Racer

[Skyl1neZ]

Hey guys how to start up a racing career? Do you guys start up from go-karting? If so whats after go-karting ?

Im really into racing of course legally

Edited November 3, 2009 by Skyl1neZ

[Marlin]

Hi and welcome to the forum mate.

Karts are great if you can afford to buy and run one already.

Otherwise, work real hard and spend your own money, or have rich parents who'll fund you. There is no magic solution unfortunately and most of us on here are mere plebs paying our own way, with the probably exception of the great John Boston.

[Skyl1neZ]

Thanks Marlin, basically you guys just buy a track car and start racing ?

[Marlin]

I've done Karts (as an adult0 as I'm sure many have, but when i was young, my father pushed me more toward sailing than motorsport, so maybe I missed out on a motorsport career? lol

If you want to just have fun, then yeah, grab up a 32 or s13 and kick off, if you want a career, well, thats a whole different ball game!

[grippy]

I don't know anyone that just buys a track car and starts racing!!

Most people buy a car that is a good platform for a future race car and develops it slowly. There is a lot more to racing than just buying a car... It is a slow and expensive process that requires dedication of time and skill both on and off the track.

If your super keen I would advise looking for a competitive base car, (S13 Silvia, R32 GTR or GTST, Toyota Sprinter, etc.)

and start off with some small mods, join a CAMS affiliated car club, get yourself a CAMS Level 2 speed licence, and start doing some practice days, club events and open days.

You will meet people at the track that will give you advice and help you progress towards your dream.

Just remember $$$$$ are everything in motorsport and mostly buys you nothing but disappointment, but this is what gives you such elation when you succeed.

Good luck.

[dezz]

It may sound blunt, but considering you're looking for an R33 between $6-7k, you may be getting ahead of yourself...Racing is expensive, unless of course you have someone staking you, but judging by your other thread, you don't..

[sav man]

I started with my GTR as a road car and decided to take it to the track. over the years i've taken 10 secs of my time, and 3 secs clear of the next fastest street car, through increased skills, and car devopment. I've also been lucky enough to run Targa the last 3 years thanks to Dad, but after the experence with him i'm planning to running by myself in 2011.

I'm now building a gtst race car, and leaving the GTR as a nice (but still fast) street car. In hind site I should have done that to start with.

But as Ben said, depends what you want to do. If you want a career, you need money/backing. But just to have fun get a cheap car, and slowly develop it.

[DJRIFT]

my only advice is to pick the right car as a base to start with. go to a few club days and circuit days and see whats running and what you would like to be running in.

ive seen a few people buy unsuitable cars and start modifying them to the hilt only to realise that it was a waste of time and money and they could have just brought a r32. BUT on the other hand if you have a passion to build a particular car and can be happy being fast in what it is than do that but dont be discouraged when you cant beat a skyline.

sounds like im skyline byast? im not really

[Roy]

You are all mad talking about buying anything with a pressed steel body as the basis of launching a motorsport career

You need to get into a control series or a feeder class like Formula Ford and prove in wheel to wheel racing you can make the grade. You need tonnes of natural ability to go with a healthy budget and the sort of dedication that has you wokring second and thrid jobs and volunteering your time with a team

To boot it wouldnt hurt to have a sound understanding in mechanics, even better engineering so that you can find the last 0.2seconds that makes the difference between 4-6th places and winning which is the only way you will be able to make a career of it. There are plenty of people out there that can drive, some very good drivers...but very few can make a career out of it

Motorpsort is whole lots of fun, trying to make a career out of it is very difficult. First thing you need to decide is what you want to be driving as the styles are vastly different between driving open wheeler or sports cars with loads of downforce and then production based racing where there is no aero, very different driving styles are required....well thats my 4c anyway

[PHaT MR30]

A friend of mines family has been involved in motorsports for years, raced karts, circuit etc at state and national level, worked for Perkins Motorsport, Motec, Formula Ford etc.

To stay at the front of the field and win at state and national level in kart cost them nearly the same as it costs them to run 2 Improved Production RX7's. not joking either...

[Snowman]

Yeah I remember speaking to Mark Berry's folks about the stuff they went through to keep Mark at the front in his early karting days. Crazy stuff!

There is no question that you need a lot of backing to get started in Motorsport. The easiest thing as with most of us on here is to keep it as a side hobby and get another job to support this crazy addiction!

[evil_weevil]

There is no question that you need a lot of backing to get started in Motorsport. The easiest thing as with most of us on here is to keep it as a side hobby and get another job to support this crazy addiction!

Exactly right!!!

I think you need to start @ a younger age too, like soccer or cricket.

get into karting - practice practice practice.

[NISMO]

Wasn't there some competition which involved race preped rexxy's and a billion dollar 1st prize? By now entrys should be discounted to 50c

[Beer Baron]

first question is how old are you?

next question you need to think about is where do you want to end up? I mean if you want a serious career what discipline of motorsport do you want to make your own? Rallying (the dirt stuff like ARC and WRC, not talking targa tas etc, that is more a hobby for most than a job)? Circuit racing? if it's circuit racing you need to eventually choose between tin tops of open wheelers and follow that path.

let's say you chose circuit racing. if you are still in your teens (early teens even better) then you need to get into karting. once you have moved up through a few classes of karts and from doing local/state rounds onto national rounds or even international rounds then you are ready to move onto something bigger. if things are tight a move into formula vee is the next logical step but if your parents, you or your sponsors can afford it then skip F Vee and go straight into formula ford. if you are still doing well and at the pointy end then after a season or a few in FF then you'll want to move into F3, at this point you may also start looking at some tin-top stuff as that is where the focus and money is in aus. if at F3 point you want to continue an open wheel career then you need to go overseas (europe) and start mixing it up over there. that is where the open wheel money is and ultimately that is where a shot at F1 is. if tin tops is your thing then after some Formula ford seasons and success and perhaps a year or two of F3 then you'll be looking at something national level in a tin top. it used to be carrerra cup would be the place to go but it's gone now, so you'd probably be wanting to try V8 utes for a year, maybe aussie racing cars (both have national series) and then into the second tier V8 SC competition aka Fujitsu series. After a few years in that (or one or 2 if you are a gun) then you will have a shot at stepping up to the main V8 super car series which is the main game in aus. your other options would be overseas where you may be able to pick-up some drive in something like Japanese Super GT or other tin top series in europe or even america if you dare.

whatever path you choose you'll need a lot of money to start and get you the right gear and in touch with the right people. and you'll need at least a bit of talent (don't need heaps, lack of talent can be compensated for with lots of practice and lots of money!) and even then it will be tough to make a 'career' out of motorsport.

if you just want to have some fun then that's a whole different story. you can basically use a roadworthy road car and with a few modifications use it safely and enjoyably at the track and club level trackdays and state level supersprints. do some driver training days too and you will enjoy it even more. if after that you want to get more serious there are still pathways open to guys who want to race competitively in state or national level classes but not necessarily to make a living, stuff like improved production, production sports etc is a good place to go. very few if anyone in those series is making any money to drive there but it is very competitive and a great place to race if you have the desire and the budget.

[Marlin]

Phark me Richard, you must be a good operator, coz bloody hell you have some time on your hands

[Skyl1neZ]

Im 18 this year, and thanks for the tips richard. I do have passion for racing. Since you mention its gonna cost alot dont think ill be able to pay up that much. Guess ill only be able to take it as a hobby

[evil_weevil]

nothing wrong with it being a hobby, majorty of us here do it as a hobby - as snowy said, get a job to help the addiction!!!!

maybe even try and find a job in the motoring scene?

[Skyl1neZ]

Hope to join you guys soon =)

[Dorigecko]

www.ipravic.com.au

improved production man. best way to get into fast racing. you can start with an ae82 corolla if you wanted man... doesn't matter so long as it has a CAMS-approved cage and other awesome race-spec shit.

hit up the site and see how you can get into it.

[Neil]

Whilst I agree and dis-agree with most of the boys posts,,,huge amounts of money is NOT always required. At 18 what you should be doing is racing a kart,,,actually you should have started 10 years ago,,,but it's not to late,,,working through that whole no suspension and limited engine tuning sort out stuff is what you need to learn. That will give you a sound background about set ups for your future of which your engineer will love you for and these days actually demand. Finding a job within the Kart racing community is by far very helpful indeed. That way you can actually work out in your own mind if you have what it takes to cut it in the big time. Almost every one of our top drivers learned there skills in karts.

Roy's right,,,forget about Skylines and tin-tops if you are serious,,,thats just a waste of money,,,sure it's fun but it's not going to get you a drive in someone else's car,,,which is what will help you move up through the ranks.

Richard is also very correct,,,all bar the F3 stuff,,,thats just a money sucking class that teaches you how to throw away money faster than you can pack shelves at woolies of which you need to do if you have no money. You actually need approx 200 hundred thousand bucks to play in that class per year.

How do I know what I'm talking about some might ask,,, Frosty's dad and I are great friends and the old boy used to be my boss. I have seen/disgusted/evaluted and talked about Marks rise from karts through formula ford to v8 stupid cars, for years, so I actually do know what am talking about.

Neil.