Affordable Motorsports for young people
Discussion
Hi there guys,
So basically I'm 17and since passing my driving test 5 months ago and starting to drive I have fell completely in-love with everything petrol related, before I never really took notice to anything like this and didn't particularly like cars and the other associated things. Obviously due to insurance (and the law) my daily car cant be modified yet although I would like to so it leads me to think that to express my love for motorsports I need to look into doing something which is affordable for young people. Does anyone have any ideas to what I could participate in which fills my criteria? I like working on cars so if its something that involves that I'm more than willing to give it ago!
I understand motorsports of all kinds comes with costs but surely their is some paths which cost less.
Hopefully someone can help me,
Thanks for reading
So basically I'm 17and since passing my driving test 5 months ago and starting to drive I have fell completely in-love with everything petrol related, before I never really took notice to anything like this and didn't particularly like cars and the other associated things. Obviously due to insurance (and the law) my daily car cant be modified yet although I would like to so it leads me to think that to express my love for motorsports I need to look into doing something which is affordable for young people. Does anyone have any ideas to what I could participate in which fills my criteria? I like working on cars so if its something that involves that I'm more than willing to give it ago!
I understand motorsports of all kinds comes with costs but surely their is some paths which cost less.
Hopefully someone can help me,
Thanks for reading
So many avenues to look at, Autotests are a good cheap way to get involved. Join a local club and see what they have to offer. Visit a few events and speak to people at them, many a competitor can do with some help on an event. Rally navigation is another option. (although they often want the navigator to pay the entry fee)
Another way to get involved is to do some marshalling, gets you close to the action and can be great fun.
Have a look at this: http://www.gomotorsport.net/
Another way to get involved is to do some marshalling, gets you close to the action and can be great fun.
Have a look at this: http://www.gomotorsport.net/
colin79666 said:
Got a karting centre near you?
Great start, you can make a ton of errors and still keep it on the track and great to learn racing lines, how to maintain engine speed on slow corners etc etc etc.I hope the OP enthusiasm is kept in check on the public highway and this is his avenue to learn in a safe environment. Looking back to when I was 17, I though I was an awesome driver. Looking back, I wasn't, just dangerous and tried way to hard to drive way too fast. Amateur racing is awesome fun and a great place to let your enthusiasm grow.
Don't just look at the narrow field of MSA sports, there are a ton of other sorts of racing that might initially offer a lot of bang for your buck until you can afford to do something more regimented on tracks or something. A lot of young kids do oval racing or other things to get used to packed fields and close racing before moving on.
My 2 thoughts 1) try karting. You don’t have to own kit to compete. Go to a local karting centre, have fun and then try out club100 or something. If you find you enjoy it then buy a kart, small trailer and you can compete properly. You just need to find out what classes run at your local track. Where are you based?
2) try drag racing. You can use your daily driver and either do RWYB days at Santa Pod or get your MSA licence and race in a class called Sportsman et. It’s handicapped racing so the slower car starts first...so you have an equal (ish) chance of winning.
2) try drag racing. You can use your daily driver and either do RWYB days at Santa Pod or get your MSA licence and race in a class called Sportsman et. It’s handicapped racing so the slower car starts first...so you have an equal (ish) chance of winning.
Run What Ya Brung at Santa Pod will cost you £35 for the day. More info here:
http://www.rwyb.co.uk
Worth a try. If you like it, great. If not, you haven't broken the bank.
http://www.rwyb.co.uk
Worth a try. If you like it, great. If not, you haven't broken the bank.
Some ideas of how to get into cheap motorsport at your age;
Firstly look at motor clubs in your area, the events they do will varie, so you need to try and pick one which covers the sort of thing you might like. As mentioned the GoMotorsport site is a good start point, it is designed for exactly your situation.
Cheap and easy to enter events are;
Car Trials, less than £10.00 to enter, can be done in a standard car, usualy no competition licence. Involves driving around a slippy sloping field and trying not to get stuck. A lot harder than it looks or sounds, teaches clutch and throttle control.
Autotests, again cheap, can be done in a standard car, no licence. Involves driving around a set pattern of cones, sometimes in reverse against the clock. Teaches car control, handbrake turns, donuts etc.
Aoutosolos, similar to the above, but the pattern of cones is usually more open, no reversing. Again teaches car control.
Targa Rallying, often seen as a cheap and easy form of Stage Rallying, a series of Special Tests on private land that can some times be like an Autotests, others are like small special stages. Although a standard car can be used, most people use modified ones, but not as extreme as a Stage Rally Car, so costs are much much lower. No safety gear needed, usually no competition licence either. A Navigator is an essential part of the team and a good one will tip the balance between an average result and a good one. Obviously Navigating would be a great place to start. Expect to have stump up the entry fee though, which would be about £100.00, perhaps a bit more. But for that you also get a couple of meals thrown in.
Road Rallying, still very popular in Wales, and still very much alive in northern England and the south west. The events take place on open public roads at night, starting around midnight, finishing at dawn. Covering about 100 to 150 miles of back roads. Crews must work as a team, navigator must understand the timing systems and plot the route using OS maps, guide the driver to make sure they go exactly the right way. The driver needs to be able to take the information the navigator is telling him and drive consistently quickly where he needs to, at times, be under no illusions That will be very quickly. At other times going too quickly will finish your event for you, either because you were in a section you were supposed to be going slowly in and getdisqualified or because you crash!. Cars run to the same rules as Targa Rallying (almost). Costs are about £80 to £100 an event, an MSA competition licence is usually needed. Navigators can start at age 12. Drivers can be quite young, but Insurance can be an issue. I know of a few that have started in their late teens though.
Have a look on the Road Rally and Targa thread in UK club motorsport section here.
Firstly look at motor clubs in your area, the events they do will varie, so you need to try and pick one which covers the sort of thing you might like. As mentioned the GoMotorsport site is a good start point, it is designed for exactly your situation.
Cheap and easy to enter events are;
Car Trials, less than £10.00 to enter, can be done in a standard car, usualy no competition licence. Involves driving around a slippy sloping field and trying not to get stuck. A lot harder than it looks or sounds, teaches clutch and throttle control.
Autotests, again cheap, can be done in a standard car, no licence. Involves driving around a set pattern of cones, sometimes in reverse against the clock. Teaches car control, handbrake turns, donuts etc.
Aoutosolos, similar to the above, but the pattern of cones is usually more open, no reversing. Again teaches car control.
Targa Rallying, often seen as a cheap and easy form of Stage Rallying, a series of Special Tests on private land that can some times be like an Autotests, others are like small special stages. Although a standard car can be used, most people use modified ones, but not as extreme as a Stage Rally Car, so costs are much much lower. No safety gear needed, usually no competition licence either. A Navigator is an essential part of the team and a good one will tip the balance between an average result and a good one. Obviously Navigating would be a great place to start. Expect to have stump up the entry fee though, which would be about £100.00, perhaps a bit more. But for that you also get a couple of meals thrown in.
Road Rallying, still very popular in Wales, and still very much alive in northern England and the south west. The events take place on open public roads at night, starting around midnight, finishing at dawn. Covering about 100 to 150 miles of back roads. Crews must work as a team, navigator must understand the timing systems and plot the route using OS maps, guide the driver to make sure they go exactly the right way. The driver needs to be able to take the information the navigator is telling him and drive consistently quickly where he needs to, at times, be under no illusions That will be very quickly. At other times going too quickly will finish your event for you, either because you were in a section you were supposed to be going slowly in and getdisqualified or because you crash!. Cars run to the same rules as Targa Rallying (almost). Costs are about £80 to £100 an event, an MSA competition licence is usually needed. Navigators can start at age 12. Drivers can be quite young, but Insurance can be an issue. I know of a few that have started in their late teens though.
Have a look on the Road Rally and Targa thread in UK club motorsport section here.
velocemitch said:
Autosolos, similar to the above, but the pattern of cones is usually more open, no reversing. Again teaches car control.
Targa Rallying, often seen as a cheap and easy form of Stage Rallying, a series of Special Tests on private land that can some times be like an Autotests, others are like small special stages. Although a standard car can be used, most people use modified ones, but not as extreme as a Stage Rally Car, so costs are much much lower. No safety gear needed, usually no competition licence either. A Navigator is an essential part of the team and a good one will tip the balance between an average result and a good one. Obviously Navigating would be a great place to start. Expect to have stump up the entry fee though, which would be about £100.00, perhaps a bit more. But for that you also get a couple of meals thrown in.
If you already have a car then definitely these - no lower cost motorsport. Targa Rallying, often seen as a cheap and easy form of Stage Rallying, a series of Special Tests on private land that can some times be like an Autotests, others are like small special stages. Although a standard car can be used, most people use modified ones, but not as extreme as a Stage Rally Car, so costs are much much lower. No safety gear needed, usually no competition licence either. A Navigator is an essential part of the team and a good one will tip the balance between an average result and a good one. Obviously Navigating would be a great place to start. Expect to have stump up the entry fee though, which would be about £100.00, perhaps a bit more. But for that you also get a couple of meals thrown in.
Here in the East, an Autosolo is £35 and a Targa rally (single venue) is ~£55. Plenty of people use any old tyres so it doesnt have to cost you anything extra and for this you'll get a full day's motorsport.
The other option to consider is navigating, either Targas, road rallies or stage rallies.
Stage navigating would be the most expensive but even then would only be a licence and a suit, helmet, hans which you could get second hand... awesome fun for a few hundred quid.
Thanks for all the replies, after doing a little bit of research I think karting is what I'm leaning towards as it seems to tick all the boxes. Although as some have mentioned it can be expensive but as far as I can tell you can spend as much as you want whilst still exploring cheaper avenues.
Many Thanks to all again, I appreciate it!
Many Thanks to all again, I appreciate it!
maxlee101 said:
Thanks for all the replies, after doing a little bit of research I think karting is what I'm leaning towards as it seems to tick all the boxes. Although as some have mentioned it can be expensive but as far as I can tell you can spend as much as you want whilst still exploring cheaper avenues.
Many Thanks to all again, I appreciate it!
Try a hire series first, see what you like. You dont need to turn up with all your own stuff (probably best not to stand out anyway) But with any Motorsport if you are buying one thing make sure it is a decent helmet.Many Thanks to all again, I appreciate it!
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