Motorsports Events (1 Viewer)

[blackkatz]

Just curious, do any of you members here did any motorsport event of any kind, like drifting or rallying? I really wanna know how it'd feel like, the process of how to join, or just plain stories from you members.

 

[pottsy44]

i used to race go-karts pretty seriously for 4 years. the sport is very hard to get into but there is endless amounts of people that are willing to help out beginners. best way to get information is to go out to a race meeting and find the people in the trucks as they are the guys who own go-karting shops and sell karts and parts and the lot. most of them have a team base so you can talk to drivers and stuff.

the most important thing to realise about motorsport is its all about $$$. its costly to start up and its costly to compete, and most importantly its costly to be competitive. i was pretty lucky as my dad was very supportive and we also had the support of a strong team to help out with engines and setup.

also if your not mechanically minded it will just be a fustrating experience for yourself, ive seen plenty of people come into the sport and have no mechanical knowledge or how components of a go-kart work, so they end up just going nowhere and end up quitting the sport whilst at a financial loss and will feel like they have taken nothing away from the sport.

although motor racing is very expensive the enjoyment and sense of achievement way out the $$$ if you are competitive and 'racing' and not just trailing around at the back of the field.

some helpful sites with sydney based clubs:

oran park www.skrc.com.au
eastern creek www.nskc.com.au

the sydney and greater surrounding areas for clubs include:
-lithgow
-wollongong
-golburn
-newcastle

hope i was of help and given you a little insight.

 

[Exeter]

i recommend you try out some advance driving courses

i've been through stage 1 and 2 of Ian Luff courses at Oran park.
you bring your own car and get to learn how it reacts in certain situations. course 1 is a bit dry at times but its a mandatory course

do a search online for its website

and do it quick! oran park is dissapearing soon!


from there if you are confident enough you can go to certain track days. they are pretty frequent at eastern creek and wakefield park.

if you are into tarmac driving, the dutton rally series is always good fun - but with all things motorsports its fairly expensive. entry fees, car tuning and tyres

drifting is expensive too..and if you have a real nice theres always the danger of damanging it. check out initialdrift meets and drift training courses

rallying i got no idea!

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

I did a few khanacrosses with the local car club when I drove an old 1993 Charade and I was allowed to do the recee and sweep of a local rally they organised when I upgraded to a Mitsubishi Lancer that didn't fit any of the rules.

 

[blackkatz]

Thanks a heap for the info guys.

Drifting seems a lot of fun, did any of you have ever tried once?
Unfortunately HSC exams are coing so i dont have any time to try anything

I do have a dream of doing pro racing at either drifting or rallying,
but right now i need more information as how to get in, and there's little drift scene, if any, here in Indonesia.

Thanks anyway for the rplys
BTW, im also trying to get a way to move into Australia to get a career on the tracks. Still a VERY long shot though...

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

Drifting's over-rated. Go for rallying; awesome fun if you can find some nutter to sit next to you.

 

[Shell]

do a search online for its website

and do it quick! oran park is dissapearing soon!

LOL its got a good few years left to go don't worry about that.

and the site is http://www.ianluff.com.au/index.asp?pageid=1


wow they have just changed it!! dad says theyve completely redesigned the site and the instructors profiles won't be there for a while.

 

[loquasagacious]

Generally speaking if you are dreaming of racing in a top series like v8 supercars and you aren't racing already you're two late. Getting a seat overnight doesn't happen. The typical path is from karting into, one of the feeder series and then to the big league. It doesn't happen overnight and it isn't easy you have to be good, very good. And frankly the odds that you are are low.

An alternative route for the late starter is to be a good driver and get into one of the 'one-make' paid and competitive entry series. Slipstream (dylan) from this forum was talking about trying this. He is a very good driver though.

And thats the pro stuff out of the way, take heart though there is alot of oppurtunity for amateur racing. Join a club (use google to find one) that suits your interests. There are lots of brand clubs that participate in motorkhanas, hill-climbs, track sprints, etc. There are also specialty clubs for racing types eg rally clubs, drift clubs, track clubs, etc. Join one that suits you and learn.

There is one final option. Race crewing. This gets you involved in pro racing. You can fill such roles as:
-Pit crew
-race engineer
-engine builder
-tuner
-suspension set-up
-aerodynamics
-etc etc.

All of these roles require either a degree in engineering (mechanical, electronic, aerodynamic, etc) or trade qualifications in areas like machining, mechanic, fitter and turner, boilermaker, etc etc.

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

I believe that there's a course on how to be a member of a V8 Supercar pit crew at Albury TAFE.

 

[mitch_f1]

The closest i've been to motorsport is Ian Luff stage 3 (racing around Oran Park)...which was WICKED....best fun i've ever had in the car.

I hope (want) to get into karting soon as well.

 

[blackkatz]

I alredy got the feel that i'm too late for a long time though...
But i'm gonna keep trying to go into one anyway.
V8 masters ain't my style, i think. I'm more into rallying. Huge thanks for the tips though, real help!

BTW, you guys must've had some great fun at Oran Park. I'm not quite sure where it is though. Thing is racing in Indonesia is just...lame.

I am SOO going to Australia...once i know how that is...

Another thing, any you guys know anything bout "Bathurst". If been hearing it quite sometimes lately, thought its in OZ, zat right?

 

[pottsy44]

I alredy got the feel that i'm too late for a long time though...
But i'm gonna keep trying to go into one anyway.
V8 masters ain't my style, i think. I'm more into rallying. Huge thanks for the tips though, real help!

BTW, you guys must've had some great fun at Oran Park. I'm not quite sure where it is though. Thing is racing in Indonesia is just...lame.

I am SOO going to Australia...once i know how that is...

Another thing, any you guys know anything bout "Bathurst". If been hearing it quite sometimes lately, thought its in OZ, zat right?

dude seriously if you dont have ALOT OF MONEY you will get no where in the sport and people who make it to the top in any form of motorsport in australia have exceptional amounts of talent. you will be better off taking motorsport up as a hobby and not taking it too seriously, because im telling you now, you will fail and i say that in the politiest way possible.

 

[bizadfar]

dude seriously if you dont have ALOT OF MONEY you will get no where in the sport and people who make it to the top in any form of motorsport in australia have exceptional amounts of talent. you will be better off taking motorsport up as a hobby and not taking it too seriously, because im telling you now, you will fail and i say that in the politiest way possible.

lol his kinda right. It is very very difficult. ANd that is just compounded by your kart setup and chassis etc.
You can't just go in a expect to be top 10 or anything. BUT i know some 40 year olds that still do it for fun. These guys help OUT ALOT. THey helped me when i began and I'm still doing it for fun/enjoyment right now. Concentrate on your HSC first. I've already made this mistake a bit lol.

But yeah if u want a racing career, win nationals (karting), then you go to like formula ford here. And you have a few options of where to go from there. You will see talented drivers skipping the usual "path"

Also you have live through engine blowups lol. A new engine for kart is not cheap.

 

[lachocarps]

Relitivley speaking, karting is pretty cheap to run in tho. My dad and i have been karting for the last 8 years and, discounting karts, probably only spend about $2500 each year between us. It all depends which sort of class you run in to how much you will be spending. The REALLY fast karts - Rotax- will go through a set of tyres every 6 months depending on how much you race, while the tyres in my class can be used for about 2 seasons, at i think about $300 a set. Its the same varience in engines. A good second hand rotax will set you back about $2000, but a yamaha J will only cost about $450. You dont need to go out and buy a brand new chassis to be competitive, it all depends on how you set it up. An alright chassis can be had for around $1500. Licence fee is i think about $400 annually. blackkats, you really should get into it, it really is THE best fun.

 

[pottsy44]

Relitivley speaking, karting is pretty cheap to run in tho. My dad and i have been karting for the last 8 years and, discounting karts, probably only spend about $2500 each year between us. It all depends which sort of class you run in to how much you will be spending. The REALLY fast karts - Rotax- will go through a set of tyres every 6 months depending on how much you race, while the tyres in my class can be used for about 2 seasons, at i think about $300 a set. Its the same varience in engines. A good second hand rotax will set you back about $2000, but a yamaha J will only cost about $450. You dont need to go out and buy a brand new chassis to be competitive, it all depends on how you set it up. An alright chassis can be had for around $1500. Licence fee is i think about $400 annually. blackkats, you really should get into it, it really is THE best fun.

relatively cheap perhaps, but if you want to do well it will cost 10 fold what you have said.

ill give you a quick run down of a weekend in psc:
-entry $90
-fuel $20
-tyres $200
-accommodation $300
-food and other stuff while away $100
-spare parts $50-$500 (during one meeting we needed to do about $250 worth of repairs).

dont get me wrong u can do it on a budget and pay no where near that much, but what i said above is what a typical karter would spend and trust me their is plenty of people out their who spend a hell of alot more. the only reason why im saying these prices is because if you want to progress and develop a motor racing career you will have to lay out the big bucks, there is no way in the world that it will be handed to you on a platter.

typical costs:
tyres- in classes such as clubman and rotax tyres will only last 1-2 meetings to be competitive, possibly upto 4 for rotax but you'd be pushing it. J's competitive tyres is in the vicinity of 8-12 meetings.

engines- a new rotax is about $4000 i think (cant remember), so a second hand one for $2000 is reasonable, but competitive engines would go for $3000+ going upto $6000. Clubmans, $2000 new, good 2nd hand ones will be the same and upto $3000. average would set you back about $800. J's go for around $1500 new, good engines will go for $1500-$3000, second hand you could pick one up for $500.

Chassis- new, depending on size and class you will be using it in is $2500-$5000 new. once again depending on class a good second hand one will go for $1500-$4000.

 

[lachocarps]

True, in order to become a professional those sort of figures would be a baseline even in karting, money talks in this sport. However, the vast majority of karters out there (including me) just do it for a bit of fun, and to release a bit of steam, and have absolutly no intention of going any further, other than to compete in the odd dutton rally. To these people, spending those sort of figures is just ridiculous. Im very competive, granted that i only race around the central west, where it is ALOT more relaxed than it is at places such as e'creek, but still, im only out there to have a bit of fun anyway. The gains that you make for every $1000 you spend is minimal, hell i dont even use an alfano. You sound alot more serious than me pottsy44, where abouts do you race most?

 

[pottsy44]

I stopped racing at the end of 2004 the year before year 12, I was a member of oran park, but I raced at most eastern creek and Wollongong rounds but also raced at Lithgow a few times a year and no so often at golburn and Newcastle. I competed in the PSC that year also, granted I did not finish that well due to serve bad luck at golburn where I was lapping as quick as the front markers but I had carbi problems due to 45 degree heat. Then it didn’t get any better from there on. I had some good races in psc but bad luck if other races on the weekend put me out of contention.

I was no where near as serious as most, we just strived to be competitive I had no intentions for a future in motorsport, I just loved go-karts. I managed to win the skrc (oran park) club championship in 2004 for SNL. I only raced for 3 years (2 years juniors, 1 year seniors).

My dad was also very well established in go-karting. He used to race in CSH, then RH then RL lol. Probably his best performances was winning Coff’s Harbour O 40’s (unofficial national O 40 title) twice and coming second once.