Can you race single seaters for less than £10k???

[speadfreak]

I want to race single seaters without spending a lot of money. can it be done, but keep you at the front?? I dont fancy the Lydden Hill thing cause thats too far to travel each time, and besides theres not much variety. Any suggestions welcome thanks

[Bob Pearson]

This has recently been thrashed out in the Locost thread. The answer is yes, but it depends a lot on your approach.
First of all is your 10k inclusive of the initial cost of the car? If it is you will have to work quite hard to achieve it.
You must do all the work yourself, 10k gives you no scope for an arrive and drive arrangement. When this was aired recently the best annual budget was £3-£4k per year and quite honestly I don't think you will better that for a full year. The F Vee cars are probably the cheapest with FFords, BARC Renaults, F4 and FF2000 weighing in about the same and ARP F3 being the dearest.
It's notable that you want to be about the front, with a limited budget this means you must shop around for a formula which isn't tyre dependant.

[speadfreak]

What im looking for will not be found in the BARC F Renault, F4 etc etc. Is there not a formula out there that caters for the one man band. I dont want anything to do with arrive and drive. I want a formula without your big teams. A simply single seater series using cars that can be thrown on to the back of a trailer. Is vee my only option?

[JR Ewing]

Regional FF1600, or the new BARC SE single-seater series with (I think) rounds at Silverstone, Snetterton and Lydden for about £100 a race??

[speadfreak]

JR Ewing,
Ive been looking into that single seater series, although i would prefer to race at more tracks, up to croft, brands, cadwell, oulton etc etc. Ive looked briefly at monoposto championship and formula honda but dont really know a lot about either. Ive heard they are cheap and competitive. Any ideas or experience of either?

[Bob Pearson]

You didn't say whether your 10k included buying the car. There is always Monoposto. As a general rule don't be frightened off by what appears to be a team dominated formula. The drivers still need to be able to drive them, and all amounts of money can't overcome deficiencies in that area. I have raced in F4 and Mono and never seen anyone on an arrive and drive basis.
Actually last year there was only two arrive and drive teams in BARC FR, most people were like ourselves, arriving with cars on trailers.

[woodyracing]

Aren't slick formulas like FHonda a bit impossible for a one man band - how do you do a pit stop and change from slicks to wets on your own ??

also someone correct me if im wrong but aren't Vees the only formula where you dont have to worry about gear ratios ? coz they use a standard VW box.

Id say 10k is possible with Vees if that includes car cost too.

[JR Ewing]

Woody, in club racing you don't have pitstops like that!!

If the CoC has not desinated a race 'wet' they will stop it. If they've designated it 'wet' - tough **** on you.

F Renault also use set ratios although, rather bizarely use an LD200 box as per FFord.

Speadfreak, there are mainly one man bands in F4, a few people who run arrive and drive but they are no better than running yourself, just less work on prep etc.

In F4 or FF1600 you can get a car for about £4k so your first season can easily be below £10k.

This BARC series would be great for a beginner as it's cheap, you can dip in and dip out, you get a lot of mileage for your £ (see another thread about that) and, at Silverston Stowe, there is almost nothing to hit so you don't have a great chance of damage if you go off etc.

Why not look at FF1600 as this offers true versatility. You can do the BARC series (1600 class) with the car and then move on to one or more regional series if you like or the car would also be eligible for Monoposto 1600 (who have a race at Spa). If you love travelling there is also a European championship!

[woodyracing]

ah I often wondered about pitstops and slicks, cheers.

BARC FRenault would be great but id be worried about cost of repairs and parts, also how easy would they be to run/setup on your own.

mono 1200 is something that appeals to me too (if the grids are big enough)

FF1600 and Zetec are good too but probably more expensive and complicated (ratios) than Vee.

[AndyF]

Try the 750 Motor Club - I am sure they will run something that interests you.

[ss_collins]

the answer is clear - yes you can.

[blackfalcon]

Formula Vee is the only man for you.

[JR Ewing]

Gear ratios - what a waste of time. The time I wasted fecking around with these in FF1600s. Find a nice set which suits most circuits and check the 'box out once a year and get on with it. This will generally allow you to concentrate on what really matters - YOUR DRIVING - and you will go quicker!

[Old Ropey]

At the risk of again upsetting JR and no doubt a few others, I'm going to bang on about Formula Honda yet again.
If lap time/cost is the measure and what else is there, then nothing compares with the little Hondas.
Snetterton last weekend in 1 min 12, Mallory 46.7 secs, Cadwell 1 min 28 and so on.
That's the 600 Hondas. With this year's class for 1000 engines Snetterton was 1 min 9.
As for cost 2 cars were sold yesterday, one for about £6,000 and the other for about £12,000, both 1000 class cars.
Running costs are simply tyres, 4 sets at £500 and entry fees, about £2,000 for the season. Diesel for the van cost me £2,000 last year, that's Scotland to everywhere and back!! towing a caravan to live in.
CBR 600 engines are reliable, about £400 from a bike breaker though they benefit from a bit of head work, Jedi parts are pretty reasonable if you bend it, try not to so there's no cost.
Most folk operate as a pair, father & son like us, but one can easily handle the fettling.
I do understand the traditionalist's view, but these cars make most older single seaters look and sound like dinosaurs. Come to Mallory on Easter Monday and see and hear what I mean.

[av8rirl]

You won't find a FF1600 or F4 for £4K. You did say that you want to run at the front... Well assuming that you have the ability (which we all think we have), Vee is probably about the only class that you will do it for under £10K (including cost of car). You will do other classes for £10K once you have the car. You should include everything in your calculations: tow car, trailer, fuel to/from tracks, race/test fuel, accommodation, testing fees, comp entry fees, tyres, repairs/rebuilds, etc... and time off work. The guys that are at the front of the Vee pack mostly arrive with car on trailer.

[Lee Janotta]

Vee's about your only hope. But if you can drive a UK-spec Vee well, you'll have learned a lot about outright speed.

[Lola]

Monoposto... I race an F3 Reynard on around £2000 a year!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lola]

Check out WWW.monoposto.freeserve.co.uk


To keep costs down tyre choice is free (I run second hand sets from FF FVL F3 etc)
Standard engines in 2000 class…


My advice is to buy a FF1600 and run in mono16000. With any car you buy you must take into consideration the fact that one day you gotta sell it. You will always sell a FF1600. By running in Mono for a year you will learn how to run a racecar with loads of advice from fellow competitors. Once you have gained enough experience and a little confidence you have the flexibility to race the same car in a regional FF championship. I could go on all day with the advantages…

[Bob Pearson]

It's funny that JR hated the ratio changes, I actually miss that aspect being in Renault. Someone mentioned the difficulties of set-up etc on a Renault, I admit there is a fair amount of know how needed and, although they do exist in Renault, a one man band does struggle.

[JNWRF01]

you can buy a RF99 complete for around 6-7k - you can run it for next to nothing - tyres are good for several races and you can buy them second hand from any national zetec team for buttons - the engines are indestructable - the gearboxes are LD200 (again v v easy to use and service) parts are the same costs as any racing car when you crash it. Grids (27 for the SFFC / 22 for the NFFC at Donnington) are big and there is a division two class for the older cars. You should really have a look at it. I know there are easier cars to run (ie those with no ratio changes) but the FF are technically fantastic and you can easily run at the front in an older car. You can run the cars for around £150/day plus entries - so you can easily do a season for less than £10k.

I ran with a team in the SFFC and spent £8k with my own car (RF01) - admitedly I did next to no testing. If you need any help speak to Jim McGregor at the BRSCC.

[bradenc]

Come to a Vee race its friendly enough to be able to do it on your own (if you needed a pair of hands you'd find 'em. There is a "Vee Thread" http://tentenths.com/forum/showthrea...8&goto=newpost
You can ask all your Vee questions there, so us Vee fanatics wont upset everyone.

[FilW]

Is running at the front important? In Vee there is close racing all the way through the field and for the cost I don't think you could find a better formula to start in. This is my first season, the car cost £2500 plus a set of tyres, the 750 entry fees are very reasonable and after three races I'm having the time of my life. I'm a one man band (plus wife and kids but I don't think they count as pit crew) and if there is anything I can't cope with or don't know there is always someone to help. Come to a race and have a look for yourself.

[james_williams]

What about Hillclimbing & Sprinting? You could easily do this with a FF1600 car as a one man band. There is even a class dedicated to FF1600 in the Aldon Automovive Speed championship (http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk). I reckon you could pick up a decent FF1600 for £5k in running order and entries are only £50 - £90. It would give you chance to race the car for a season cheaply. If you then want to go circuit racing you can the fdollowing year.

[jonathanc]

I agree with Old Ropey.
With a jedi car you get the following advantages:

1. You can run in Monoposto, FHonda and BARC Single Seater(pick and choose your events)
2. Cars can be bought race ready for between 6-10k,or build your own from an 8k kit.
3. Normally factory support available at mono + FHonda Meets
4. Parts are cheap and EASILY AVAILABLE unlike many other cars
5. Can run as a one man band (ideally need one other, eg parent of spouse to act as second pair of hands)
6. Mechanics are very straight forward and cheap engines
7. Best value £/performance

I looked into loads of different clubs etc and decided on a jedi car for the above reasons. The cars are very quick, and Im having great fun learning whilst not breaking the precious piggie bank.

Mono last weekend had 25 cars in the Mono600/1200/1600 race, and the middle ground was closely fought.

[El_Gibleto]

I'm not sure on the purchase cost of the cars, but it is possible to run in classic f3 at a very reasonable cost.

The cars are quick, look and sound good and the series is very friendly but competitive.

Please visit www.classicf3.co.uk for more details.