Beginner events?

[EJRocky]

Right... so I've decided to become a race driver as a career. It's all I've wanted to do, I've been sim-racing since about the age of five and I have an uncanny ability to drive in GT4... ever seen a fourteen year old with all golds in the license tests?

Anyway, I've been looking to step it up a gear. In a few years, I want to own a car, like most other teenagers. But I've been playing GT4 (hasn't everyone?) and the small "Family Cup" events, and the Beginner Hall, have given me ideas...

...is there stuff like the Beginner Hall or Family Cups in real life? Basically, some form of cheap racing where you just turn up with your daily driver... like, a beginner event open to anyone held at a small track. Not banger racing though... or karting... I would want to use my daily driver, to keep costs down, and I don't wanna smash it up either

Thanks guys.

 

[eiriksmil]

Gran Turismo really ruins small kids.

 

[Rotary Junkie]

Disregard.

 

[Nicksfix]

I would want to use my daily driver, to keep costs down, and I don't wanna smash it up either

Racing in real life costs a lot of money. 💡

How fast you want to go depends on how fast you want to empty your wallet.
As far as no smash ups - forget it - these will always happen.

 

[Omnis]

Racing in real life costs a lot of money. 💡

How fast you want to go depends on how fast you want to empty your wallet.
As far as no smash ups - forget it - these will always happen.

ding ding ding ding! We have a winner!

The best beginner event you could do is make a lot of money with a good job or make a lot of money with a sponsor.

 

[Joey D]

It's called autocross, pretty much if you can pass the most basic safety requirements and have a helmet you can compete, although depending on your car don't expect to do well. I don't know what it's like in the UK, but here in the US we have an organisation called the SCCA which sanctions events in parking lots on the weekends.

The chance of wrecking while doing autocross is quite low, I've only ever seen one guy crash into a lamp pole and that was because he was fooling around. There are going to be things breaking though, I mean you are throwing your car around quite a bit.

I see that you are 14 based on the information in your profile. There is nothing wrong with wanting to start early but I'm going to tell you right now you aren't as good of a driver as you think you are. GT is still a game and doesn't simulate a real driving experience all that well since it negates forces on your body and fear. Not to mention cars are perfect every race.

 

[homeforsummer]

It's called autocross, pretty much if you can pass the most basic safety requirements and have a helmet you can compete, although depending on your car don't expect to do well. I don't know what it's like in the UK, but here in the US we have an organisation called the SCCA which sanctions events in parking lots on the weekends.

The chance of wrecking while doing autocross is quite low, I've only ever seen one guy crash into a lamp pole and that was because he was fooling around. There are going to be things breaking though, I mean you are throwing your car around quite a bit.

I see that you are 14 based on the information in your profile. There is nothing wrong with wanting to start early but I'm going to tell you right now you aren't as good of a driver as you think you are. GT is still a game and doesn't simulate a real driving experience all that well since it negates forces on your body and fear. Not to mention cars are perfect every race.

Good advice Joey 👍 More constructive than a few other of the comments so far.

Autocross is one option certainly. Also, in the UK, you could do worse than to look at autograss (click on the links), in particular Minicross which I think is actually aimed at younger drivers, specifically from 14 years, maybe younger. Neither are proper circuit racing - both, as you'd guess from the name, are grass/field based events in very stripped-down cars with only really safety equipment like rollcages, window netting and push bars. One of the cheapest motorsports in the UK - but even then you'd need to buy a car, a trailer, and get your parents to drag all the kit to each event.

There are also a number of short-oval series in the UK, which are also cheap. They're a bit like banger racing, but in theory with no contact, or limited contact at the most. That'd mean you'd be able to use the car again. And again, I think they allow younger drivers.

To get an idea of your driving skill, it's worth looking at Karting, though not professionally as it's probably more expensive to compete in a karting series than it is to do autograss...

Obviously, there are series above these basic ones, but for low cost these are the lowest you can possibly get in the UK. Even basic series like Stock Hatch can cost from £10,000 for a season (inc. the car) which is cheap by motorsport standards but not exactly pocket money compared to other hobbies...

 

[EJRocky]

I RESENT being called a "small child", "eiriksmil"

There is nothing wrong with wanting to start early but I'm going to tell you right now you aren't as good of a driver as you think you are. GT is still a game and doesn't simulate a real driving experience all that well since it negates forces on your body and fear. Not to mention cars are perfect every race.

Well... of course... a shaved trained monkey could figure that one out... I know you're just saying but it's pretty obvious... thanks

I will consider all three of the sports suggested. Autocross is the kind of thing I was talking about, though, so that's likely. Very likely.

*goes and gets a job to raise funds for cheap old banger*

Thanks guys, epic help 👍

 

[Gil]

Most of the good to great young drivers your age (yes, there are "pros" your age) have started in Karting.
Unfortunately, they also have 5-8 years experience by the time they've turned 14.

Joey is correct, one of the best springboards for the rest of us is Autocross.
But Karting is somewhat cheaper, and will teach the dynamics of car handling.
You should start saving your money now, and when you get your lisence, go right out and pay for...one of the driving school courses. (You thought I might say car).
There are many courses.
Do some research, and decide what kind of racing you want to do.
Experiment with some rally instruction and road racing instruction, as some of the instruction crosses both types of racing.
Your biggest obstacle will be money.

 

[homeforsummer]

Most of the good to great young drivers your age (yes, there are "pros" your age) have started in Karting.
Unfortunately, they also have 5-8 years experience by the time they've turned 14.

Joey is correct, one of the best springboards for the rest of us is Autocross.
But Karting is somewhat cheaper, and will teach the dynamics of car handling

There are a few grey areas in all that. Firstly, not having been karting all his life won't necessarily be the burden you might think, unless he has a desire to go into single seaters, which he hasn't mentioned. Karters do get a very good idea for things like the limit of grip, high cornering forces, quick changes of direction, racecraft etc... but it's a very different sensation to driving a road-based car quickly.

To illustrate, I tend to use the racing scholarship I did a few years back. I'd been driving on the road for about three years at the time, had only driven two cars in my life (mine, and the one I learned in, which was essentially the same), and turned up at the circuit in jeans and a t-shirt. When I got there, there were a bunch of fresh-faced 17 and 18 year olds in full racing overalls, with helmets, racing boots and half their families. On the day we were driving a Mini Cooper and an MX5. All the young karters were honestly pretty slow driving the cars - many had five or more years of karting experience but only a few months of driving a real car, much less driving a real car quickly. Getting a feel for things like pitch and roll, gearchanges and a low-geared steering rack are some sensations that you just don't get in karting, but certainly do driving road cars.

The majority of Formula 1 drivers will have started in karting. Most touring car drivers or rally drivers probably won't.

Also, karting at a very low level is fairly cheap but it gets expensive very quickly indeed. I read in an Autosport article that a season of top-flight karting actually costs more than a season of Formula Ford 1600, because with a FFord you don't need to rebuild the whole engine after every single session and the basic Ford parts used are cheaper than the fancy-pants bits karters seem to use these days.

Your biggest obstacle will be money.

Very true though. It shouldn't be underestimated, motorsport is expensive.

 

[Keef]

If you want to end up in racing that you can actually make money at one day, I suggest you get into kart racing. It's by far the best place to learn driving techniques and car control and you'll learn the core knowledge that you'll need for the rest of your career. You simply can't do that at an autocross. Autocross and time attack events are pretty much just friendly competition without much of a reward, if any at all. Karting won't, either. It's rare that pros scout kart racers and recruit them to race on a team in a higher end series, so you'll probably have to pay your own way into Formula Ford, or some sort of spec racing series. It'd be a good idea to attend racing schools, too. I'm sure there are lots of them over in Europe.

But, the bottom line is that karting is the best way to get your foot in the door of racing and gain a good knowledge base. Lewis Hamilton didn't start his career by dodging cones.

 

[McLaren]

I second what Keef said on Karting. However, if you must start out in a car, try to find an organization the equivalent of the US' SCCA which is the best place to begin racing if you didn't start driving karts & such by 7 years old.

The SCCA holds all kinds of events. Everything from small Mazda-powered formula racers to rally events to single-make events from a Jetta TDI Cup to the Monterey Mazda MX-5 races. The SCCA's biggest event is the Speed World Challenge.

Autocrossing & track days, though, are what you should start out in. After you've gained enough confidence & skill, sign up to be apart of your continent's equivalent of the SCCA, and start low. Then, work your way up to becoming a driver in any Cup events. A LOT of team managers constantly watch SCCA Cup events for potential candidates.

Of course though, you'll see a pattern in my post. You got to start low, and build your way up. It's tough, and it gets even tougher due to 2 paths once you think you can enter a professional series whether or not you built yourself up through the events I listed.

1) The "easiest" way to become a "pro" is to fund everything yourself in whatever motorsport you wish. Most folks go this route, but then again, most have money & aren't their own drivers. In this route, you're still going to have to proof yourself worthy of being drafted by someone.

2) You become recognized. By now, it may be too late unless you have some exceptional skill. This route, while hard & frustrating, is easier on the wallet, but can take even longer to get to where you want. You also need to become very competitive or you could be let go.

So, it becomes one of two things in the end for you, dude. Have major cash or have some amazing skill behind a wheel. Racing is a very tough career, and most people who try to enter always want a professional series career.
These folks should realize that if they really love racing, they should be happy in any racing series they can become apart of. I'd love to race M3s & 911s, but if the only motorsport events I can become a part of are local trackdays & small amatuer events, that's fine with me as long as I can race at the end of the day.

 

[Keef]

2) You become recognized. By now, it may be too late unless you have some exceptional skill. This route, while hard & frustrating, is easier on the wallet, but can take even longer to get to where you want. You also need to become very competitive or you could be let go.

Most of the big names you hear in F1, NASCAR, IndyCar, etc. probably didn't plan on being a pro racer making millions of dollars. They just raced, and happened to be good. They just kind of stumbled upon the opportunity, and everything worked out.

Some people like Ken Block and Travis Pastrana pretty much bought their way into car racing from the fortunes they made through motocross and snowboarding. I think being good at auto racing requires some sort of innate ability to understand physics and the way things move, and all the racers I know agree with that. There's a whole lot of math that you just don't think about, and the majority of people just don't think that way. Those guys grew up doing other things that required that sort of knowledge, and it transfers well. That's why good race drivers can swap between types and cars and still be very good. But again, whether it be snowboarding or racing, they probably didn't try to be good. They just were.

But it's never too late to start racing in my opinion. There's a lot of people out there who have what it takes, but never had the opportunity. I bet money the guys you see in F1 aren't the best racers in the world. I bet there's tons of people better than them. They just weren't in the right place at the right time. But go ahead and race.

It may be better to get into a different career and leave the racing as your fun hobby. Everyone needs a hobby. You know what those race car drivers do? They sit on the couch. Taking a break is their hobby, because racing is work. I'd rather racing be my relaxation. I don't care what my job is, as long as I can pay the entry fee!

 

[stumpydino]

as your in dorset get yourself to matchams! karting or stock be a good start and quite cheap

 

[homeforsummer]

However, if you must start out in a car, try to find an organization the equivalent of the US' SCCA which is the best place to begin racing if you didn't start driving karts & such by 7 years old.

In the USA, the main body is the Motor Sports Association. They govern numerous smaller clubs. This website, though a bit rough and ready, is a good list of numerous clubs and motorsport types in the UK.

 

[Nicksfix]

It may be better to get into a different career and leave the racing as your fun hobby. Everyone needs a hobby. You know what those race car drivers do? They sit on the couch. Taking a break is their hobby, because racing is work. I'd rather racing be my relaxation. I don't care what my job is, as long as I can pay the entry fee!

He has a good point. 👍 If you are a died hard gotta race in my blood kind of a person, a good thing for you to do is go to the local track and hang out,learn things,make aquaintences with the racers,and become overly familiar with the form of racing you are interested in,and who knows,you may fall into something.

The 2nd part to this is to take a job doing something that is related in the autosport industry to keep your racing blood flowing , and like mentioned before , just do it on the weekends as a hobby.

My friend , I speak the truth here as will a lot of others here I"m sure. This is coming from my experience. Racing is a very expensive sport , you gotta look at the entire picture , not just the grassy green fields. Give it some thought.

 

[EJRocky]

I will give it thought. I have a couple of years anyway (I want to actually learn to drive for real first... get me used to the physics and forces on the road) and then start racing at a track day, or something, and try and work my way in. I should have a job by then, so I could throw a little bit of money at it.

Thanks for all your input guys, great help 👍

 

[Roo]

For your current age, rather than later in life as you've said above:

Probably the most well-known series is the Ginetta Juniors. Ginetta run the Ginetta Junior and Ginetta Senior championships (Juniors are 14 -16, Seniors 17+). They take you through step by step what you need to know to get racing, but you pay for it - £2,000 for the training and £13,000 for the car. I think it's mostly bolt on stuff, so replacement parts should be easy to fit if you have a bump (check the price list). £104 for a set of Dunlop race tyres sounds pretty good - I guess they're the real equivalent of Gran Turismo's Sports Hards.

A little cheaper is the SaxMax championship - Citroen Saxos at 7 circuits (9 meetings) across the UK. Second hand cars cost from about £5,000 - £10,000. Registration fee is £1,000. The age range is 14-17 year olds, with (from what I've heard and read) the driving standards to match.

Otherwise, check the 750 Motor Club (SaxMax is part of this), the BRSCC (British Racing & Sports Car Club), and the BARC (British Automobile Racing Club).

Also, look into hillclimbing and maybe historic racing too. TheCracker races a Lotus Cortina (when it's working!) in one of the historic series, and wanders all over Europe doing so.

That's just about all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Nicksfix]

To be exact , which form of motorsport catches your fancy ?

 

[Keef]

I will give it thought. I have a couple of years anyway (I want to actually learn to drive for real first... get me used to the physics and forces on the road) and then start racing at a track day, or something, and try and work my way in. I should have a job by then, so I could throw a little bit of money at it.

Thanks for all your input guys, great help 👍

You don't necessarily need a license to race. You can get a kart and go practice at the track right now! You'll already have a very solid knowledge of car control before you ever even drive one. Then once you get your real car it'll come naturally to you, and you'll be able to learn new stuff quicker.

 

[EJRocky]

Ginetta... well, I do like them. But all those costs... no fourteen year old has ever had that amount of money, bar a couple of movie stars maybe. Thank you for the suggestion though, if I get a good paying job when I'm 16 and can get a job, I will look into that.

And as for what kind of racing, ImagineByLennon, I'm not really sure... just as long as it's pro racing. However I'm particularly interested in F1, LeMans, or DTM.

And I have considered karts... but they're way too expensive too. Even if I managed to save up the thousand or so to buy the kit, there's no way I could maintain it and pay for a season...

As I'm 14, money just... isn't. It'll have to be when I'm around 16 and can get a proper job

 

[homeforsummer]

Realistically you'd do best setting your sights a little lower. Or look at rallying, which is a sport where people don't tend to start when they're three years old... Actually, rallying isn't a bad idea and it can be achieved at a fairly reasonable cost at lower levels. I don't know if Ford still runs their rally academy, but in that you'd pay a couple of grand for some events and they'd even give you a co-driver, and all the instruction you'd need to learn rallying skills, from about 14 years old. They used a car like this:

It had mechanicals from the Ford Ka, but was rear-drive and weighed very little so it was quite quick and great for teaching car control. Rallying in general is great for teaching car control and if necessary you could then make the jump into circuit racing when you had a bit more money and work up from there.

And I have considered karts... but they're way too expensive too. Even if I managed to save up the thousand or so to buy the kit, there's no way I could maintain it and pay for a season...

Just as I said. Karting can be very expensive. Obviously, spending the odd weekend at your local track using their karts isn't particularly expensive, and it's good for learning skills, but then you're always going to need lots of money to take it any further.

For mixing lack of cost with developing racing skills I'd still recommend something like autograss. Look how much fun it looks!:



That's class 2, which is 1300cc cars. The basic class is class 1, which used to be just Minis, but now includes Citroen AXs and Fiat Cinquecentos too. And they can be picked up very cheaply (there's a functioning AX on ebay for £295 at the moment and Fiats for about £500), and entry fees are sod all. You could probably even make money off the cars selling the bits you don't need, like the trim, lights, windows etc!

 

[Omnis]

For mixing lack of cost with developing racing skills I'd still recommend something like autograss. Look how much fun it looks!:



That's class 2, which is 1300cc cars. The basic class is class 1, which used to be just Minis, but now includes Citroen AXs and Fiat Cinquecentos too. And they can be picked up very cheaply (there's a functioning AX on ebay for £295 at the moment and Fiats for about £500), and entry fees are sod all. You could probably even make money off the cars selling the bits you don't need, like the trim, lights, windows etc!

The entry fee for an Autograss event is sod all? Who knew!

 

[homeforsummer]

The entry fee for an Autograss event is sod all? Who knew!

Pun was vaguely intended...

But if you want to put a price on it, the autograss club local to me has a licence fee of £45, and entry fee of £5. I can't remember the last time I spectated at a motorsport event for a fiver, let alone competed for that price.

 

[Dave A]

Take a look at this website, it will perhaps be in your interests to have a look at what they do, what you want to do and take it from there. If anything it will give you an idea about what is available in the UK. If it's not viable financially now then at least you have this information for when it is more realistic. Motorsports is expensive to get into, even the entry level and cheap entry level stuff works out pretty high, £30 here, £50 there, new set of tyre's here, new exhaust there. Don't think "Hey I've got enough money to enter, just, so I'm going to enter." Anytihng can happen, you car can break and at some point it probably will, you will need more money than just entry fee's and the initial cost of the car. Tyre's and fuel will add up, as will any smaller repair and big ones should something really go wrong mechnaically or in the event of a crash. But anyway take a look at the link and hopefully it will be helpfull for you.
http://www.btrda.com/Motorsports_Future/

 

[EJRocky]

For mixing lack of cost with developing racing skills I'd still recommend something like autograss. Look how much fun it looks!:



That's class 2, which is 1300cc cars. The basic class is class 1, which used to be just Minis, but now includes Citroen AXs and Fiat Cinquecentos too. And they can be picked up very cheaply (there's a functioning AX on ebay for £295 at the moment and Fiats for about £500), and entry fees are sod all. You could probably even make money off the cars selling the bits you don't need, like the trim, lights, windows etc!

I like that. I like that a lot. I always knew Autograss was there, but the way you described it in that post made it seem to be exactly what I need. Would I need any kind of insurance, or a driver's license? Do I need to be legal driving age?

After I finish saving for GT5, a PS3, and a G25, it's definitely autograss next

And thanks for the interesting link too, Dave A. Much appreciated 👍

 

[homeforsummer]

I like that. I like that a lot. I always knew Autograss was there, but the way you described it in that post made it seem to be exactly what I need. Would I need any kind of insurance, or a driver's license? Do I need to be legal driving age?

Given that drivers can start in Class 1 (Minis, Citroen AXs and Fiat Cinqecentos) from 12 years old, it's fairly safe to say that you don't need a driving licence. You do need a NASA (National Autograss Sports Association) licence to compete, but this requires no test - you simply find the autograss club nearest to you, and in joining you're applying for the licence, covered in the membership fee. At 14 years old, you'd be applying for a Junior licence (12-16 years old - and Juniors can only race in Class 1), which is cheaper than a Full licence, but varies from club to club. There are links to the clubs here.

Before spending any money at all though, you'd be best off going to a few events at your nearest circuit, speaking to the officials and the competitors, and getting a general idea of what's involved. You may be able to get a general idea about how much money it'll set you back. You could even find some of the drivers your age and see what they think! You'll probably see what car is best for you too.

The best link for "getting started" is here. It tells you everything you need to do and gives a bit of advice. Right at the bottom it actually mentions something about hire-driving, certain tracks have facilities for hiring a car, so you can try before you buy, as it were. Also, have a look through the rest of the site, you'll find photos, results and all sorts. They also have a forum, which while not up to the standard of GTP might be worth joining for a bit more info!

Hope this helps 👍 At some point I'm intending to try autograss, which is why I've swatted up on it!

 

[EJRocky]

Thank you so much. If I were old enough I'd buy you a drink, haha

That is pretty much what I was thinking of when I made this thread. I'll be sure to check it out as much as I can, and get involved 👍

 

[neanderthal]

sounds like youve got plenty of good advice here.

simply put, its karts> autocross> spec miata> bigger and better things.

id suggest paying attention in school. seriously.
most people who are racing today are racing because they are successful in some other endeavor; contractors, doctors, architects, plumbers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, small business owners.

very few of them are supermarket checkers, tire installers, bus drivers, machinists, etc. in other words, most of them are professionals.

 

[VA10]

sorry to tell you this kid but most real race car drivers start around the age of 6 on go kart tracks.. you muscles in your next wont be able to cope with the G's needed in a real race car.

It cost ALOT of money to be a racer don't believe the games like GT where you start off with 5000 credits and buy a MX-5 to race..

If your really intent on racing i suggest buying a old beat up car do it up and go banger racing