Who races in real life?

[Tuning_Maniac]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if there are any other people here that also race in real life.

Myself, I have race Rallycross for nearly 6 years on a regional level in Belgium. Last 3 years I drove a Ford Ka with a tuned 1600cc Zetec engine.
It was fun, but Rallycross hardly gives you time behind the wheel.

So next April I will be starting my third year doing circuit racing. I do this in The Netherlands, again on amateur level in the Mercedes Benz SLK Cup.

All the same cars, max 197 bhp (yearly dyno + sealing of the engine), this year we'll have more than 30 entrants probably. Over the years already +60 SLK (type r170) have been build for (cup)racing. Some have already evolved to endurance racing so they can modify their car as much as they want.

We race on the following tracks: Zandvoort, Assen, Zolder and last year we had a race at Spa-Francorchamps.

My personal page
SLK cup website
My YT channel, check out some videos

 

[fortbo]

That looks like a really fun series! I’ve been racing in time attack for about 5 years now! I run in the full season championship with Gridlife as well as some individual Global Time Attack events. I’ve ran a few different cars over the past few seasons but my main car has always been a B7 S4. For this year I’ve switched platforms and I’m running an AMG GTS in Streetmod which is a production based class. We’re not allowed to completely gut interiors unless things have to be removed for safety equipment such as a cage and the cars have to be road registered. We’re also limited on the amount of aero we’re allowed to run with the front splitter only being able to be 5 inches from the furthest point of the front bumper and a wing no higher than the roof line and no wider than the side mirrors along with a rear diffuser and front canards. The crazy part though is that we actually have no power restrictions so the lap times are around GT4 qualifying pace at the front, and actually faster than GT4 at a few tracks. I also plan on running in GLTC which is a production based sprint touring car series ran by Gridlife hopefully this season as well as hopefully getting into some sort of IMSA competition in the future.

 

[TheElbows]

Closest I've been was attending a rally school. I ended up using that in another line of work where I chased people for a living off-road...so...kinda?

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

That looks like a really fun series! I’ve been racing in time attack for about 5 years now! I run in the full season championship with Gridlife as we as some individual Global Time Attack events. I’ve ran a few different cars over the past few seasons but my main car has always been a B7 S4. For this year I’ve switched platforms and I’m running an AMG GTS in Streetmod which is a production based class. We’re not allowed to completely gut interiors unless things have to be removed for safety equipment such as a cage and the cars have to be road registered. We’re also limited on the amount of aero we’re allowed to run with the front splitter only being able to be 5 inches from the furthest point of the front bumper and a wing no higher than the roof line and no wider than the side mirrors along with a rear diffuser and front canards. The crazy part though is that we actually have no power restrictions so the lap times are around GT4 qualifying pace at the front, and actually faster than GT4 at a few tracks. I also plan on running in GLTC which is a production based sprint touring car series ran by Gridlife hopefully this season as well as hopefully getting into some sort of IMSA competition in the future.
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That's awesome. Love the cars as well.
I know that direct competition enhances the chance of damage to your car without it being your fault, but don't you miss that on track?

It's just because I would never do Time Attack myself because I love the direct competition. Chasing someone and overtake them or defending to keep your position on track, that's when I perform best.
Qualifying, flying laps are not my biggest strength. I wish it was, because very often I'm a bit on the back foot at the start of the race already

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

Closest I've been was attending a rally school. I ended up using that in another line of work where I chased people for a living off-road...so...kinda?

Very cool. That's something I would like to do as well someday, have some training at a rally school.
But because I'm not racing on a circuit it would just be for fun, that's why I haven't done that yet.

Biggest dream is to go driving on ice in Norway or Sweden.
Someday :-)

 

[fortbo]

That's awesome. Love the cars as well.
I know that direct competition enhances the chance of damage to your car without it being your fault, but don't you miss that on track?

It's just because I would never do Time Attack myself because I love the direct competition. Chasing someone and overtake them or defending to keep your position on track, that's when I perform best.
Qualifying, flying laps are not my biggest strength. I wish it was, because very often I'm a bit on the back foot at the start of the race already

Yeah I totally get that! I think what attracts me to time attack is the fact that it’s one of the last few unrestricted forms of Motorsport, the variety of the cars than can be competitive and the ways that they are competitive is pretty great. The cars themselves aren’t designed to turn lap after lap so there’s a lot of pressure to deliver the best possible lap on the first or second lap which is something I really enjoy. It’s super rewarding when you nail that perfect lap. The best way to describe how the cars are built are drag cars designed to turn. I do plan on racing in GLTC sometime this season though because I know how great racing for position is too!

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

Yeah I totally get that! I think what attracts me to time attack is the fact that it’s one of the last few unrestricted forms of Motorsport, the variety of the cars than can be competitive and the ways that they are competitive is pretty great. The cars themselves aren’t designed to turn lap after lap so there’s a lot of pressure to deliver the best possible lap on the first or second lap which is something I really enjoy. It’s super rewarding when you nail that perfect lap. The best way to describe how the cars are built are drag cars designed to turn. I do plan on racing in GLTC sometime this season though because I know how great racing for position is too!

I see, I do understand now. The variety of cars and how they are modified is indeed amazing. I do love the time attack machines.
Keep us posted over here how your season goes along, I'll do the same as well.

Only 2 more weeks and I have my first race of the season, 16th of April

 

[fortbo]

I see, I do understand now. The variety of cars and how they are modified is indeed amazing. I do love the time attack machines.
Keep us posted over here how your season goes along, I'll do the same as well.

Only 2 more weeks and I have my first race of the season, 16th of April

I’ll definitely keep everyone posted. Testing out the car some more this weekend! The next big event and the start of the main part of the season is in early June so there’s a good amount of time to perfect the setup.

 

[GTracer38]

I race in the one-make Hyundai Excel (X3 Accent) series in Victoria (club/state series').

Joined the class in 2018 after a couple of hillclimbs and karting ('09-'14).

Heaps of cars around the country, predominately because of the relatively low expense to get into the series.
There is always someone to race against given the wide variance of skill/experience/budget.

That variance does lead to the occasional 'messy' display but for the most part, it's bloody good fun.

The Vic series' race at Sandown, Phillip Island and Winton (long and short layouts for the club series).
They also tend to run one or two 'enduro' style events outside of the season. Typically a 90min race, two drivers and no refuelling.

I am one of the slow ones of course, but I still enjoy it


@Tuning_Maniac - how do you find Zandvoort after the changes?

 

[EDK]

I race in Lucky Dog in the US. It's an endurance race series for older/cheap cars.

This is me driving at Thunder Hill last November. A ton of laps and battles on my channel.

We currently race in a Corolla FX with a V6 swap. It's.......fun.

New item by Kevin Michael

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

I race in the one-make Hyundai Excel (X3 Accent) series in Victoria (club/state series').

Joined the class in 2018 after a couple of hillclimbs and karting ('09-'14).

Heaps of cars around the country, predominately because of the relatively low expense to get into the series.
There is always someone to race against given the wide variance of skill/experience/budget.

That variance does lead to the occasional 'messy' display but for the most part, it's bloody good fun.

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The Vic series' race at Sandown, Phillip Island and Winton (long and short layouts for the club series).
They also tend to run one or two 'enduro' style events outside of the season. Typically a 90min race, two drivers and no refuelling.

I am one of the slow ones of course, but I still enjoy it


@Tuning_Maniac - how do you find Zandvoort after the changes?

Wow, such a big field. That must be awesome because like you say, you'll always have a fight on track.
It's the same in our series, you'll always find someone who is doing the same laptimes as you and that's great fun.

I think I've seen that series pass in some 'crashes of the week' videos
Amazing tracks you're visiting, they seem like so much fun.

I love Zandvoort. I've never driven on the old track unfortunately so I can't compare, but what they've done....it works. All other drivers say the same. The banked hairpin is amazing because you can keep the speed in the car, while before it really was a slow corner. The banking in the final turn isn't really that exiting in our cars but again, you can keep your speed for the straight line after it which is great.
I've driven on Spa Francorchamps as well, which is off course one of the greatest tracks on the planet, I will not deny that. But in our cars it is not that exiting in between corners because it's so big.
Straight line to Eau Rouge, meh, the corner itself; awesome. Then again a long straight to get to a twisty bit... most of the time you're not really doing anything
In Zandvoort you only have the start/finish straight to relax, all the rest is corner after corner with elevation changes, banked corners, older asphalt,... For me Zandvoort is the best track for our racing series.

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

I race in Lucky Dog in the US. It's an endurance race series for older/cheap cars.

This is me driving at Thunder Hill last November. A ton of laps and battles on my channel.

We currently race in a Corolla FX with a V6 swap. It's.......fun.

New item by Kevin Michael

photos.app.goo.gl

Dear god, that Thunder Hill track looks amazing to do
I can imagine it's fun, so amazing to see.
I've checked out a few videos and I also like the tracks you're doing. Just like the before, they're unknown to me, but they seem like great fun.

 

[fortbo]

Did a test session to get some more seat time in the car and figure out if some slight aero adjustments worked, and it’s insane how big of a difference just a gurney flap will make! It’s safe to say that it’s looking like we’ll be very competitive this season. Really happy with the direction everything’s going in right now. You know you’re making good downforce when you have a sore neck the next morning! 😂

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

Did a test session to get some more seat time in the car and figure out if some slight aero adjustments worked, and it’s insane how big of a difference just a gurney flap will make! It’s safe to say that it’s looking like we’ll be very competitive this season. Really happy with the direction everything’s going in right now. You know you’re making good downforce when you have a sore neck the next morning! 😂

Haha, true

Anyways, got my car back from the wrapper.
I'm ready for my first race day next weekend

 

[fortbo]

Haha, true

Anyways, got my car back from the wrapper.
I'm ready for my first race day next weekend


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Looks awesome! About to get my livery put on too within the next couple weeks. Here’s the render of it.

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

Looks awesome! About to get my livery put on too within the next couple weeks. Here’s the render of it. View attachment 1136610

That looks great as well.
Subtle but very cool!

 

[RX-7_FD3S]

I go kart racing 4-5 times a year with friends. And went to do some track days in europe with friends. Went to the Nordschleife and Spa notably and some of probably unknown to anyone here, tracks from france close to the border with my country.

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

I go kart racing 4-5 times a year with friends. And went to do some track days in europe with friends. Went to the Nordschleife and Spa notably and some of probably unknown to anyone here, tracks from france close to the border with my country.

Ah karting, been a while for me. Last time was for my bachelor party, more than 3 years ago.

What car did you use on those track days?
And which tracks are those? Always nice to learn new tracks.
Our SLK Cup may go to France in september: circuit Anneau du Rhin, which is not extremely far from Basel if i look at Google maps.

 

[AlexWilmot]

I used to race a Caterham 7 and karts but since the pandemic I've had to sell all that and focus on my career, maybe soon I'll get back into a seat

 

[RX-7_FD3S]

Ah karting, been a while for me. Last time was for my bachelor party, more than 3 years ago.

What car did you use on those track days?
And which tracks are those? Always nice to learn new tracks.
Our SLK Cup may go to France in september: circuit Anneau du Rhin, which is not extremely far from Basel if i look at Google maps.

I usually share a golf gti with a friend, we share tyres and gas cost. I also drove a porsche gt3 but for like 1 or 2 laps.

Circuit de Bresse, RACG (grenoble), Circuit du Lacquais, etc.. I live in Geneva so I'm closer to the Lyon/Grenoble area.

​

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

I used to race a Caterham 7 and karts but since the pandemic I've had to sell all that and focus on my career, maybe soon I'll get back into a seat

That's too bad, but we all know how expensive racing can get
I hope for you that you can start again soon.

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

I usually share a golf gti with a friend, we share tyres and gas cost. I also drove a porsche gt3 but for like 1 or 2 laps.

Circuit de Bresse, RACG (grenoble), Circuit du Lacquais, etc.. I live in Geneva so I'm closer to the Lyon/Grenoble area.

​

Alright, those tracks look cool though!

 

[Nismonath5]

I've been competing in the 24 Hours Of Lemons / NAZCAR Pro Series since 2017. Anywhere from 6 - 24 hour endurance races, someimes broken up over the course of a weekend, sometimes nonstop. It certainly hits different racing at 2am in the pitch black while it's raining.

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

I've been competing in the 24 Hours Of Lemons / NAZCAR Pro Series since 2017. Anywhere from 6 - 24 hour endurance races, someimes broken up over the course of a weekend, sometimes nonstop. It certainly hits different racing at 2am in the pitch black while it's raining.

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Very cool. And that's something I haven't done yet, racing in the dark but I can imagine it's a whole different ball game.

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

Last Saturday I had the very first race of the season.
We had a huge entry list of 32 cars, of which 12 rookies.

I finally nailed the qualifying by setting the 7th time. It just ensured me to start with the leading pack instead of having to fight my way up in the first races. That has always been my biggest flaw.
So I had high hopes for race 1 and with the rolling start I managed to go to 5th place immediately.
Unfortunately in the very first corner, while I was trying to out brake the guy in front of me, a rookie slammed into my door on the inside.
That just broke my concentration for a bit, making it so that i lost 3 more places in the next 2 laps. I was hearing stuff thinking something was wrong with the car, which wasn't the case. Finished 10th

Second race at the start in the first corner I had a second rookie slamming into me, breaking the right mirror.
I saw him coming from far away, but i had nowhere to go. After that I had some good fights but still ended up 11th.

Final race of the day, there was some chaos after the first corner and after the end of a code 60 (full course yellow) I had a third rookie slamming into the back of me. No idea what he wanted to achieve there because I had been much faster before and after that restart I couldn't see him in my mirror anymore after 1 lap... In the final lap I had a go at the guy in front of me, but he just bumped into me when i was beside him, so i ended that race in 9th.

Final position of the day was 9th out of 32 competitors.
Below you can check out my YouTube race report.

Race Report of the first race


It's nice to have rookies in the cup, but they just need to chill out and understand that there's no money to be made. We are all racing for fun and want to go home with an undamaged car.
The cup organiser was not happy and give everyone a warning that they will not hesitate to exclude someone from the cup because they are better fit for rallycross or whatever. They've done it before, excluding someone because of to much contact.

 

[Nismonath5]

Very cool. And that's something I haven't done yet, racing in the dark but I can imagine it's a whole different ball game.

In all honesty, I actually prefer it.

The reason is two fold.

Firstly, obviously it's a bit cooler in the car, so a bit more comfortable.

Secondly, with headlights it's much easier to know what people behind you are doing. If you have a car behind you then their headlights are lighting up the inside of your car. If the light darts to the left, you know they've gone left. It gives an added element of being able to tell where traffic behind you is, which is pretty neat! Means you don't have to check your mirrors nearly as often.

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

In all honesty, I actually prefer it.

The reason is two fold.

Firstly, obviously it's a bit cooler in the car, so a bit more comfortable.

Secondly, with headlights it's much easier to know what people behind you are doing. If you have a car behind you then their headlights are lighting up the inside of your car. If the light darts to the left, you know they've gone left. It gives an added element of being able to tell where traffic behind you is, which is pretty neat! Means you don't have to check your mirrors nearly as often.

hmmm, makes a lot of sense

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

Couple pics of last saturday at Zandvoort.

 

[Tuning_Maniac]

Last Tuesday we had our second race of the season.
This time at the TT Circuit of Assen, very well known for motorbike lovers but not so well known amongst autoracing.
So even for me it was the very first time that I drove on that track.

My first impressions weren't that positive, it's a fast track but that also means that there are very few places to overtake. After race 3 i have to amend that first thought. Since I started from the back and had to work my way back to the front, I did have an awesome race with lots of overtakes.

Race 1: Qualified 12th and finished 6th
Race 2: Moved up to 5th but made a tiny mistake by braking too late for the last chicane. I had 2 options, try and make the corner but then I would have certainly spun around, or pedal to the metal and go straight through the gravel to minimize the time loss. I chose the latter but after that the car started to make terrible noise. Sounded like gravel was stuck between the brake discs and pads and that I was grinding it all up, so I immediately decided to stop. Afterwards we found out that there was gravel in between the drive shaft and a heat shield...rather innocent.
Race 3: I had to start from place 26, but this was a 50 minute race for the very first time ever and with a mandatory pitstop (stand still for 60 seconds). Cut through the back field like a hot knife through butter and then there was a code 60 period (Full Course Yellow) which fell during the pit window open period, so it was perfect.
Some cars in front weren't that smart and stayed out. In the end I finished 5th, but received a time penalty for speeding during the Code 60. Fell back to place 7.

Overall day result: 12th

YouTube race report

 

[fortbo]

With a little under three weeks until the next event, and one of the biggest events of the year at that, we’ve been busy getting the car in the best possible position to be competitive. We’re now at 625 WHP which is about a 145 whp increase over where it was at COTA. KW supplied some amazing suspension as well with their 2A EXR Competition coilovers which is essentially the same thing that the factory GT4 cars run, but custom tailored to our downforce and tire setup. I’ll post all the livestream links the week of the event!

Also, finally got the new livery on the car!