Arrive n drive UK hire championships - worth it?

[Peat]

Anyone here done any events with them?

I'm thinking about it for 2009 as i need to exercise my racing demons and cant afford to store a kart of my own.

Whats the general skill level? The words 'Arrive & Drive' tend to send a shudder down my spine.....

[Sideswipe]

Yeah, I did a one off race about a month ago. I actually race Easykart but did a race just for some more racing experience.

Like you, I was very apprehensive about the "Arrive & Drive" label but I know all the Club 100 guy from Easykart rounds and decided that if it was a disaster I'd still have a laugh. Turned out to be organised very well, which is what you expect from a great guy like John Vigor. The standard of driving is brilliant. I guess a prime example is James Winslow. James used to race in Club 100 and is now Australian F3 Champion, race in the Macau F3 GP and is also one of the A1GP Team GB drivers and competed in Champ Car tests.

I'm racing again at Rye House in January (twice) and would definitely recommend doing it.

[ghinzani]

I love the way they start the karts with those pusher Prokarts - Id like that job!

[Tony_Simpson]

I have been racing Club 100 now for several years and it is a very well organised series with some very good drivers in.

In the premier class their are several ex-super1 drivers and that series is very very competative!!! I race in the Lightweights and the level of driving is more spread out but still very competative. I think there is some racing footage on youtube or google video, if you search club100 out.

All i would say is do a race or 2 or 3 and see what you think. If you want to turn up and race with upto 60 (20+ on track) other Lightweight (or Heavyweight) racers then give it a go.

Peat, how much karting have you done so far?

[ghinzani]

They reckon they get 100 hours out of their TKM engines, which is amazing - I guess they gear them not to rev quite so high, but still they should be pretty tasty bits of kit, especially for the novice karters. Anyone know if they are 100 or if they have been 'extremed' up to 115? I've got a BT82 engine somewhere thats still a 100, but does have the longer crank so it can take a clutch. Wonder if tis worth spending some dough on?

[Tony_Simpson]

They do run longer gearing and richer fuelling to make the hours up, but in general there is not alot to choose between a kart these days.

For the novice who has never driven a 2stroke kart before they are still quick.

They are moving up to the 115 extreme engine next year which is meant to give 7-8tenths of a second around Rye House, and a bit less around somewhere like Clay Pigeon.

I just thought a good way to see for yourself how competitive the series is, would be to look at the results section of the website and filter any of the results fastest lap to slowest (just select fastest lap and should do so automatically). In the premier class especially there is not alot covering the entire filed in lap times!!

[minifox]

im planning on entering the winter series after doing limited rotax max. not really sure what to expect with this whole shared kart thing buy hey ho!

looking forward to driving the tkm extremes though.

who quickly does it get fully booked?

cheers
lewis

[Icebaby]

I raced in club 100 last year which was a good experience, the competetion is tough in all catogeries but racing fair, John runs a tight ship and is very friendly to new and existing drivers/teams.

Two gripes I had was the booking system and the grid formation which meant it was down to you to slot into your qulifying position, this is fine until other drivers feel they should also be in your position so you end up not normally starting from where you should be.

Electric starts are really needed as the old push system is old hat now.

[Peat]

Hi Guys, thanks for your info.

@Tony - I have done tons of 4-stroke indoor style karts & Pro Karts. But i have also done several days testing in a Rotax and was quite comfortably running on a good pace. I feel i should also mention i hold a National B race license aswell for classics racing so i'm not exactly a rookie.

By the sounds of it, its well worth a punt. I have been looking at the 09 sprint calender, i will try and make Whilton and Llandow. As was previously asked, how well in advance is it wise to book etc?

[wannab-aracer]

What are the benefits in signing upto the full 10 race sprint series at £1550 rather than per race at £148 ?

Unless my maths are wrong or I've missed the obvious ?

I'm not a penny pincher ....... but seems odd to pay slightly more for committing to the full season.

Regardless, seems like a great concept and will give me the motivation to shed a few stone

[spider]

Having worked for Playscape and Club 100 just a couple of years back, I can assure you it’s of a very high standard on the most part. You have a select few who know the karts so well, that they can be nigh-on unbeatable in those machines.

Like any series you have a couple of numpties who can just about hang on to the leaders but swerve left, right ‘n’ centre.

But, JV is a clever man, he’ll throw-out the pr@ts who annoy the majority. It has a real Club feel to it, and some of the drivers have been racing in the series since 1996!

The Premier class now plays host to the normal ringers, so if you’re coming in, and you’re very rapid it’s possible to get up the sharp-end, but it’s not like a normal arrive ‘n’ drive 4-stroke series, the standard is much higher.

Just watch out you don’t accidentally ride the brake a la moi, who found out whilst leading at Buckmore earlier this year, it can be painful to have a bump with the wall!

You usually get 3 heats of approximately 8 laps, one heat you start near the front, another in the midfield, and the next at the back. There’s usually an A, B and C final too…

Plus, the engines will be Extremed next season…

[Tony_Simpson]

Originally Posted by wannab-aracer

What are the benefits in signing upto the full 10 race sprint series at £1550 rather than per race at £148 ?

Unless my maths are wrong or I've missed the obvious ?

I'm not a penny pincher ....... but seems odd to pay slightly more for committing to the full season.

Its actually £148 * 11 races, which is £1628. Or you pay up everything in advance at £1550 and save £80.


As for booking into races, most people will save book early to avoid disappointment. Most races in 2008 were fully booked out with a reserves list!!. the first 2-4 races in the year are always very busy with it being a bit easier for races later in the year. Who knows what the credit crunch will do next year.

I think it gets busy after the Autosport show with people booking in for some races. Just book yourself in for the few races you want and then you know your in!!

[Icebaby]

[quote=Tony_Simpson] Most races in 2008 were fully booked out with a reserves list!!. quote]

The booking system was not good this year as loads of teams simply stuck their name down for all events and then cancelled two weeks before leaving you on the reserve list little time to get a team together.

Next year I understand this will be fairer, driving is generally very good and John is a fair chap and will spend time talking to you to offer help.

[minifox]

signed up for the 2nd january!!

[Peat]

Anyone here racing at Rye House this weekend? Im losing my Club100 virginity on sunday in the sprints. Is anyone on-hand for cuddles afterwards?

[Tony_Simpson]

Which class are you racing in? the lightweights or heavies?

number of cuddles depends on which class you race :P

[Peat]

Im in the Super-Heavyweights. But dont let that title fool you, im skinny, just very tall.

Am i supposed to have recieved any 'blurb' through the post? I was on the reserve list before, so now they have taken my race and membership payment in one hit. I was expecting some kind of welcome pack.....

[Tony_Simpson]

I might miss you racing your first ever race, as i will be there in the afternoon in the lightweights.

I would give the office a call tomorrow about your entry. if they have taken the money then you should be racing.

check and read the Club100 website in the Rules and Regs section, as this is basically the welcome pack. Most of it is straight forward.

If you still have any questions just ask your buddy driver.

[Peat]

Hope you had a productive afternoon Tony. I really enjoyed my first Club100 experience. Had a lousy time in the heats getting up to speed with the karts. Was feeling good for the heat where i started on the front row, but got horribly taken out on the 1st lap.

Anyhoo. I started P10 in the C Final, won that by about 10 seconds. Started 23rd in the B Final, finished 9th. I really got into the swing of it by then! My Buddy driver was a great help and a good laugh. Salivating at the thought of Whilton Mill in May!

[Tony_Simpson]

It was an interesting afternoon!!!

most heats in the LW are like an A final with 5+ drivers who usually are near the front in A finals!!.

it was hard fought heats and with a 4th 6th and 12th only just got into the A final!! unfortunatlely i did not swap a kart which had a poor engine on so could not keep up with people in the race so came home 20th. My fault for not swapping one of the few karts which had gone off through the day.

Glad you enjoyed the day and are you coming back for more next time out??

[Fox89]

I was looking at Club100 a night or two ago actually, it looks brilliant. I've never raced anything before, but I'm just starting with some indoor stuff over the next couple of weeks and am gonna spend the rest of this year doing amateur things like that and gradually building up. Gonna take my ARKS as well I think.

So hopefully next season I'll be racing with some of you guys as well! Glad to see it's competitive stuff with good racing, being a student £1500 for a season is pretty much the top end of my budget!

Anyone recommend some good karting tracks in the north that might be worth a look as I get up to speed? I'm just starting out next week with the indoor track at Daytona Manchester.

[dj choc ice]

ive already put my name down for the BUKC championship for next year and i cant wait, however i do want to maybe do a club 100 race or two before hand and also testing before that to get the hang of the 2 stroke kart's, cant wait though, any advice on how to get the best out of the kart, driving style etc etc is very very welcome, im a complete novice to this kind of stuff!

[Peat]

If you want to do one this year, get your name on a reserve list ASAP as they are all fully booked. However, i was 4th reserve for the next round at Whilton, but have already been confirmed a drive due to drop-outs.

Advice? Well, it will take you a while to adjust to the speed, its such frenetic racing it can be quite overwhelming at first. Have you done much karting before? The biggest thing you need to nail is keeping the revs up, the 100cc engines are gutless low down the rev range so you need to be on the power again preferably before the apex of every corner.

[Helms]

im hopefully going to race club100 next year also. But Im really unsure of my pace at present. Ive done a fair amount of indoor and outdoor "arrive and drive" races in 4strokes etc, and tend to do pretty well. Camberly indoor i average around 29.4 seconds, but after speaking to a friend of mine who races motor bikes in Super stock he can lap the same track in a 28 dead. Now hes ALOT lighter than me. Probably about 4 stone as hes a tiny bloke, but how the hell can i knock of that kind of time when i cant see how i can push the kart any quicker...
Any tips or ways of figuering this out?

[Fox89]

Originally Posted by Helms

im hopefully going to race club100 next year also. But Im really unsure of my pace at present. Ive done a fair amount of indoor and outdoor "arrive and drive" races in 4strokes etc, and tend to do pretty well. Camberly indoor i average around 29.4 seconds, but after speaking to a friend of mine who races motor bikes in Super stock he can lap the same track in a 28 dead. Now hes ALOT lighter than me. Probably about 4 stone as hes a tiny bloke, but how the hell can i knock of that kind of time when i cant see how i can push the kart any quicker...
Any tips or ways of figuering this out?

I'll tell you what a guy at Daytona Manchester told me. Go along to open races on a day when some good drivers tend to go down, ask the guys running the karting place they'll know what days are best. And just tuck in behind them as much as you can. You'll learn their lines, learn when they're getting on and off the power and see where you are losing your time.