Cheapest motorsports for a newbie?
Discussion
Before you reply "there's no such thing" or "racing from one end of Tesco carpark to the other", nobody finds you funny. Go away.
I fancy having a go at some sort of motorsports - it almost all looks fun, but I havn't the budget to be spending thousands of pounds on each event. I'm aware that there are an almost infinate number of motorsports in existance, and I just don't really know where to start.
I'm not fussed about the surface, it can be a smooth racetrack, or a dirt road with jumps, whatever, but I do want to go fast, so not autosolo or anything which involves only driving around cones in 1st and reverse gears. Nothing which needs a co-driver either.
As for the vehicle and equipment, I know it's very expensive. I'd like to have a go at it before spending so much money on something, so if there's anything I could do in my normal road car, without a rollcage, harnesses, fireproof overalls, a helmet, gloves, a bucket seat, etc, that would be great.
Failing that, what would be the cheapest, if I was prepared to build a car specifically for racing, or more likely, buy one? I'm guessing it's some kind of rallying, on the basis that the tyres and brakes last longer than they would on tarmac, but I really havn't got a clue. Another guess would be something like sprinting or hillclimbs, because the runs are short and Id imagine a set of consumables would last a season, not an event?
Currently, I know that I don't know enough, and that's about it!
Thanks!
I fancy having a go at some sort of motorsports - it almost all looks fun, but I havn't the budget to be spending thousands of pounds on each event. I'm aware that there are an almost infinate number of motorsports in existance, and I just don't really know where to start.
I'm not fussed about the surface, it can be a smooth racetrack, or a dirt road with jumps, whatever, but I do want to go fast, so not autosolo or anything which involves only driving around cones in 1st and reverse gears. Nothing which needs a co-driver either.
As for the vehicle and equipment, I know it's very expensive. I'd like to have a go at it before spending so much money on something, so if there's anything I could do in my normal road car, without a rollcage, harnesses, fireproof overalls, a helmet, gloves, a bucket seat, etc, that would be great.
Failing that, what would be the cheapest, if I was prepared to build a car specifically for racing, or more likely, buy one? I'm guessing it's some kind of rallying, on the basis that the tyres and brakes last longer than they would on tarmac, but I really havn't got a clue. Another guess would be something like sprinting or hillclimbs, because the runs are short and Id imagine a set of consumables would last a season, not an event?
Currently, I know that I don't know enough, and that's about it!
Thanks!
Trialling - MCC or VSCC or your local motor club - complete hoot and very charming/civil.
…or, single venue local rallies/ road rallies - can use anything and great cheap fun.
..or, for pace, hill climbing. Venues around the country and classes for most types of car. Intense and adrenalin fuelled but £ effective, beautiful venues and great camaraderie.
Look at Motorsprt UK for all details. Motorsport is never cheap, but it can be very affordable.
…or, single venue local rallies/ road rallies - can use anything and great cheap fun.
..or, for pace, hill climbing. Venues around the country and classes for most types of car. Intense and adrenalin fuelled but £ effective, beautiful venues and great camaraderie.
Look at Motorsprt UK for all details. Motorsport is never cheap, but it can be very affordable.
Im musing over something similar, my current thoughts are karting. Used karts (especially if you're not bothered about age) are fairly cheap on Ebay, £600 gets you a kart with a Honda GX200 engine, and then you just need an old transit with a homemade ramp or a block and tackle attached to the roof on a rail. If you're mechanically minded, something small like a Kart should be reasonable to work on yourself, so you're just having to learn what parts you need to fit.
If you want speed, cheap and road car then sprinting or hill climbs is your answer.
Circuit racing after you ve invested in all the kit and a car is a minimum £600 per race day.
Track days are not competitive but tick the box for speed and road car. You can do a track day for £200-300 all in. However they aren t competitive and therefore not motorsport as such.
The issue with karting is transporting it, you could in theory stick in your estate car, but I think those days are perhaps in the past, so you would need a trailer, plus somewhere to keep it. They are cheap though, but if you cannot do the trailer storage you can do arrive and drive, but I suppose you get what you pay for.
You can also do autusolo, but beware you might get travel sick!"!
You can also do autusolo, but beware you might get travel sick!"!
Sprints and hill climbs would be about the cheapest (notwithstanding any crashes) with your own car. You’re not locked in to buying a car and you can see if you’ve got a taste for competition. Plenty of choice all over the uk.
Autograss is often overlooked if you want to try a bit of dirt. Plenty of classes, from near stock up to highly tuned bike engined specials. Again plenty of choice of venues around the uk.
Circuit racing - most organisers offer some form of accessible racing, from single class eg EnduroKa or C1s, to multi class stuff like CNC heads. Plus arrive and drive like the Focus Cup. Travel eats budget so a series based around a single circuit would help on that front. You’d be looking at £5-£10k per year depending on the number of rounds and excluding cost of purchase etc.
Karting’s already been covered.
Autograss is often overlooked if you want to try a bit of dirt. Plenty of classes, from near stock up to highly tuned bike engined specials. Again plenty of choice of venues around the uk.
Circuit racing - most organisers offer some form of accessible racing, from single class eg EnduroKa or C1s, to multi class stuff like CNC heads. Plus arrive and drive like the Focus Cup. Travel eats budget so a series based around a single circuit would help on that front. You’d be looking at £5-£10k per year depending on the number of rounds and excluding cost of purchase etc.
Karting’s already been covered.
bergclimber34 said:
Banger racing is not cheap at all, and you need to spend an awful amount of time prepping the car
Really? What changed ? The guys i know who used to do it were all perpetually skint, and built their own trailers, cages, fire extinguisher for a coolant tank, used gumtree, harnesses, used gumtree fuel cell, 50 quid base car.It was as grass roots as you could get.
Stock cars is a different beast though, 15 grand for an engine.
Sprints or hill climbs. I’ve competed in both with the MSA and Javelin sprint series.
You can have a go in any road going car I’d recommended the Javelin sprint series, the events are well priced and organised and a year license is only £25.
It’s a lot more relaxed than MSA events with generally more track time and no messing about scrutineering.
https://javelintrackdays.co.uk/trackdays/JTSS
You can have a go in any road going car I’d recommended the Javelin sprint series, the events are well priced and organised and a year license is only £25.
It’s a lot more relaxed than MSA events with generally more track time and no messing about scrutineering.
https://javelintrackdays.co.uk/trackdays/JTSS
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