talking first which is understandable.

at a guess i would think you are looking at paying a team something like £750 per race dependant upon time in the seat/car spec etc etc obviously that doesnt include your own personal costs, transport, race gear etc etc

look for saloon drives and not single seaters, you can get away with a bit more in a tin top compared to a formula ford... a sensible starting point would be something like the mighty mini series and see if any of their drivers are offering cars this season, then try the 750MC Golf GTIs, then work up to the MR2 championship or something....

twenty minutes of google and a few phone calls will get you all the info you need to know before the season starts and you can visit some tracks.

[wildman0609]

you could go testing. will be an eye opener. like a track day but without the rules. often cheaper too.

its great being on track in a production sports car and having btcc cars and british gt cars coming past you.

[mrmr96]

wildman0609 said:

you could go testing. will be an eye opener. like a track day but without the rules. often cheaper too.

its great being on track in a production sports car and having btcc cars and british gt cars coming past you.

That was what originally got me thinking about it - having seen race cars on trackdays I happened to call a circuit and ask about the difference between a trackday and a test day, they said you need a race license for a test day, and no passengers.

Would it be allowed or disallowed or frowned on to take my sports car on a testday, with all those full race cars? I know there are differnt test days, for open wheel and tin tops, so I'd go to a tin top day. But I wonder whether I'd be welcome as I guess I may be off the pace a bit? (Not a danger hopefully, because they won't give me a license if I don't pass ARDS! and I've done about 15-20 trackdays in the last 4-5 years so have had a reasonable amount of seat time on trackdays. I'm more concerned about being viewed an an inconvenience.)

[Classic Grad 98]

mrmr96 said:

I think your analysis is absolutely spot on to be fair.

I wanted to get a race license as a personal challenge, it would be cool to have and also a fun/interesting process to obtain.
However I was chatting to a mate who asked the obvious question: so what are you going to do with it? And I realised that appart from "putting it in my wallet" and feeling good, I'd not really thought any further than that.

I enjoy regular trackadays, but obviously having a race license opens more oppertunities, so wondered what they might be. Just looking for "overview" type information at the moment so I can see if there's anything interesting that I could do and could afford to do. I'm trying to do that research now, hence the thread!

You've only got it for two years. Unless you successfully complete six races in that time, you'll lose it and have to spend several hundred more £££ to re-do your ARDS, medical and license application.
You need to get on a grid.

[mrmr96]

Classic Grad 98 said:

You've only got it for two years. Unless you successfully complete six races in that time, you'll lose it and have to spend several hundred more £££ to re-do your ARDS, medical and license application.
You need to get on a grid.

Ok, didn't know that. Gives me a good excuse to go racing then!

[mrmr96]

pablo said:

so whats your budget?

there are arrive and drive deals available all over the place and in pretty much every championship going. you really need to get to a race meeting and ask.

for example http://www.motorsportads.co.uk/drives-co-drivers-r... and http://www.motorsportads.co.uk/drives-co-drivers-r... but they are always cagey about costs in adverts online as they want to get you on the phone and talking first which is understandable.

at a guess i would think you are looking at paying a team something like £750 per race dependant upon time in the seat/car spec etc etc obviously that doesnt include your own personal costs, transport, race gear etc etc

look for saloon drives and not single seaters, you can get away with a bit more in a tin top compared to a formula ford... a sensible starting point would be something like the mighty mini series and see if any of their drivers are offering cars this season, then try the 750MC Golf GTIs, then work up to the MR2 championship or something....

twenty minutes of google and a few phone calls will get you all the info you need to know before the season starts and you can visit some tracks.

Cheers for the info, interesting links too. I'll get my license then give some places a call. Or do you think it's worth calling around now before the season starts? (Despite not having the license yet.)

[eps]

mrmr96 said:

Classic Grad 98 said:

You've only got it for two years. Unless you successfully complete six races in that time, you'll lose it and have to spend several hundred more £££ to re-do your ARDS, medical and license application.
You need to get on a grid.

Ok, didn't know that. Gives me a good excuse to go racing then!

One signature can be obtained by Marshalling... So just 5 races to complete. Then you need to upgrade it to a Nat A.