Discussion
Just after people's thoughts. I'm looking at getting back into racing after more years out than I'd like to think about.
I went to motorsport live thingy at Silverstone on Saturday and the Gaz Shocks 116i Trophy grabbed my attention as a good way back into motorsport.
They are going down the endurance route but BMW chassis, RWD fun. Look to have some good driver deals set up also.
Thoughts? Better options for RWD entry level ish circuit racing?
I went to motorsport live thingy at Silverstone on Saturday and the Gaz Shocks 116i Trophy grabbed my attention as a good way back into motorsport.
They are going down the endurance route but BMW chassis, RWD fun. Look to have some good driver deals set up also.
Thoughts? Better options for RWD entry level ish circuit racing?
Loads.
BMW 330 Challenge
BMW Compact Cup
Performance BMW
M3 Cup
RX8 Series
MX5 (many many of these championships)
MR2 Championship
And many others.
As a novice I would not rule out FWD. They are safer, cheaper and just as fast in that power range. In the wet, they are usually quicker.
BMW 330 Challenge
BMW Compact Cup
Performance BMW
M3 Cup
RX8 Series
MX5 (many many of these championships)
MR2 Championship
And many others.
As a novice I would not rule out FWD. They are safer, cheaper and just as fast in that power range. In the wet, they are usually quicker.
Edited by Thurbs on Tuesday 6th November 20:01
Dunno how much ‘RWD fun’ will be had with about 100bhp/ton
Caterham Graduates
One thing I have learned over the years is that testing time and race entries are pretty much equally expensive whether you’re racing a £1k car or a £100k car. By buying a cheap racing car for a cheap series you might feel like you’re ahead but once you’ve blown the thick end of £10k for a season’s racing on top of the original cost of the car you might wish you’d spent more money up front so you can do that in a decent car rather than a shopping trolley.
This is why I advocate Caterhams. Buy car £10k. Race car for a season £10k. Sell car £10k. It’s about as cheap as it gets for a proper car in a properly controlled series with minimal chequebook racing.
Caterham Graduates
One thing I have learned over the years is that testing time and race entries are pretty much equally expensive whether you’re racing a £1k car or a £100k car. By buying a cheap racing car for a cheap series you might feel like you’re ahead but once you’ve blown the thick end of £10k for a season’s racing on top of the original cost of the car you might wish you’d spent more money up front so you can do that in a decent car rather than a shopping trolley.
This is why I advocate Caterhams. Buy car £10k. Race car for a season £10k. Sell car £10k. It’s about as cheap as it gets for a proper car in a properly controlled series with minimal chequebook racing.
HustleRussell said:
Dunno how much ‘RWD fun’ will be had with about 100bhp/ton
Caterham Graduates
One thing I have learned over the years is that testing time and race entries are pretty much equally expensive whether you’re racing a £1k car or a £100k car. By buying a cheap racing car for a cheap series you might feel like you’re ahead but once you’ve blown the thick end of £10k for a season’s racing on top of the original cost of the car you might wish you’d spent more money up front so you can do that in a decent car rather than a shopping trolley.
This is why I advocate Caterhams. Buy car £10k. Race car for a season £10k. Sell car £10k. It’s about as cheap as it gets for a proper car in a properly controlled series with minimal chequebook racing.
Agree with some of this, and Caterhams (and other 7 esque cars) are definitely real racing cars, although I am a fan of the CSCC concept of 40 min races for one or two drivers. In this case, Magnificent 7s.Caterham Graduates
One thing I have learned over the years is that testing time and race entries are pretty much equally expensive whether you’re racing a £1k car or a £100k car. By buying a cheap racing car for a cheap series you might feel like you’re ahead but once you’ve blown the thick end of £10k for a season’s racing on top of the original cost of the car you might wish you’d spent more money up front so you can do that in a decent car rather than a shopping trolley.
This is why I advocate Caterhams. Buy car £10k. Race car for a season £10k. Sell car £10k. It’s about as cheap as it gets for a proper car in a properly controlled series with minimal chequebook racing.
Buy a car for 10k, race in 6-8 races for 6-8k and split the costs between 2 drivers, whilst also "earning" about 1.5k for a "hire fee", and either sell the car for 10k or do the same again next season!
Edited by andy97 on Wednesday 7th November 06:12
Lotus Cup UK, run by this man! 
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/norfolk-garage-...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6343377/S...
I would love to run cars in Lotus Cup UK, but not while this dodgy b
d runs it.
Dan
https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/crime/norfolk-garage-...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6343377/S...
I would love to run cars in Lotus Cup UK, but not while this dodgy b
d runs it.Dan
HustleRussell said:
One thing I have learned over the years is that testing time and race entries are pretty much equally expensive whether you’re racing a £1k car or a £100k car.
Often true, but not always, and it's led me into a situation right now where I don't race. Championships where entrants tend to have more money choose more expensive circuits and layouts to race at; and they often have whole weekend double or even triple header races, which are inherently more expensive due to greater track time, they require overnight accommodation, and if you pay for help, that has to be over two days. The costs spiral quickly. Secondly, if you want to be competitive, if the average driver has a bigger budget then you have to keep up with engine refreshes, new tyres and testing the day before the race (I don't attempt this, but I know some do).For example, a single header meeting in something like the Metro Cup that I started racing in would be, allowing for inflation nowadays, probably a £300 entry fee. You'd tow to the track and back in one day, perhaps staying for one night at £50 for B&B and £20 for dinner. So that's between £300 and £370 total. If you pay a friend to help you, as I do, that's another £50, so call it £350 to £420. You also don't need time away from work, other than perhaps the Friday off to load up. Sunday is for unloading and mowing the lawn.
In contrast, an equivalent double header might be £450 to enter. Because it's over a whole weekend, you need one or two night's accommodation, so the total becomes £520 to £590. If you pay a friend to help, that's £100 cause it's two days, so call it £620 to £690 - almost double. Furthermore, with one qualifying and 2 or 3 races over two days, that helping hand becomes more essential - not many people have the energy to transport and run themselves over an entire weekend like that. You may also often need two days off work. Suddenly the whole racing game takes on a whole new dimension.
The counter argument to the above is usually that double headers are cheaper per hour of track time, and the bigger circuits are a little more cost for a lot more fun, which is true if you can easily afford it, but the overall cost is prohibitively high for some people. Furthermore, your budget might get you to 2 races a year instead of 4.
Without there being any published technical regulations yet, it's hard to judge what the series will be like.
The organisers describe it as being "ultra low cost", but the cars seem to have a normal level of modification from standard for an average 'production' racer. i.e. a re-map, exhaust system, polybushes, coil-overs and even lightweight flywheels. So I don't see the cost to prepare a car being any lower than for other series.
The organisers describe it as being "ultra low cost", but the cars seem to have a normal level of modification from standard for an average 'production' racer. i.e. a re-map, exhaust system, polybushes, coil-overs and even lightweight flywheels. So I don't see the cost to prepare a car being any lower than for other series.
Jerry Can said:
116i seems a daft choice. better off with a 120d, remap to 200 brake and you've got half a car to race.... I'm not convinced it would be that much more expensive to race or buy.
Someones already creating a series for the 120d, although more of a sprint series. https://www.facebook.com/PBMWNG/
If you like RWD then why not BMW Car Club Racing;-
https://bmwcarclubgb.uk/categories/bmw_car_club_ra...
Various classes including the low cost BMWcup using the E46 325 Compact which has separate regulations:-
https://www.bmwcup.co.uk/regulations
clubracing said:
Without there being any published technical regulations yet, it's hard to judge what the series will be like.
The organisers describe it as being "ultra low cost", but the cars seem to have a normal level of modification from standard for an average 'production' racer. i.e. a re-map, exhaust system, polybushes, coil-overs and even lightweight flywheels. So I don't see the cost to prepare a car being any lower than for other series.
Depends. The norm in a lot of what are supposed to be production type club series these days is fully forged engines and dog boxes. Compared to that it's a lot lower.The organisers describe it as being "ultra low cost", but the cars seem to have a normal level of modification from standard for an average 'production' racer. i.e. a re-map, exhaust system, polybushes, coil-overs and even lightweight flywheels. So I don't see the cost to prepare a car being any lower than for other series.
Edited by Kraken on Tuesday 13th November 10:46
Freddiet123 said:
Just after people's thoughts. I'm looking at getting back into racing after more years out
Thoughts? Better options for RWD entry level ish circuit racing?
Anything would be better than trying to race 116 Model Bmw - too low power too much grip - the cost is in the build not the engine size why did they not chose a bigger power 1 series and make it more fun from the start? ( and yes I’ve had 116, 118, 120i and 120d, 123d, 125 and 130i so i I know the difference in how they all drive and the 116 is a daft choice).Thoughts? Better options for RWD entry level ish circuit racing?
Just to revive this thread, despite most of the negative views here (and I get some of them) there are 30 cars in build for 2020, including mine.
Add that to the 8-10 cars running this year there should be a good grid.
Next season the races are extended into their endurance format, lasting 90-180 minutes.
Possible there will be longer races but with refueling comes extra costs of fire marshals etc for teams so the organizers are looking into how to best mitigate that expense.
Next round is Snetterton this weekend - Ill post a updates on our car build and series entry if people would find it interesting
Add that to the 8-10 cars running this year there should be a good grid.
Next season the races are extended into their endurance format, lasting 90-180 minutes.
Possible there will be longer races but with refueling comes extra costs of fire marshals etc for teams so the organizers are looking into how to best mitigate that expense.
Next round is Snetterton this weekend - Ill post a updates on our car build and series entry if people would find it interesting
Here’s ours being semi-built at Autosport:
https://youtu.be/XHlaO2zyH08
I shared it at Brands for the first race, good fun
https://youtu.be/XHlaO2zyH08
I shared it at Brands for the first race, good fun
Jez-i9scb said:
Just to revive this thread, despite most of the negative views here (and I get some of them) there are 30 cars in build for 2020, including mine.
Add that to the 8-10 cars running this year there should be a good grid.
Next season the races are extended into their endurance format, lasting 90-180 minutes.
Possible there will be longer races but with refueling comes extra costs of fire marshals etc for teams so the organizers are looking into how to best mitigate that expense.
Next round is Snetterton this weekend - Ill post a updates on our car build and series entry if people would find it interesting
I’d be very interested in that, thanks. It is a series that interests me a lot Add that to the 8-10 cars running this year there should be a good grid.
Next season the races are extended into their endurance format, lasting 90-180 minutes.
Possible there will be longer races but with refueling comes extra costs of fire marshals etc for teams so the organizers are looking into how to best mitigate that expense.
Next round is Snetterton this weekend - Ill post a updates on our car build and series entry if people would find it interesting
I know I said I’d update this thread with plans it’s all been a bit of a wild ride.
Anyway, we got the car built in just under 5 weeks. Ended up costing £7K but that includes all of the series upgrades and we didn’t go for basic kit on seat or anything
Just finished the first event and we qualified 3rd and finished 5th from 13 starters. It’s more fun to drive than I ever thought possible and the racing was close (sometimes very close)
If anyone is interested in how we built the car and for further news then you can find us on Facebook @Forty40R (Forty40 Racing) and on Twitter @Forty40R
Also we are likely to have arrive and drive seats available in 2020. You’ll be in a team of three drivers and fully supported. For a full weekends racing you’d get around 1hr of driving
Some photos of the car
Anyway, we got the car built in just under 5 weeks. Ended up costing £7K but that includes all of the series upgrades and we didn’t go for basic kit on seat or anything
Just finished the first event and we qualified 3rd and finished 5th from 13 starters. It’s more fun to drive than I ever thought possible and the racing was close (sometimes very close)
If anyone is interested in how we built the car and for further news then you can find us on Facebook @Forty40R (Forty40 Racing) and on Twitter @Forty40R
Also we are likely to have arrive and drive seats available in 2020. You’ll be in a team of three drivers and fully supported. For a full weekends racing you’d get around 1hr of driving
Some photos of the car
Edited by Jez-i9scb on Monday 7th October 10:33
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