Starting out in Motor-Sport

arkoso · Post by **arkoso** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:14 pm

It's a fairly general question but I've been wondering ... how exactly does one get in to Motor-Sport?

Post by **aza013** » Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:59 pm

first thing to do is get down to some open track days and get some laps in so you can get a good feel of how the car really drives.
next sign up to a car club that holds a cams afiliation and get into some track days with them. You will find that a lot of the members in those clubs do a lot of racing and will be able to point you in the right places.

Post by **I8A4RE** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:19 am

Oh and he forgot to add that you will need to supply everything from the actual car to the fuel and everything in between. And lets just say you can afford to do that then there is the constant cost of all the consumables like tyres brakes, engine overhauls.

There is another way however, get into go-karting (again you will still have to pay for everything from the kart to fuel but obviously a lot cheaper then a car) work way up into the top league then impress a scout and hope like hell the have a postion for you. The vast majority of the drivers you see in V8's and F1 all came from karting backgrounds.

Shane001 · Post by **Shane001** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:57 pm

Don't be fooled, to make it from karts to V8's takes a lot of money, not just talent. To make it to F1 takes millions!! Yes F1 & V8's have talented drivers but there are a lot of drivers just as talented out there that don't make it cause they don't have the dollars....

But that's a whole other story...

If u're interested in motorsport, first step is to get out to a few local state round or club events, chat to some people and get an idea of what you want to do. Yes it can be expensive but it doesn't have to be.

Options;
Option 1. Go along to a drive day, pay $300+ and have a ball driving someone elses car with someone elses gear for the day.
Option 2. Buy a helmet and take your road car to an open track day.
Option 3. Get a CAMS LS2 licence get into sprints.
Option 4. Buy helmet, racesuit, neck brace (highly recommended) and a cheap race car and get out there and do it for real

Edit: To avoid confusion I've changed the above to read Option rather than Stage. This is not a 'strategy' to get into motorsport. These are some of the simple options you can consider. Me, I started with Option 1 with Trackskill at Oran Park, then went straight to Option 4. Didn't see the point in wasting time & money in between. Straight to the deep end!

And yes karting is another option...

Helmet, racesuit and racegear = $2K.
Neck brace = $1K.
Cheap racecar = $5-10K
Event costs = as little as $500 per event (inc fuel and second hand tyres).
Outcome = HUGE FUN!!
check out the following link for a huge range of racecars for sale;
http://www.my105.com.au/

Post by **aza013** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 12:51 pm

Haha I am the same but when you get out there you are just having so much fun you don't worry if you are first or second or even last. It's the thrill of being out there running your car as it wants to run

as for the gokart side of things it's a great place to start as you get a good feel of the lines you need to take to get the best exit speed and so on.
Also on that note I have one that I will sell if any one wants to start there

arkoso · Post by **arkoso** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:51 pm

Thanks for the feedback guys.
Gives me a bit of a better idea.

...$$$

Shane001 · Post by **Shane001** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:15 pm

Yeah agree that was probably a bit of an overreaction, anyway....

PS: for the record, PS3 or PC gaming is another viable option to get into 'motorsport'. There are huge online communities especially with PC racing, with leagues and even virtual world championships starting to happen. Not everyone can afford the real thing, I'm lucky enough to barely be able to afford it at the very entry level, but if you love driving there's lots of options out there. For PC check out rFactor. I 'raced' on the PC for about 4 years before I decided to take the plunge for real.

Shane001 · Post by **Shane001** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:36 pm

2 more great options for getting involved in motorsport include pitcrewing & volunteering as an official. Sure you're not racing but you're out there getting involved.

Probably 90% of all motorsport in Aust is amatuer. Some of these competitors may have teams and even workshops behind them, but a lot a single man operations, father and son teams or a few mates, working on the car in the family garage doing all their own work. An extra set of hands trackside is always appreciated. And you get to get involved and meet some people and become part of the action.

Volunteering as an official is also another great option. If you like watching motorsport u can't get any closer to the action than a flagpoint. Events are always looking for extra volunteers. U don't get paid but u do get looked after with lunch and drinks and sometimes an after race bbq. Again you get to be part of the action and get to meet a lot of great people.

So it doesn't matter if you're driving a $300K porsche or frantically waving a yellow flag warning of an impending disaster, as long as you're out there enjoying life that's all that matters. And if motorsport is your thing, there are tons of options.

Contrary to popular belief

Life is not about winning, life is about showing up! Just get out there and live it