Cheapest racing series

[arthurfh123]

I know a very obvious question, but having searched a lot its hard to find a specific answer, so what series in the UK can be seen as the cheapest with everything included, car, membership etc. Thanks

[historic racer]

BARC SE Tin Tops looks a good contender, we have switched to this for the coming season.

[andrewc]

Monoposto - 13 championship rounds - £ 2115 plus £ 125 membership and championship registration fee + car. That includes two races on the Brands GP circuit. There are non championship rounds at Spa, Mallory and Silverstone GP which I've not included.

Cheapest Mono eligible car is probably a Formula Vauxhall Junior 8v (mono1600), and Dermot was advertising one for under £ 3k recently. That sold quite quickly but they do crop up on a semi-regular basis.

You'd need tow car and trailer, fuel and the usual suits and boots.

[Peter Dixon]

Originally Posted by andrewc

Monoposto - 13 championship rounds - £ 2115 plus £ 125 membership and championship registration fee + car. That includes two races on the Brands GP circuit. There are non championship rounds at Spa, Mallory and Silverstone GP which I've not included.

Cheapest Mono eligible car is probably a Formula Vauxhall Junior 8v (mono1600), and Dermot was advertising one for under £ 3k recently. That sold quite quickly but they do crop up on a semi-regular basis.

You'd need tow car and trailer, fuel and the usual suits and boots.

Thats cheaper than I thought it would be, thought mono-posto would be quite expensive, very closely priced to the northern salloons & sports I do:

Championship registration: £100
Club Membership: £15
Race Entry's (7 weekends - 14 races) - £2030, possibly slightly less.

Spend what you want on a car, £1000 up I guess for a race prepped mobile.

[andy97]

Predictably I'll throw the idea of some of the CSCC series into the mix. Club membership is £39; Car Registration is £99 and race entry fees vary from about £285 to £345 (depending on circuit) for a 20-30 minute Practice and a 40 MINUTE RACE. Thats pretty decent track time per £.

Racing takes place at Brands, Snetterton, Oulton Park, Donington, Castle Combe, Anglesey, Silverstone, Mallory with an away weekend at Spa as well, if you fancy it. Its not a Championship so there's no need to feel forced to race for fear of losing Championship places!!!

All CSCC races have a compulsory pit stop to simulate endurace racing for the clubman and this opens the possibility of 2 drivers sharing all costs or even offering a shared hire drive. (single drivers stop, get out & get back in again to simulate the driver change). In the past, when I have shared, the "hire" fee basically paid for my race that day.

The cheapest options are probably the lower capacity classes in Tin Tops, eg Fiestas, Fiats, Metros, Peugeots etc (In the past I ran a Fiat Uno which I bought for £2K and an Alfa 33 which I bought for £600) or the "Super 70s" class of "Future Classics" where an Alfa or a Porsche 924 can probably be bought for about £3K. Alternatively Mk1 and 2 MR2s & Mk1 MX5s can be picked up & run quite cheaply (a race prepared MX5 went on the bay recently for £2K).

Tyres in all series are List 1A or 1B and so a set of Yoko A048s or similar will probably last half a season (8 meetings). I usually use 6 tyres in a season with the rears probably staying on the whole season.

Hope that helps.

[arthurfh123]

Thanks for all the responses. Very interesting about monoposto and CSCC. What are your views on things such as the MR2 series from Red Dragon race and track club or stock hatch racing series?

[andy97]

I am clearly biased in favour of CSCC & you have to bear that in mind when reading my response but CSCC has had a few drivers join it from Stock hatch because the costs in that series were pretty high & the driving standards questionable.

If I was looking to race relatively cheaply, I'd look to buy a car that had lots of available spare parts and could be used (and re-sold) into a number of different series. For that reason I'd be looking at aTin Top such as a Pug 205, or a Future Classic MX5 or MR2 that could be used in CSCC or their own series as appropriate.

What I would also say about Monoposto (and I used to race in that when i first started out) is that the cost of racing something like a F Ford Zetec are fairly low as the engines are bomb proof and slick tyres can be picked up second hand from the professional national level teams at the end of race meetings. The £ per performance in Mono is excellent.

I tried to race Formula Vauxhall Junior in the Monoposto Championship when I first started racing (http://www.monoposto.co.uk/). The car cost me £4500 and the maintenance was pretty low as the engine was an understressed 1600 16V on throttle bodies giving out 140 Bhp, in a car that weighed about 500Kg with me in it.

Racing a single seater was immense, but i was pretty hopeless. the feeling of speed was fantastic but you had to be so precise & you had to have a lot of confidence to go quickly even when the car was starting to slide. I just didn't have the skill or the reaction times or the bottle and the slower reacting FWD saloon stuff suits me better. That said, I have never had so much fun in my life as driving a single seater through Craner Curves or Paddock Hill bend and even when I came last (often) I still reckon I had a blast.

Funnily enough racing a single seater at that level is far cheaper than racing a saloon. Parts tend to be designed for racing and are not as stressed as in the heavier saloons. if you have an off, it is often far cheaper to replace a wishbone or two on a single seater than it is replace a corner on a saloon and I used to race on second hand F Ford slicks that i could pick up from Donington testing for £5 each that would last me 2-3 races. I sold the car for what i paid for it after 3 years and the engine was so bullet proof it never needed a re-build.

If I was to think about single seaters again, I wouldn't hesitate to look at racing a F Ford Zetec - again, bullet proof engines and the cars can be picked up cheaply and Monoposto is a good club to race with. The performance per pound in a Monoposto Formula Ford Zetec can't be beaten I reckon. However, its is a different driving sensation and you have to be prepared to be committed and have good reactions to be quick. I raced in it for about 4 part seasons & I realised that i just couldn't hack it & i enjoy the racing in my FWD saloon more now. Glad i tried single seaters, though.

[andrewc]

Whilst I now realise that posting about a single seater series in the saloon and sportscar section was a mistake, it does provide a bit of useful information to compare and contrast.

Entry fees are usually based on track time, so should be comparable.

Andy97 - what tyres were you using? - a lot of people scrounge tyres from other series that have disposed of them, and they're often too hard in compound for beginners or lightweight cars to get tyre temp.

[Bomber604]

Mk2 Golf Gti championship.

You can buy a ready prepped race car from £3500 upto £8000 (for a 16v multiple race winner) or build one yourself from as little as £2500.
Registration + Membership: £90 for the year
Race entry fees: £250ish for 1 qually & 2 races over a weekend
Every race in 2012 televised on motors TV
Racing at all the major circuits (Silverstone, Brands GP, Oulton etc)
Very tight regs so those on a budget can compete fairly.
Full grids, great racing & a great paddock atmoshphere

Website: http://www.golfgti-racing.co.uk

[andy97]

Originally Posted by andrewc

Andy97 - what tyres were you using? - a lot of people scrounge tyres from other series that have disposed of them, and they're often too hard in compound for beginners or lightweight cars to get tyre temp.

I used to use Avon F Ford tyres from the NAtional Series racers on my Vauxhall Junior, I used to check who was testing/ racing at Donington & try to nip up there and get them when they had finished so, typically, each set that I got hold of had done one national championship race and a couple of half hour test sessions before being disposed off to me. Used to pay about £5 a tyre for them.

Later when I was trying to run a Vauxhall Lotus I used to use the Avon F3 tyres on the same basis but they used to cost me about £20 a tyre.

[andrewc]

Originally Posted by andy97

I used to use Avon F Ford tyres from the NAtional Series racers on my Vauxhall Junior, I used to check who was testing/ racing at Donington & try to nip up there and get them when they had finished so, typically, each set that I got hold of had done one national championship race and a couple of half hour test sessions before being disposed off to me. Used to pay about £5 a tyre for them.

Later when I was trying to run a Vauxhall Lotus I used to use the Avon F3 tyres on the same basis but they used to cost me about £20 a tyre.

Tristan used his Mono car in BRSCC F3 for a one-off meeting and cadged a set of current national F3 Coopers from the local F3 team. Didn't like them at all, struggled for grip. I think that is the problem that a lot of people running on a tight budget have, they get some cheap tyres, but they're too hard a compound for their level of experience.

[Bomber604]

Wandering slightly off topic?

[andrewc]

Yes slightly, but I was hopefully illustrating that cheapest isn't always best, and whilst £ 20 per tyre is a bargain, if they don't work for you, they're not such the bargain as they appear.

[ChrisPage]

The MSVR track day trophy should get a nod here - but you do need two drivers. When I was looking a couple of years ago the Red Dragon series looked good value, plus the Metro Cup, which you can enter reasonably standard MG/Rover 25s in now.

I looked at the Golf GTi mk2 championship (750MC?) and even got to ringing a competetitor with a car for sale - who completely put me off. Quite narky, and was saying how everyone thinks thats a cheap championship but he'd spent well over £20k in a year being competitive (not winning) and so anyone coming in should be ready to spend the same (each year!). I know you must get timewasters when advertising a race car, but he didn't sell the series!

[Spinner]

Ma5da Racing MX5's are one of the cheapest, £4500 for a car and it will be competitive straight away, always someone to race with having 60 + entries.

[PRS RH01]

Originally Posted by arthurfh123

I know a very obvious question, but having searched a lot its hard to find a specific answer, so what series in the UK can be seen as the cheapest with everything included, car, membership etc. Thanks

It depends on what you are looking for open wheel or closed . Im at Snetterton on the 7/8 April so if you havnt made up you mind or just fancy a coffee and a chat as your just up the road i will leave 2 tickets on the gate .Motor Racing in any form is fantastic and you will love and hate it in equal amounts . If you want really cheap racing try grass tracking class 1 cars from £100 meeting entry £6 . Just buy a big hammer . I run the Classic formula ford Championship and one thing to add in is will the car go up in value giving you an asset or not .
Just remember buy in haste repent at leisure .Tickets on the gate at Snett give me a call any time.

Peter

07586 300971

[Bomber604]

Originally Posted by ChrisPage

The MSVR track day trophy should get a nod here - but you do need two drivers. When I was looking a couple of years ago the Red Dragon series looked good value, plus the Metro Cup, which you can enter reasonably standard MG/Rover 25s in now.

I looked at the Golf GTi mk2 championship (750MC?) and even got to ringing a competetitor with a car for sale - who completely put me off. Quite narky, and was saying how everyone thinks thats a cheap championship but he'd spent well over £20k in a year being competitive (not winning) and so anyone coming in should be ready to spend the same (each year!). I know you must get timewasters when advertising a race car, but he didn't sell the series!

That's a shame, I think I know who you are referring to & fortunately winning isn't always about how much you spend. You need to be able to peddle aswell!

I've spent nowhere near that & was on the poduim almost every race last season & got my first class win at Brands. I would highly recommend the Mk2 Golf championship to anyone whether starting out or seasoned racer looking to have fun racing at a lower budget.

http://www.golfgti-racing.co.uk

[bdwoody]

it also has some thing to do with where you live. if you in the south then barc sec tin tops is a good call.good atmosphere, clean racing with some thing to race what ever your abilaty and afordable at £30 reg fee and £ 255 ish each round (qually and 2 races on one day ) .
as for check book racers ..... well i guess you get them every where , £20k for a season ! i havent spent that in 4 seasons and i have done ..... quite well !

[stockhatcher]

if you want chirpy chirpy cheap cheap, the come and do the SEMSEC Meridian Challenge. 6 rounds, four at Lydden and 1 at Brands. Anything tin topy is eligible although not space frames. Entries are £100 for Lydden and £150 for Brands - I don' think there is another championship in the UK today that can get you onto Brands for £150!. £65 for champ reg fee. You could probably do the whole season for less than £1000. I am hoping to spend less than that. - I did it last year for £900 and won.

[MGDavid]

Originally Posted by stockhatcher

if you want chirpy chirpy cheap cheap, the come and do the SEMSEC Meridian Challenge. 6 rounds, four at Lydden and 1 at Brands. ..........

creative accounting?

[Dom]

Originally Posted by stockhatcher

Entries are £100 for Lydden and £150 for Brands - I don' think there is another championship in the UK today that can get you onto Brands for £150!.

Sounds good on the surface but how much track time does that buy though? I've just paid entries for the BARC SEC Tin Tops at Brands this saturday - £260odd for 32mins (10min qually and 2x 12mins race) which works out at a painful £8.13 per minute and the moment your into your race groove its all over!

[tim dodwell]

If what interests you, is £ per minute, then for heaven's sake do trackdays.
There are a lot of us that are driven by £ per competitive day out - otherwise sprints and hillclimbs would be empty.
Those folk, who have plenty of dosh, are pushing racing to become too expensive for those who haven't (plenty of dosh). Bad for all, as grid sizes then drop, and entry fees go up again.
Good luck to SEMSEC - that is the RIGHT idea.
This subject comes up over and over again.

[Hybrids]

Originally Posted by Dom

Sounds good on the surface but how much track time does that buy though? I've just paid entries for the BARC SEC Tin Tops at Brands this saturday - £260odd for 32mins (10min qually and 2x 12mins race) which works out at a painful £8.13 per minute and the moment your into your race groove its all over!

I am also at Brands this weekend but in the Nippon Challenge, a smidge more track time for £295

[stockhatcher]

Originally Posted by Dom

Sounds good on the surface but how much track time does that buy though? I've just paid entries for the BARC SEC Tin Tops at Brands this saturday - £260odd for 32mins (10min qually and 2x 12mins race) which works out at a painful £8.13 per minute and the moment your into your race groove its all over!

15 mins q and 12 mins race, £150/27 = £5.55 per min.(Brands)
15 mins q and 12 mins race , £100/27 = £3.71per min (Lydden)

it is cheap whichever way you look at it.

And remember, the circuits want to make money, the club wants to make money, the series organiser wants paying. SEMSEC look like they are doing it for the benefit of the clubman and not some mini BCE.

and yes I mis counted earlier. It is 5 races at Lydden and 1 at Brands.

[chezza]

Originally Posted by Dom

Sounds good on the surface but how much track time does that buy though? I've just paid entries for the BARC SEC Tin Tops at Brands this saturday - £260odd for 32mins (10min qually and 2x 12mins race) which works out at a painful £8.13 per minute and the moment your into your race groove its all over!

Sorry Dom, just to be totally accurate...Brands this weekend is £255 and 34 mins of track time which works out to be £7.50 per minute (sorry to be pedantic)

No one ever said racing was cheap, but as a club we do all we can to keep the costs down.

Whilst the SEMSEC races do work out to be cheap, but I'm not sure how on earth they're able to give entries at that amount, there must be some subisdy going on from somewhere because its not just circuit hire, its the timing, medical cover etc that all adds up. Also not all racers want to go to Lydden - especially as the surface is so wearing on the tyres and it doesn't give the big cars a chance to stretch their legs etc.