Anyone on here race?
Discussion
Im looking at changing things up from motocross to the tarmac due to injury. I’m thinking the road bikes will be a lot easier on my body. I just wondered if anyone on here raced and if you give me some insight on where to start?
I’ve been looking at the no limits racing 600 cup. Is this the best club/organization to start with? Are there any other clubs running similar events in the U.K?
What’s the general associated costs with racing for the weekend tyres etc? How many races do you get over the weekend?
Is there any other forms or classes people can reccomend that maybe good for a beginner road rider?
Cheers!
I’ve been looking at the no limits racing 600 cup. Is this the best club/organization to start with? Are there any other clubs running similar events in the U.K?
What’s the general associated costs with racing for the weekend tyres etc? How many races do you get over the weekend?
Is there any other forms or classes people can reccomend that maybe good for a beginner road rider?
Cheers!
I raced back when we had wooden wheels, so my insight is possibly dated.
No idea on which club or championship to start out at. Costs for a big club well supported 600cc will certainly be £850 to £1000 per weekend averaged over a year excluding crashes and mechanicals.
My numbers are based on: Entry Fee / Tyres / Pads / Discs / Fuel / Travel / Insurance / Depreciation. So whilst pads may last say 3 races or ore and discs may last a whole year at some point they will require replacing. You can also sometimes sell the used tyres to offset against the buy in cost of new.
I would look at something simple for year 1 and see what offers ease of entry and ease of exit when you are ready to step up. Go to a big club and someone there will always have a 2020 R6 with YEC kit engine, big van, warmers, crew etc and you may not have this. Start on somewhere that is a level playing field such as CB500 or Ducati 600 classes.
A
No idea on which club or championship to start out at. Costs for a big club well supported 600cc will certainly be £850 to £1000 per weekend averaged over a year excluding crashes and mechanicals.
My numbers are based on: Entry Fee / Tyres / Pads / Discs / Fuel / Travel / Insurance / Depreciation. So whilst pads may last say 3 races or ore and discs may last a whole year at some point they will require replacing. You can also sometimes sell the used tyres to offset against the buy in cost of new.
I would look at something simple for year 1 and see what offers ease of entry and ease of exit when you are ready to step up. Go to a big club and someone there will always have a 2020 R6 with YEC kit engine, big van, warmers, crew etc and you may not have this. Start on somewhere that is a level playing field such as CB500 or Ducati 600 classes.
A
I don’t personally race but a couple of my good friends do.
It’s not cheap, how expensive it is depends on how competitive you are/want to be.
The best way to keep costs down is to race in a class which has tight rules around the work that can be done to the bikes. And your OP mentioning 600 cup made me wince a little. If you want to just go out and have fun then sure that’ll be fine, if you want to work your way up and be leading these races you’ll need deep pockets.
Up here in Scotland there used to be the Stock600 class, which limited the performance work which could be done. They have now changed that to Formula600, which (and I may be wrong here) is basically Supersport600 rules. Due to this the bikes became the newest ones out and ££££ was being spent on mods.
We have Pre-injection 600 racing up here which is a cost effective way. But CB500 is by far the most popular and cheapest (relatively) to get into.
It’s not cheap, how expensive it is depends on how competitive you are/want to be.
The best way to keep costs down is to race in a class which has tight rules around the work that can be done to the bikes. And your OP mentioning 600 cup made me wince a little. If you want to just go out and have fun then sure that’ll be fine, if you want to work your way up and be leading these races you’ll need deep pockets.
Up here in Scotland there used to be the Stock600 class, which limited the performance work which could be done. They have now changed that to Formula600, which (and I may be wrong here) is basically Supersport600 rules. Due to this the bikes became the newest ones out and ££££ was being spent on mods.
We have Pre-injection 600 racing up here which is a cost effective way. But CB500 is by far the most popular and cheapest (relatively) to get into.
Plenty on here race, have a look here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Does it have to be on full size proper bikes?
If keeping the costs down is a priority and you're only wanting to go racing for the fun of racing you could consider mini bike / pit bike racing?
A pal of mine has got more in to this seeing as though he couldn't race at the TT this year.
I was at Teesside with him this week on his Ohvale and he absolutely loves them and says the riding style of them is more in tune with riding his Superstock ZX10.
The psymoto pit bike he has as well is a lot more fun to ride than the Ohvale according to him though, but they are chinese and run out at about £1500 or so for a 160.
If keeping the costs down is a priority and you're only wanting to go racing for the fun of racing you could consider mini bike / pit bike racing?
A pal of mine has got more in to this seeing as though he couldn't race at the TT this year.
I was at Teesside with him this week on his Ohvale and he absolutely loves them and says the riding style of them is more in tune with riding his Superstock ZX10.
The psymoto pit bike he has as well is a lot more fun to ride than the Ohvale according to him though, but they are chinese and run out at about £1500 or so for a 160.
As a fan of 750's I fancy the thundersport 'Golden era Superbike cup' class...
https://www.thundersportgb.com/index.php/classes-2...
https://www.thundersportgb.com/index.php/classes-2...
Thanks for all the replies so far. I fully accept it can’t really be done cheap, but I’m not one for fancy stuff, just a half decent bike and I’m happy. I’ve never been one to start chasing time dropping thousands, and it kind of takes the enjoyment as you’ve invested so much you forget why you really started. Anyway a bit of a tangent, I’ll take a look at the cb500s never new the class existed.
Motocross is more grass roots, the main difference so far is £50 entry compare to £270 however that does include a lot more track time and over 2 days. Tyres are also expected to be a big expense but I didn’t realise they was worth anything 2nd hand?
Motocross is more grass roots, the main difference so far is £50 entry compare to £270 however that does include a lot more track time and over 2 days. Tyres are also expected to be a big expense but I didn’t realise they was worth anything 2nd hand?
airsafari87 said:
Does it have to be on full size proper bikes?
If keeping the costs down is a priority and you're only wanting to go racing for the fun of racing you could consider mini bike / pit bike racing?
A pal of mine has got more in to this seeing as though he couldn't race at the TT this year.
I was at Teesside with him this week on his Ohvale and he absolutely loves them and says the riding style of them is more in tune with riding his Superstock ZX10.
The psymoto pit bike he has as well is a lot more fun to ride than the Ohvale according to him though, but they are chinese and run out at about £1500 or so for a 160.
Hmm I have considered it. I was actually at iron works at the weekend (next to the mini track you speak of) and it did look like the lads were having fun! If keeping the costs down is a priority and you're only wanting to go racing for the fun of racing you could consider mini bike / pit bike racing?
A pal of mine has got more in to this seeing as though he couldn't race at the TT this year.
I was at Teesside with him this week on his Ohvale and he absolutely loves them and says the riding style of them is more in tune with riding his Superstock ZX10.
The psymoto pit bike he has as well is a lot more fun to ride than the Ohvale according to him though, but they are chinese and run out at about £1500 or so for a 160.
It’s a option, but I’ve always had a itch to get a road Bike and do some circuits, the Irish nationals have always been a dream of mine but we will see where the racing takes me. I would love to do Oliver’s mount as I’m only 45 mins away and fees seem very reasonable, if I had a few years under my belt it’s a possibility.
I know a lot of people that started in this:
https://www.ducatisportingclub.com/forumdisplay.ph...
They race 583 and 620 Monsters, there are always bikes being sold / swopped and a good paddock atmosphere.
https://www.ducatisportingclub.com/forumdisplay.ph...
They race 583 and 620 Monsters, there are always bikes being sold / swopped and a good paddock atmosphere.
Been racing a fair time now Solos and sidecars.
Bemsee run a good meeting but limited laps Nl meetings are well run and plenty of track time.
600 or Mini twin is good place to start. Minitwin is cheaper option as power and mods are limited. Budget for 500 -1000 a weekend. depending on what your riding. It can be a proper money pit. We've spent £1500 quid on tyres one weekend.
Bemsee run a good meeting but limited laps Nl meetings are well run and plenty of track time.
600 or Mini twin is good place to start. Minitwin is cheaper option as power and mods are limited. Budget for 500 -1000 a weekend. depending on what your riding. It can be a proper money pit. We've spent £1500 quid on tyres one weekend.
Mate is just starting out on a CB500. Admittedly they’re not the most glamorous of machines but the bike owes him less than £2k, they seem a friendly bunch on the scene, super competitive & as racing goes it’s as cheap as it gets.
He was at Three Sisters last week in the pissing rain on his first outing on the thing, he had a ball & can’t wait for the season to get going.
He was at Three Sisters last week in the pissing rain on his first outing on the thing, he had a ball & can’t wait for the season to get going.
Tango13 said:
There's also the Yamaha past masters club if you don't want to race a four stroke. Not sure how the costs compare to a 600 but I'd be surprised if it wasn't cheaper.
I used to race in the TZR250 Bemsee champhionship, that eventually become YPM after running for many years with pretty full grids. Back then, the rules were quite limited (stock shocks, exhaust pipes, wheels etc), but now it's much more of an open rule book (with a BHP cap), and a lot more expensive.Starting today, I would look at Mini Twins. Great bikes, reliable and suitable for all the family.
There's loads of choice in the UK for racing, so you might want to look at the various clubs and see which suits A) what bike you have, and B) budget
The Main UK clubs are
No Limits racing
Thundersport
North Glos RRC
Bemsee
If you want to start with NL on a 600, you'd be better off to start with the Newcomer600 class as the Cup class is for Clubman license holders mainly, and although you can race in that class (if there's space) with a Novice license, the pace there is pretty decent and as a newcomer (Assuming you've not done a million trackdays and are a rocket already), you might find it scares you off racing for life
The first thing you need to do is get your ACU license, which you can do through any club and then still race with other clubs once you have the license
The ACU list all the license test days on their site:
https://www.acu.org.uk/acu-events/competitor-train...
These are possibly out of date with Covid, but worth checking with the clubs. I know Bemsee have a license day coming up, and there's is a full day as a race school, so there'll be classroom stuff on how everything works as well as just the license written test and track time
You'll have to start on a Novice license (Novice Intermediate if you have a full road license) and wear an orange bib until you get 10 signatures (One signature for each race day completed - so 5 weekends)
You can then move up to a Clubman License and loose your bib. To go from Clubman to National license, you need a further 10 signatures, but you only get them if you finish within something like 107% of the winners time, so not just races finished like you need to move Nov-Club
As for budget, it can cost as little or as much as you want. You can race a CB500 or one of the cheaper bikes on a weekend for something like £400-500 for a weekend, or if you want to start getting into bigger more powerful bikes, there's lots more you need to factor in.
For example, if I go racing for a weekend, this is roughly what it would cost if you were to pay for everything:
£450 race entries inc test day
£200 accommodation for myself and pit crew (my mate does it for free, but still needs feeding and hotel)
£1000 tyres (you can comfortably do 3 sets of slicks over a weekend, and easily more if you want a new rear for each race)
£200 Oil, Brake pads and other general consumables
£400 engine refresh - Refresh approx £4000, and you want it done at least every 10 rounds
£100 fuel
Plus fuel for van there and back and food etc
So something like £2,500 per weekend assuming you don't crash
Hope that helps ?
The Main UK clubs are
No Limits racing
Thundersport
North Glos RRC
Bemsee
If you want to start with NL on a 600, you'd be better off to start with the Newcomer600 class as the Cup class is for Clubman license holders mainly, and although you can race in that class (if there's space) with a Novice license, the pace there is pretty decent and as a newcomer (Assuming you've not done a million trackdays and are a rocket already), you might find it scares you off racing for life
The first thing you need to do is get your ACU license, which you can do through any club and then still race with other clubs once you have the license
The ACU list all the license test days on their site:
https://www.acu.org.uk/acu-events/competitor-train...
These are possibly out of date with Covid, but worth checking with the clubs. I know Bemsee have a license day coming up, and there's is a full day as a race school, so there'll be classroom stuff on how everything works as well as just the license written test and track time
You'll have to start on a Novice license (Novice Intermediate if you have a full road license) and wear an orange bib until you get 10 signatures (One signature for each race day completed - so 5 weekends)
You can then move up to a Clubman License and loose your bib. To go from Clubman to National license, you need a further 10 signatures, but you only get them if you finish within something like 107% of the winners time, so not just races finished like you need to move Nov-Club
As for budget, it can cost as little or as much as you want. You can race a CB500 or one of the cheaper bikes on a weekend for something like £400-500 for a weekend, or if you want to start getting into bigger more powerful bikes, there's lots more you need to factor in.
For example, if I go racing for a weekend, this is roughly what it would cost if you were to pay for everything:
£450 race entries inc test day
£200 accommodation for myself and pit crew (my mate does it for free, but still needs feeding and hotel)
£1000 tyres (you can comfortably do 3 sets of slicks over a weekend, and easily more if you want a new rear for each race)
£200 Oil, Brake pads and other general consumables
£400 engine refresh - Refresh approx £4000, and you want it done at least every 10 rounds
£100 fuel
Plus fuel for van there and back and food etc
So something like £2,500 per weekend assuming you don't crash
Hope that helps ?
graeme4130 said:
There's loads of choice in the UK for racing, so you might want to look at the various clubs and see which suits A) what bike you have, and B) budget
The Main UK clubs are
No Limits racing
Thundersport
North Glos RRC
Bemsee
If you want to start with NL on a 600, you'd be better off to start with the Newcomer600 class as the Cup class is for Clubman license holders mainly, and although you can race in that class (if there's space) with a Novice license, the pace there is pretty decent and as a newcomer (Assuming you've not done a million trackdays and are a rocket already), you might find it scares you off racing for life
The first thing you need to do is get your ACU license, which you can do through any club and then still race with other clubs once you have the license
The ACU list all the license test days on their site:
https://www.acu.org.uk/acu-events/competitor-train...
These are possibly out of date with Covid, but worth checking with the clubs. I know Bemsee have a license day coming up, and there's is a full day as a race school, so there'll be classroom stuff on how everything works as well as just the license written test and track time
You'll have to start on a Novice license (Novice Intermediate if you have a full road license) and wear an orange bib until you get 10 signatures (One signature for each race day completed - so 5 weekends)
You can then move up to a Clubman License and loose your bib. To go from Clubman to National license, you need a further 10 signatures, but you only get them if you finish within something like 107% of the winners time, so not just races finished like you need to move Nov-Club
As for budget, it can cost as little or as much as you want. You can race a CB500 or one of the cheaper bikes on a weekend for something like £400-500 for a weekend, or if you want to start getting into bigger more powerful bikes, there's lots more you need to factor in.
For example, if I go racing for a weekend, this is roughly what it would cost if you were to pay for everything:
£450 race entries inc test day
£200 accommodation for myself and pit crew (my mate does it for free, but still needs feeding and hotel)
£1000 tyres (you can comfortably do 3 sets of slicks over a weekend, and easily more if you want a new rear for each race)
£200 Oil, Brake pads and other general consumables
£400 engine refresh - Refresh approx £4000, and you want it done at least every 10 rounds
£100 fuel
Plus fuel for van there and back and food etc
So something like £2,500 per weekend assuming you don't crash
Hope that helps ?
Yes that does help thanks! The Main UK clubs are
No Limits racing
Thundersport
North Glos RRC
Bemsee
If you want to start with NL on a 600, you'd be better off to start with the Newcomer600 class as the Cup class is for Clubman license holders mainly, and although you can race in that class (if there's space) with a Novice license, the pace there is pretty decent and as a newcomer (Assuming you've not done a million trackdays and are a rocket already), you might find it scares you off racing for life
The first thing you need to do is get your ACU license, which you can do through any club and then still race with other clubs once you have the license
The ACU list all the license test days on their site:
https://www.acu.org.uk/acu-events/competitor-train...
These are possibly out of date with Covid, but worth checking with the clubs. I know Bemsee have a license day coming up, and there's is a full day as a race school, so there'll be classroom stuff on how everything works as well as just the license written test and track time
You'll have to start on a Novice license (Novice Intermediate if you have a full road license) and wear an orange bib until you get 10 signatures (One signature for each race day completed - so 5 weekends)
You can then move up to a Clubman License and loose your bib. To go from Clubman to National license, you need a further 10 signatures, but you only get them if you finish within something like 107% of the winners time, so not just races finished like you need to move Nov-Club
As for budget, it can cost as little or as much as you want. You can race a CB500 or one of the cheaper bikes on a weekend for something like £400-500 for a weekend, or if you want to start getting into bigger more powerful bikes, there's lots more you need to factor in.
For example, if I go racing for a weekend, this is roughly what it would cost if you were to pay for everything:
£450 race entries inc test day
£200 accommodation for myself and pit crew (my mate does it for free, but still needs feeding and hotel)
£1000 tyres (you can comfortably do 3 sets of slicks over a weekend, and easily more if you want a new rear for each race)
£200 Oil, Brake pads and other general consumables
£400 engine refresh - Refresh approx £4000, and you want it done at least every 10 rounds
£100 fuel
Plus fuel for van there and back and food etc
So something like £2,500 per weekend assuming you don't crash
Hope that helps ?
It looks like a cb500 or something similar could work for me. I’m considering getting some super moto wheels for my Mx and doing hill climbs too.
Looks like road racing’s a huge step above in terms on cost. We probably look at 300 for a weekend racing Mx. But it’s like anything you can do that on a budget and go for 100 or go all out and spend 600 plus.
Anyway that’s a great insight, cheers!
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