Quote:
Originally Posted by bella
what i'd really like to see is a comparison of what it genuinely cost to go racing in particular categories 10 years ago, 20 years ago and 30 years ago in relative terms, ie relative to the average wage of the times, versus what it costs now.
i think that would answer a lot of rants, ravings and questions about whether a series is too costly or not.
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Me and my dad have often 'roughly' worked it out, taking into account inflation. For example, a brand new FF1600 used to be £1000 ready to race (it was in the rules). That was similar to a new Ford Cortina. A new Ford Mondeo now is what, £18000 for the basic model? Well, a new rolling chassis FF1600 will cost you around £22-24000.
Running costs are the big difference. Off the top of my head, running costs for a BF3 car in the mid 70s equates to around £200,000 in today's money. Well, that is quite a way short of the equivalent budget for a seat at Carlin.
One of the major differences in the 1970s was prize money. In the excellent 'Formula Ford' book, it breaks down the cost of a season. If you were successful, once you had sold the car on again at the end of a season, you could break even for a season's racing. Can you imagine a BFF driver earning £150,000 in prize money in 2012?