Motorracing, where do you start?

[kypez]

Hey All,

Just curious, if you want to get into motor racing, where do you start? Is 25 too old?! How do you find out if you have what it takes?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,

kypez.

[Rev28K]

Start off in carts and work your way up if you are fair dinkum. Teaches you a lot about set up, conserving momentum, race craft, etc.

Motorkhanas are a good way of developing your basic skills so that you feel more in control when you start circuits, etc.

Mark Larkum dived in at the deep end (Formula Ford) but he was lucky.

Maybe your road car if you aren’t scared of hurting it and have enough mechanical aptitude to repair any damage. Some tracks/clubs run fun days where you can dip your toes in the water and see if you like it (Sandown or Winton)

Best bet for something to compete in is to get something that another mug has already thrown money at (and hopefully hasn’t buggered or bodged up). Go for reliability (and spares support) over outright speed. Look here and start dreaming: http://www.my105.com/

Reliabilty runs are a great way of nutting out the most intimate details of most circuits (Winton have some, Phillip Island have some and I’m sure that other circuits are the same). The reliability runs do take a toll on the car though.

I know of a few guys that have got some old Formula Fords (can tow them with a WRX) and are quite happy to trundle around in them on track days. Getting better and better (and close to the times the cars were doing when new). I also know of 40+ year old guys who took up carting and had a ball, they weren’t the quickest but they had fun!

Or you could compete in your road car in sprints, supersprints, etc until you bite the bullet and get a dedicated track car. Thousands do (including me) on a regular basis, great fun (some of the best times of my life actually). I can still remember turning up to my first sprint and thinking that I’d blow all of the 40+ year old greybeards away with my speed. Not a chance! Started making up ground at the end then found out that was the cool down lap,l

Contact CAMS, talk to them or visit their website and they can suggest some clubs for you (you will probably wind up having to join a club).

Competing in motorsport is like sex. You do it because of the enjoyment it gives you, not because you think you are the best…..doesn’t really matter who comes first.

[Auslandau]

Agree with everything Rev has said. Joining a club that does track days is the easiest way to start and see how you go. Need a club that can supply you with a Cams ticket .... As far as setting up, I know a couple of blokes who bought a $250 XD 4.1 auto between a them and have been dragging it around having a ball with it. They are upgrading to a manual ..... then to a V8 as funds permit! All I am saying is you can do it on a shoestring, for track days at least, toe in water, that sort of thing Will be doing this myself hopefully soon.

Have a look here as there is a track day at Winton soon. These are pop up from time to time, alng with hill climbs as some smaller clubs combine with others to get numbers up.
http://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11225016



| [/url] |

[ZA-289]

Karting is a good place to start, hope your cashed up as any motorsport costs an absolute fortune, espcially if you want to win, if you just want to have fun try track days in whatever car you can find.

[SSbaby]

Go the karts... that way you don't need to spend big on a high-powered road car! Then you start thinking of ways to get more time out of your car...

[GTP owner]

It depends on what sort of racing you want to do. Drag, rally, circuit, off road, speedway, etc. Once you know what interests you , then start to ask questions. Join the club, get involved. I found speedway to be too dirty and you needed access to a wreckers for all of the stuff you will bend. Circuit racing can be very expensive, and requires a fair degree of mechanical knowledge - brakes, gearbox, engine etc. Drag racing to me was the easiest to start with - i started with my street car and worked my way up. it was an easy way to acquire knowledge, meet friendly people, and have some cheap fun. It's not cheap now that i am aiming for sevens though!

[XRtowcar]

I reckon track day is more fun and you get to race on real circuits.
Try joining one of the FPV clubs around Australia.
Vic club has track days at Phillip Island, Sandown and Winton.
Just need an extinguisher that is within three years of age, and helmet that is ten years or newer, and in good knick.
You can go as fast as you like on the track, or do a driver training day first to see if ou like it. Performance driver training may be a start.

[FPVTurboTaxi]

There is no tried and tested way of doing it but .. thsi is how i did it

started with skid pan days , grabbing the driver instructor and pumping him of every bit of info i could .. i got a huge head when he told me i had natural ability behind the wheel ... well that just stuffed everything cause i spun out everywhere after that .. rule 1 .. remember ure not dick johnson

Then i went on to do driver training at mt cotton and the lakeside driver training in the late 90's

Finally bit the bullet and found a young bloke that had spent a fortune on a road car with heaps of go fast bits and needed to sell it urgently for nicks

Then set about building a race car
RULE 2 .... Don't attempt this if you arnt prepared to do it all yourself


Finally join a cams afiliated club and go to some practice track days
Once u got soem evperience under your belt have a go at the sprint racing in your area and remember rule 1 .... your not dick johnson

here is my car at lakeside last weekend


from start to finish it took a year to build and another year to learn how ot drive it

Most of all have fun !!!

Be prepared to lose money. Getting your car CAMS worthy is expensive. Participating in races is even more expensive and then you have to buy proper CAMS gear.

Also, a race track is not like the road with accidents. Unless the damage is malicious, every driver pays for their own damage, regardless of who caused it. Insurance for the track is so restrictive it's not worth it.

A lot of people bin their bikes at track days and then realise that their full comprehensive policy isn't worth the paper it's written on.

My suggestion would be first be prepared to spend/lose a crap load of cash. If it's still worth it to you, some of the above suggestions are pretty good.

But I would say join a car club that does racing or contact CAMS.

[Walt Kowalski]

What area do you live?

[Rev28K]

Originally Posted by Shounak

Be prepared to lose money. Getting your car CAMS worthy is expensive.

An L2S license for sprints and speed events is peanuts. An L3S is more expensive but still justifiable.

Originally Posted by Shounak

Participating in races is even more expensive and then you have to buy proper CAMS gear.

Don’t you mean CAMS approved gear? Helmets have to pass their requirements, the car has to be scrutineered and the extinguisher has to comply with Supp Regs. Other than that not a drama. I’ve had the same extinguisher for years and the only time I’ve had to replace a helmet was when someone borrowed mine and had an accident while they were wearing it. No drama whatsoever. Buy good gear and it lasts a long time, if things do go pear-shaped I’d rather be protected by an expensive helmet than a cheap one. Helmets can last for years if you look after them.

Originally Posted by Shounak

Also, a race track is not like the road with accidents. Unless the damage is malicious, every driver pays for their own damage, regardless of who caused it. Insurance for the track is so restrictive it's not worth it. A lot of people bin their bikes at track days and then realise that their full comprehensive policy isn't worth the paper it's written on.

True – accept the risk and get on with it. I’ve only ever had 1 accident over decades of competing. On the plus side you are surrounded by people that like their cars, the cars have passed scrutineering and they have/are making huge efforts to improve their abilities beyond the average road user. The track is clear and you have flaggies warning you of lapped/lapping cars, oil spills, if the track is blocked because of a spin, etc. Sometimes it is safer on a track than driving on the roads.

Originally Posted by Shounak

My suggestion would be first be prepared to spend/lose a crap load of cash. If it's still worth it to you, some of the above suggestions are pretty good.

Crap load of cash? I’ve done over 40 events in my road car. All I’ve paid for is a set of spare wheels (for mounting R-spec track tyres), and eventually harder brake pads, better brake fluid and brake lines.

Expense all depends where you are coming from but I’ve had a lot of cheap fun with my car. It CAN be expensive (if you let it be), some guys think the way to go quicker is to load their car with more and more exotic gear while neglecting to improve their driving abilities. I’ve known guys that have competed in $500 ex-paddock bombs and enjoyed themselves immensely. Money spent doesn’t equate to the fun you can have.

Getting your car CAMS worthy is not cheap. The roll bar and everything can cost a fair bit.

The racing overalls, helmet, gloves, etc is also very expensive. My friends dad is into this stuff and I've seen a price list which I thought was huge.

I was at a race day where a car stalled at the start. It caused a 3 car pile up and the 2 other cars were left footing big accident bills through no fault of their own. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, you just have to be prepared to say goodbye to the car or pay for expensive repairs.

Hell that why people get insurance on the roads. So they won't have to pay for all these damages themselves.

Most people spend a bit more than that. Next race day you go to, go inquire how much people have spent on their cars. I think you'll find the people with low figures are in the trade and can do 99% of the work themselves.

To get on the race track properly costs heaps of money. Even just competing can cost a few thousand dollars. I know this from experience. I don't think you could take a $400 XF paddock bomb and use that as your race car. Things really aren't that simple.

Racing costs a lot of money. I've seen this first hand. It all depends on your willingness to pay.

[nugget378]

Originally Posted by Shounak

Getting your car CAMS worthy is not cheap. The roll bar and everything can cost a fair bit.

The racing overalls, helmet, gloves, etc is also very expensive. My friends dad is into this stuff and I've seen a price list which I thought was huge.

I was at a race day where a car stalled at the start. It caused a 3 car pile up and the 2 other cars were left footing big accident bills through no fault of their own. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, you just have to be prepared to say goodbye to the car or pay for expensive repairs.

Hell that why people get insurance on the roads. So they won't have to pay for all these damages themselves.

Most people spend a bit more than that. Next race day you go to, go inquire how much people have spent on their cars. I think you'll find the people with low figures are in the trade and can do 99% of the work themselves.

To get on the race track properly costs heaps of money. Even just competing can cost a few thousand dollars. I know this from experience. I don't think you could take a $400 XF paddock bomb and use that as your race car. Things really aren't that simple.

Racing costs a lot of money. I've seen this first hand. It all depends on your willingness to pay.

An Ls2 license does'nt cost a whole lot at all,and is your ticket into sprints and test and tune/track days ALOT cheaper than those run by the private/corporate mobs..$80 per day for as many laps as you'd care to run..
You DONT need a roll cage or any fancy gear for this,there are dozens of normal everyday road cars out at any of these events,and Ive yet to even have my car scrutineered at EC open track days,all you need is some good rubber and brake pads and a helmet/appropriate clothing (long sleeves/pants)
Remember the OP is asking how to get into racing as a first step,not making the starting grid at bathurst :

[Rev28K]

Cost depends how far you want to take it – the paddock bombs and road cars are okay for fun days, track days, sprints, supersprints, motorkhanas and speed events (L2S license). They give you a good taste for things although as speeds get up a bit you start thinking that your safety is getting a bit compromised. I’m not rich by any stretch of the imagination but I’ve been doing this for decades.

A serious competition car built for wheel to wheel racing (C3 license) does cost more, especially if you have to pay someone else to do it, but again there are options.

Friends of mine have bought old racers for $5k, spent $5k on getting it reliable and have had a good reliable, competitive racer (Escorts & Datsun 1600’s) for $10k.
Have a look at http://www.my105.com/default3.asp?id=527 There should be some cheapies in there.

Another option is getting a Jap import that can be brought in to the country as a competition car but cannot be registered as a road car (you will need to get someone with a C3 competition license to do this) -
$10k and you’d have the basis of a rocketship – STi’s, EVO’s, Celica GT4’s, 200SX’s, etc – here is a Toyota MR2 Turbo for $8k http://www.prestigemotorsport.com.au...p?StockID=4586
Add all the safety gear and it is still a cheap option.

As someone who is paying someone else to build me a very mild competition car I know that costs and timelines can get out of control. I’ve probably gone above and beyond the minimum that I need in the harness, suspension, gearbox, roll cage, brakes, panels and getting bits from Japan, etc but the result will be safe, reliable and hopefully quick enough, even with a knucklehead like me driving it. I thought that I went in to my project with my eyes open (they got very wide at some of the costs) and at the end of the day I’ll be satisfied with what I have (lots of room for more power) and I’ll have something that I’ve wanted for ages.

The flipside is that I’ve enjoyed sprinting and competing in all of my cars, I’ve met some great people, had the time of my life and when I wind up sucking my gums in a nursing home I reckon a lot the fond memories of my youth will involve Phillip Island, Sandown, Winton, Morwell, Calder, etc.

[kypez]

thanks for all the input guys... I'm going to do some number crunching over the weekend and am going to assess the situation. Worst case, I'm going to use my XR8.

Thank you again.

[XR06T]

i would take your xr8 to a trackday 1st up mate. you can get cams day licenses and just go with a club (tickford club near you perhaps).

i took my road car to a trackday, and it was great fun! its not a race, more of a timed lap thing, so just go as hard as you feel is safe. i changed pads and pumped my tyres to 42psi, was tonnes of fun!