HOW TO START RACING
I started racing in 1994, after a passion for cars i quite liked the idea of racing something but wasn't sure what. Myself and a friend looked at building a rally car which started out buying a set of twin Dellorto carburetors and never went any further. After that i visited a local kart track where they were hosting a European Championship round, from this point i was completely hooked.
Racing can be lots of fun and also expensive, so you need to look at what racing you would like to do and whether you are doing it for enjoyment as a hobby or to progress to make it your career or something in between.
If you are interested in racing but not sure, take yourself down to a local track and look at the different classes of races that they have on over different weekends to give you an idea of what is out there. Speak to the people in the paddock, you will find most very helpful and you more than likely get some guidance to the classes, racing and costs. Ther are even trackdays or even trackday championships to help keep costs down.
Most start in karting and then onto saloon cars or single seaters. and if you are 16 plus you may just go straight to racing. Either way you will first need to get your licence first which will mean getting your ARKS or ARDS test passed. You can order a Motorsport UK pack direct or find out more information by clicking here. This will have all the details you need to apply for your licence and how to prepare for the test.
Once you have your licence you will need to purchase a range of racewear including helmet, race suit, gloves, boots, underwear, FHR or HANS device all with the current spec that is listed in the handbook you receive with your Motorsport UK pack. You can see how the expense starts to build up already! Thats not trying to put you off just trying to give you an idea of costs, a full starter kit of the basic racwear complete will cost you around £1100.00 and you can work on upwards of this for the more expensive kit.
Once you have decided what you want to race, you can either build your own or arrive and drive with a team depending on your budget. You will have some great weekends with the rest of the paddock as well as the ups and downs of motorsport.
If you would like more advice or have any other questions you would like to ask about getting started in motorsport or driver training , please give us a call or drop us an email.