I know this may sound like a daft question but would there be any racing series that is suitable for the not so financially gifted. I would love to have a go, but my boss races and reckons it cost him £30000 last year. I have nowhere near that to play with but wondered if there was any way I could get into it without ruining my bank balance.
Plenty of choice, Earlystocks is mostly air cooled, twin shock bikes from the 80's. There's MZ racing, don't laugh unless you've tried it, it can get quite err, close. Moving up the cost scale there's steel frame 600s, it goes on. It can all cost as much as you like but if you have a bike that doesn't eat tyres and is cheap to crash you can control cost to an extent. I packed it all in years ago as the costs had become silly but I wished I had never sold the Earlystock 750, the best fun I had on anything.
I think it was the series he raced in, it was the 848 challenge which supported BSB. How much could you race for?
No limits.....race series ?? Hottrax ???? £30k ??........... blimey we obviously got some serious loot being spent on here !! I know its not a cheap game but surely not as much as that for a club level race series ?? Mind you a weekender cost does stack up with tyres, fees etc....
I suppose when you take into account entry fees, tyres, fuel, travel, digs etc, it can soon add up. BSB do 2 european events as well so that won't be particularly cheap.
I would not necessarily go for a race series, but join a club and go club racing. Most clubs will use all the main circuits and somebody like NG Road Racing have 8 or 9 meetings a year, all of which are at different circuits. I did a couple of rounds with them this year and they were superb. I reckon that my average spend for a race weekend was about £400. The racing is still as good, just doesn't cost a bomb.
848 challenge no wonder.Ducati parts are stupid money Club racing can be anywhere from 2.5k upwards.When you think that is a lot going with it too like fuel, tyres,bike parts entry fees etc. I spent that last year clay-shooting.Not anymore.Achieved my goal.Had enough of politics too.
I reckon this year cost me (excluding crashes and new bike purchase) about £3,500 to £4,000. I don't want to think about the other costs. I wouldn't sleep at night if I did!!
400 x 8 = £3,200! I make that nearly ten times cheaper. Prob with single series you have to factor in the cost of a new bike. As said, cheapest option is club stuff on a 600 and should be a whole lot cheaper than your bosses bones. Me and Jason are doing the no limits series. Seems like the a good cheap novice way in. We have the bikes already so it's only a round by round cost. If I can get it in for £4k ill be happy (ish)
^^^^ see robins post, he beat me to it and knows from actual experience lol Ps - it means weekend track time so no missed work!! And.... I'd spend that on the piss. So it'll equal it's self out ££ wise and better for my health. Well that's how I see it in my simple mind....
A good class to go in for is either the steel framed category (old CBR600s etc) or the pre-injections (R6 around 2000 year). Both are very popular, loads of spares and full grids. A bike would cost around £2,000ish for something ready to race with wets on wheels too. I know I have said this before in many other posts and threads on here and it probably is wearing a bit thin by now, but if you are thinking about it and fancy giving it a go, then go for it. Better to have tried it now, then regretted not trying it at 65. I shit you not when I say it is the most amazing experience ever. and it is legal. somehow.
I'll have a look into this, I know how good it is to ride a bike on the track and genuinely believe I have quite a competitive pace within me. Only trouble is, I don't think I can afford to buy a different bike so was looking at putting my blade in it. Are there no classes that would be ideal for this?
Sure you can put your blade in there, but be prepared for some seriously quick competition. I am not knocking your riding abilities in any way shape or form, but the 1000s is a hot class. In the 4 clubs I run in, it is nowhere near as popular as the 600s or pre-injections etc. The costs of running a 1000 are higher than a smaller bike, most lads are running blades from 2008 onwards, R1s from about 2006, then you have ZX10s and BMWs. What age Blade are you running? If it is a road bike, it could end up costing you more than buying a second bike, in converting it across. Have a look at what clubs run at circuits near you. Go to the club website and have a look at the results tables for this year. See how many 1000s there are in there. Certainly don't rule out using your blade, but also don't necessarily think it is the cheaper option.
