funding a full season

[adam1312]

Two karting track days and the first time in a kart I was in a hire kart and 1 sec off the pace off the slowest race karts which Pparwntly is very good and the guy said I should start racing
but I need to know how to get a licence and then how to fund it all
I need to ask my parents if I can start karting after I know that and hopefully I can because in thinking about it all the time

[ascarracinguk]

how old are you mate?

ok first off there is absolutely no way you should be entering super 1!!!! its for seasoned pros that either want to jump into f1 or have years of experience under their belt.....you will get eaten alive!!!

karting is split into 2 catagories....national championships like super 1 or kart stars and club championships which just race at one track...you should do the club championships first to get some experience

first off where are you based? whats your local track? that will laregely determine what class you can race in...not all classes race at every track....some classes are more popular in different parts of the country.

your age will first determine the class you can race in...

there are honda cadets and comer cadets for the youngest kids, then minimax, then junior tkm and junior rotax, then the senior classes tkm extreme and senior rotax along with the gearbox classes.

most people at club level spend around the £3000 mark for a full season of racing which includes testing oin saturday, racing on sunday, engine rebuilds, tyres, spare parts etc.

most people stay at the track in either a tent or caravan or if theyre lucky in a motorhome!

once youve bought a kart you can either mechanic on it yourself with your dad or get a team to do it for you, but its expensive, and i think its more fun doing it with your dad anyway...and you will learn very quickly, its not difficult. BUT when buying kart make sure it complies to all current MSA regulations otherwise you wont be able to race it!

anyway..theres plenty of info for you....have a look and think about it, il try and give you as much info as i can.

[adam1312]

I'm 14 years old and in the north east of England and my local track is warden law where I have been twice

[adam1312]

There is one problem with string up a kart with my dad he works quite a lot and only gets time off every 5 weeks and it is difficult to get more time off now so with a team my mam works part time so she could take me and team set up but we don't have much money so

[Peat]

Hi Adam,

Unfortunatley, karting is an extremely time and money hungry activity. There are teams around that will store/maintain/run a kart for you, but it's a ludicrously expensive way to go racing.

From the sounds of things, you seem pretty inexperienced at the moment. I would suggest that you spend a year or so finding your feet and getting some miles under your belt in hire karts. See if Warden Law do an arrive and drive championship. This will help you gain some driving/racing experience and help you decide wether or not you wish to take the plunge and pursue it to the next level.

All the best.

[ascarracinguk]

the best thing to do to start with is contact warden law, see when they have race meetings on, i think they do both msa and non msa racing, maybe the none msa racing would suit you better because it trends to be more fun and isnt serious. either jnr tkm or jnr rotax would be your class altho jnr blue races there, there is always the option of prokart too, its 4 stroke so are cheeper and easier to maintain

as i said tho contact the track to see when theyre racing, then go down there and have a look, ask questions etc. also maybe they do races with their hire karts, its an easy and inexpensive way of starting too

check out the forum on karting dot co dot uk too, theres lots of people who race at warden law on there and have loads of experience.

[adam1312]

How do I get a national kart licence after I get the starter pack like what do it do to het the test and where
how hard is it to run your own kart and could I do it at races myself when my dad was at work
how much does for super 1 tkm and for jnr rotax fir 1 season (kart engine tires fuel equipment tools transport accomodation)

[ascarracinguk]

firstly, please get the idea of super 1 out of your head!!!..you aint at that level yet, trust me!!!! unless you have raced every weekend for about 3 years at club level first, you will get lapped in every race, and most likely find yourself in the barriers quite a lot.....super 1 and FKS are for the best of the best, and ones with massive wallets!!!

basically the starter pack will guide you through getting a licence..but basically you need to do some testing first, to get yourself up to speed. then you go to a track that you can sit your arks test at, it is in 2 parts, the morning is a classroom test, where you have to answer questions on flag signals etc....its nice and easy so dont worry. then the afternoon is a driving test, basically you have to demonstrate to the instructor that you are capable of driving safely and fast enough, so you have to lap within a 120 percent of the lap record without spinning off...you have about 10 laps out there to prove yourself. this gives you a national B kart licence, it allows you to race at club level...any track in the country.

IF you wanted to race in super 1, you have to race at a minimum of 3 tracks and have 2 years experience to get a national A licence. ONLY then can you race in super 1 or FKS

[ascarracinguk]

oh to do tkm at club level its between 2000 and 3000 quid including everything, to get yourself your kart, racewear, tools, trailer etc it will cost about 2000 to start with

you can do it a hell of a lot cheeper than this in your first year tho by buying an old kart and just going to the track to practice when ever you feel like it

[adam1312]

How come every f1 driver done enought to get a licence then went into a national championship exept petrov who done ice racing

[adam1312]

And I want to get to f1 and don't say I'm too old coz it's probably not true if your good enough you'll get to the to so I'll probably have to do national karting

[ascarracinguk]

because long before you were born they all started in cadet karting racing on a club level, then got pretty good at it and started racing at a few clubs, won a few club championships, then got really good at it and raced at Super 1/FKS level, winning super 1 and making a name for themselves, then made the jump into single seaters and worked their way up to formula 1

the system is the same as it always has been, you have to start small on a club level first and work your way up the ladder, you cant just jump straight to the top of the karting ladder without having raced before.

take a look at what races lewis hamilton has done in his karting career, i can coonfidently say that he will have tested for about 3-4 months first, then raced in cadets at his local track for a year or so, won a few races, went to a couple of different tracks and won races there, then moved up to another class before going to stars of tomorrow as it was back when he was racing, when he hit 16 he then qualified to drive race cars and the rest is history as they say!

il tell you something now, and dont take it the wrong way kiddo, its a bit of friendly advice, if you jump into a tkm or rotax, you will be SHOCKED at the differnce in speed between them and a hire kart at a local track, they are massively quick and have huge amounts of grip, even at club level the racing is incredibly close and hard fought, there are a lot of very good drivers even at club level, if you dont finish last in your first race you will be doing very well, and if you win a race by the end of your first season.....well you will be doing very well, because i can safely say there will be about 20 other kids out there with more experience and laps under their belt than you!!!

not having a go at you at all, i think its great you want to start karting, its brilliant fun and the feeling you get from driving a proper race kart is incredible....id say its better than sex...but as your 14 it would be pointless


you just need to rethink what you want to get out of karting, do you want to be the next f1 world champion? or do you want to do it as a hobby, have some fun with the family doing it? if its the latter then you will get it!.....if its the first, then join the 2000 other kids in this country that want the same thing every single weekend at over 50 kart tracks in the country!

hope ive not put you off!!...just trying to make you realise that climbing the ladder to f1 isnt easy by any stretch of the imagination, it takes time, dedication and money!....if you want to do that then its great that you have aspirations and ambition, its nice to see kids of today striving for something and good on you for trying it, but if all you want to do is have some fun, meet some really cool people and have a laugh with friends then karting is for you!

a wise old man once told me 'if you aim for the moon and come up short, your still amonngst the stars!'....i.e. set your goals high, aim for them, try your best, but if they dont happen, dont be upset about it, just be happy doing what you are capable of doing.

[ascarracinguk]

oh and costs wise.....yes you can do super 1 for less than 10K BUT you wont win!

i know someone who spent 50k last year in super 1, hes one of the best if not THE best club racer around and he only finished in 5th. it takes a huge amount of money

IF you make it out of karting, formula ford will be where you start out in single seaters, you will need about 80K for a season, then formula renault at about 150k, then formula 3 at about 250K then gp2 or formula 2 at between 500K and a million quid....so to get to formula 1 will cost you about 2 million quid!....not cheep!

by all means aim high and go for it...BUT make sure your education comes first and foremost, get good grades at school so you have something to fall back on, then when you become a lawyer or doctor you can earn enough money to buy an f1 car and race it at the weekend!

i took the second route, and while i probably wont ever own an f1 car ive had a few race cars so far and want a few more by time im pushing up daisies!!

[adam1312]

So put simply what you've said is if I want to become an f1 driver don't bother starting to kart race because it's not going to happen if I want to kart just to it as a hobbie at club level and if I can afford it when I'm older buy my own race car and race
so I might as well not start karting because I'm never going to fufil my ambition and I have no talent so I can't compete at national level just mid-back at club level

[ghinzani]

Yes thats about it I would surmise. Unless your parents are absolutely loaded of course.

[ascarracinguk]

basically what im saying is that 1 kid out of about 5000 will make it into f1...you may be lucky enough to be that kid but you will need to be racing every weekend of the year to do it and have a lot of money...

...you dont have to want to get to f1 to enjoy racing, if its a sport you love and your passionate about, why cant it just stay as that, something you will love doing, have a great time with your family, meet loads of new friends and have a laugh doing it.

99.9% of people in motorsport do it for the enjoyment, they do it because they love the sport and love racing, the 0.1% do it a) because they love it but b) because they have made a lot of sacrifices, spent a hell of a lot of money and worked at something really hard for 15 years of their life before they have even got to formula 1!

karting for most of us isnt a path to formula 1, its a hobby, something to enjoy and pretend we are lewis hamilton for 1 weekend each month! its great fun and something you should DEFINATELY do, but do it as a hobby, something you can enjoy.

im not saying you have no talent, i would never say that, ive never seen you drive, but you have to understand that the guys that race in super 1 race every single weekend of the season against the toughest competitors out there, every second of every spare minute they have is taken up by karting, no matter how talented you are, if you have only done 1 race weekend which is about 50 laps, and the rest of the grid has raced every weekend and done all the test sessions too, they will have done about 500 laps, theres no substitute to bum in seat time, you simply wont be able to compete on their level no matter how good you are!

like ive said the reality is that unless you have a huge amount of money and a lot of time to give to racing you will have next to no chance of making it into f1, but that doesnt stop you enjoying the sport, go out get a paper round, save up, buy yourself a kart and go and practice and race at your local club and you will have a smile from ear to ear...trust me!

[adam1312]

Yer I will enjoy racing but my ambition is to get to f1 which is what will make me happiest

[Peat]

To be honest, you have more chance of winning the lottery several times than you do of becoming an F1 Driver, regardless of how good you think you 'could' be.

I/We think your grossly under-estimating the size of the task you are setting yourself and it can only lead to disappointment.

Go to a few club meetings, LEARN about the ins and outs of the sport.

You probably think that we are just a bunch of grumpy old codgers trying to wee on your bonfire, we are really not. Collectivley we have been around the game long enough to understand the way the system works. Don't take it personally.

But as ascarracinguk says. Definatley start karting. I get so much pleasure from racing that it makes my world turn on its axis. But if you see it as some kind of retrograde step in your quest for world domination, perhaps it's not for you afterall.

[adam1312]

And I would enjoy competing at super 1 more than at club level and how do you know I'm not good enough to and how do I tell

[adam1312]

Paul I only want to get to f1 not become the next hitler

[Peat]

and how do you know you would enjoy racing Super 1 more than at club level?

[ascarracinguk]

well if thats what you want i applaud you for aiming high, its nice to see, but like i said you need to start at the bottom and work your way up....go to your local track and see when theyre racing, ask them for advice on what classes you can race in as each track has different classes, go buy a kart and helmet/suit etc, get out there and practice, take your test and go from there!....if you do really well then good on you kid!....if you dont do so well, then dont be dissapointed or disheartened, just enjoy it and have fun!....at the end of the day thats what its all about, whether your in f1 or karts, you should always have fun and enjoy yourself!

when youve done your first few races you will know where you stand, then you can re think what you want out of motorsport. im sure a lot of people on this forum have wanted to be in f1 at some point in their life!......but we do what we can to enjoy our sport, whether its ability of money that means were not in lewis hamiltons boots we are all still involved in some way, a lot of people on this forum have worked hard in their day job and own some amazing race cars and enjoy the sport as much as f1 drivers (admittedly without the money, boats or 6ft blonde super model!)

[ascarracinguk]

Originally Posted by adam1312

And I would enjoy competing at super 1 more than at club level and how do you know I'm not good enough to and how do I tell

im not saying you dont have the natural talent to do it....you could be really talented!....what im saying is that in super 1 you will be racing against about 50 other incredibly other talented kids in your class, the only difference is that they have had about 5 years more experience than you, and well over 1000 laps in the seat....you could be the next ayton senna and you would still finish last because you havent got any experience.

[Peat]

Give some of these guys a call:

http://www.protrainracing.co.uk/index.php?pg=14
http://www.acrbirel.com/acr-the-team/
http://www.paulcarrracingltd.co.uk/

They will happily take your money.

[adam1312]

Originally Posted by ascarracinguk

im not saying you dont have the natural talent to do it....you could be really talented!....what im saying is that in super 1 you will be racing against about 50 other incredibly other talented kids in your class, the only difference is that they have had about 5 years more experience than you, and well over 1000 laps in the seat....you could be the next ayton senna and you would still finish last because you havent got any experience.

How does being the next senna but with no experience mean I would Finnish last. If your very good like that you wouldn't finish last it would probably be just behind the best and experienced racers. Then after a few racers meybe push for a win, probably.

Would a £1995 tony kart viper be good for tkm like a competative kart with a tal ko direct drive engine
How much does it cost for paulcarrracing to transport and prepare your kart