Caterham racing costs
Discussion
Hi guys, looking to enter the graduate series (not the factory series) or 7 racing series in a 270r or 310r plus do a few track days.
Anyone do similar who can give me an idea of expected season costs if you have track team support but do the transport yourself? Anything to be aware of such as engine rebuilds and how many weekends do you get out of a set of tyres?
Anyone do similar who can give me an idea of expected season costs if you have track team support but do the transport yourself? Anything to be aware of such as engine rebuilds and how many weekends do you get out of a set of tyres?
It would be worth speaking to Ian at Alpha7, they're small, very competant and competitive on their prices.
https://www.alpha7.co.uk/
I joined the Grads and underestimated the realistic costs. I would say that you'll need to be comfortable with spending over £10k a year depending on how much support you want. (transport, storage, etc).
https://www.alpha7.co.uk/
I joined the Grads and underestimated the realistic costs. I would say that you'll need to be comfortable with spending over £10k a year depending on how much support you want. (transport, storage, etc).
I’ve raced in both series (270R / grad 135) and currently in the grads 135 series. Happy to talk this through with you if you want to give me a call for a chat (will pm you my number if interested) but as is often the case with motorsport you can spend a lot more than is necessary and it depends very much whether you are taking part to have fun or to be competitive plus how many accidents you have along the way.
To give you an idea of basic costs - race entries are between £600 to £900, test days start at £400 and can be over £1000 for semi exclusive days tyres are £460 per set, team support starts at around £260 per day for ‘emergency support’ and can be tens of thousands for full support with transport.
I would say it’s a great experience and everyone in the paddock is very friendly and happy to help (very unlike my karting days!).
Lets have a chat when you have time - happy to help 👍🏻
To give you an idea of basic costs - race entries are between £600 to £900, test days start at £400 and can be over £1000 for semi exclusive days tyres are £460 per set, team support starts at around £260 per day for ‘emergency support’ and can be tens of thousands for full support with transport.
I would say it’s a great experience and everyone in the paddock is very friendly and happy to help (very unlike my karting days!).
Lets have a chat when you have time - happy to help 👍🏻
Think you've spotted the variables that mean Caterham Racing can cost anywhere from £8k to £100k per season. With Mag 7s possibly the most cost effective, then maybe Grads, 7-Series and the lastly the Official series (where there are stories of people going over a £100k on just the Academy).
We're racing a sigma car in Mag 7s on a shoestring (shared car, stretching tire life, doing own spanners) and around five race weekends a year costs less than £10k (which is then divided in two). CSCC put on good race weekends, the Mag 7s is a very friendly paddock with clean racing, though with a very broad spectrum of experience and power the racing may not be as close as Grads of 7-series.
A race weekend can include Tires (£450), Testing (£800), Race Entry (£600), Servicing, Race Support, Accommodation, Fuel etc
The Toyo tires are at their absolute best in their first session, we stretch them out over two or three weekends (circa 12 heat cycles) before using them for testing (when they do finally fall off a cliff it's like driving on wood). A new set of tires fitted is around £450. Those with deep pockets may use them for only one session, so, we pick up 'used once' tires from a race team for around £210 fitted (which we then aim to use for two weekends).
In my experience, the Sigma engine and the Ford gearbox are massively under-stretched and last forever (don't know about the Mazda box). Our engine has worked hard for nearly 12 years without a full rebuild and I suspect the gearbox hadn't been rebuilt until last year (Road and Race made it like new for £500).
I'm tempted by the closer grids in both Grads and 7-Series, however, closer grids naturally mean closer racing and a long front (c. £20k?) would end my season.
We're racing a sigma car in Mag 7s on a shoestring (shared car, stretching tire life, doing own spanners) and around five race weekends a year costs less than £10k (which is then divided in two). CSCC put on good race weekends, the Mag 7s is a very friendly paddock with clean racing, though with a very broad spectrum of experience and power the racing may not be as close as Grads of 7-series.
A race weekend can include Tires (£450), Testing (£800), Race Entry (£600), Servicing, Race Support, Accommodation, Fuel etc
The Toyo tires are at their absolute best in their first session, we stretch them out over two or three weekends (circa 12 heat cycles) before using them for testing (when they do finally fall off a cliff it's like driving on wood). A new set of tires fitted is around £450. Those with deep pockets may use them for only one session, so, we pick up 'used once' tires from a race team for around £210 fitted (which we then aim to use for two weekends).
In my experience, the Sigma engine and the Ford gearbox are massively under-stretched and last forever (don't know about the Mazda box). Our engine has worked hard for nearly 12 years without a full rebuild and I suspect the gearbox hadn't been rebuilt until last year (Road and Race made it like new for £500).
I'm tempted by the closer grids in both Grads and 7-Series, however, closer grids naturally mean closer racing and a long front (c. £20k?) would end my season.
I am another advocate of CSCC Magnificent 7s and try to race on a budget.
Qualifying and 2 x 20 min races at most meetings cost about £450 for entry. Annual membership is £45 (i think) and annual series registration is about £90.
You can race on slicks/ wets in the Group 1 classes (usually the quicker cars) or on List 1a/1b/1c tyres (with some restrictions) in the Group 2 classes. I race in Group 2 on Kumho V70 tyres and i reckon a set will last me 4-5 meetings. I also have a set of Avon CR28s for wets.
Caterhams are cheap to run because light on tyres, brakes, fuel etc & parts are readily available.
Over a season i reckon i spend an average of £1000 a meeting & that includes paying for support from a mechanic mate as i am technically incompetent!
Not sure about engine rebuild costs as i have a K-Series & contrary to popular opinion have not had a head gasket go in about 8 years of racing, but have upgraded from 1600 135bhp to 1800 170bhp so it has been rebuilt, sort of.
I would argue that racing a Caterham in CSCC, particularly in a car with <200bhp is one of the most cost effective forms of racing i have done.
One of the key aspects of CSCC Mag 7s being possibly a but cheaper than some other series is that the driving standards are good and less “elbows out”. Maybe the racing isnt as close? But i have good battles in most races and low repair bills!!
Qualifying and 2 x 20 min races at most meetings cost about £450 for entry. Annual membership is £45 (i think) and annual series registration is about £90.
You can race on slicks/ wets in the Group 1 classes (usually the quicker cars) or on List 1a/1b/1c tyres (with some restrictions) in the Group 2 classes. I race in Group 2 on Kumho V70 tyres and i reckon a set will last me 4-5 meetings. I also have a set of Avon CR28s for wets.
Caterhams are cheap to run because light on tyres, brakes, fuel etc & parts are readily available.
Over a season i reckon i spend an average of £1000 a meeting & that includes paying for support from a mechanic mate as i am technically incompetent!
Not sure about engine rebuild costs as i have a K-Series & contrary to popular opinion have not had a head gasket go in about 8 years of racing, but have upgraded from 1600 135bhp to 1800 170bhp so it has been rebuilt, sort of.
I would argue that racing a Caterham in CSCC, particularly in a car with <200bhp is one of the most cost effective forms of racing i have done.
One of the key aspects of CSCC Mag 7s being possibly a but cheaper than some other series is that the driving standards are good and less “elbows out”. Maybe the racing isnt as close? But i have good battles in most races and low repair bills!!
Edited by andy97 on Thursday 22 May 21:41
Hi, I’m the membership secretary for Caterham Graduates so it’s great to see so many positive comments. Please call or WhatsApp me on 07525711996 with any questions.
I’ve done a couple of years with Caterham Motorsport and the raced for 4 with Grads. The cost is usually less with Grads, but with no less smiles. I have mostly transported my car myself and run without team support, but I’d be delighted to introduce you to the various teams that look after the cars.
To help answer your questions around £10000 budget would enable you to do a full season of 16 races (7 weekends), but a significant amount of our members pay less and choose the Trophy championship and compete across 3 weekends. If of course you’d like a taster for 1 weekend you can enter as a guest.
Testing is circuit specific on pricing with MSV having great facilities, but with expensive (£400ish) test sessions. Croft and Anglesey (for example) are usually significantly less. Grads will normally offer a 20 minute Saturday practice session before qualifying. It’s optional and some members choose this over (or in addition) to a full test day.
Grads are mindful to give our members the most ‘cost effective’ and best value racing. For example tyre purchases are restricted to 3 sets for a full championship and 2 for trophy. Other series can allow a new set every weekend!
Hope to speak soon…
Tom Power
I’ve done a couple of years with Caterham Motorsport and the raced for 4 with Grads. The cost is usually less with Grads, but with no less smiles. I have mostly transported my car myself and run without team support, but I’d be delighted to introduce you to the various teams that look after the cars.
To help answer your questions around £10000 budget would enable you to do a full season of 16 races (7 weekends), but a significant amount of our members pay less and choose the Trophy championship and compete across 3 weekends. If of course you’d like a taster for 1 weekend you can enter as a guest.
Testing is circuit specific on pricing with MSV having great facilities, but with expensive (£400ish) test sessions. Croft and Anglesey (for example) are usually significantly less. Grads will normally offer a 20 minute Saturday practice session before qualifying. It’s optional and some members choose this over (or in addition) to a full test day.
Grads are mindful to give our members the most ‘cost effective’ and best value racing. For example tyre purchases are restricted to 3 sets for a full championship and 2 for trophy. Other series can allow a new set every weekend!
Hope to speak soon…
Tom Power
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