Getting into Motorsport: A brief guide
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- čas přidán 1. 07. 2024
- This is a quick guide to getting into motorsport which I put together to give people a realistic idea about whether it's something they can get involved in. It's easy to look at something like Formula 1 or the WEC and think it's unattainable but club level motorsport is certainly possible to get involved in if you're willing to put in the time and effort required.
Also have a look at my How to Build a Racing Car series which follows the design and construction of the FVT05, a car built for the Australian Formula Vee racing series. The introduction can be found at • Introduction and Bodyw... .
Partners:
Intercad (intercad.com.au/) who provided Solidworks for this project.
JKF Aero (jkfaero.com/) who assisted on the design of the bodywork and undertray.
Also follow the project at:
/ thomsenmotorsport
/ thomsenracecar
Music:
Licenced from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com) - Auta a dopravní prostředky
I got into Motorsport this year, and yeah its not cheap, but i got lucky that i had an uncle who started a team up. Doing real racing after years of simracing feels weird, but very good at the same time, and getting to experience g forces, and driving side by side in real life is something i've dream about.
and to all the simracers out there, simracing does make you faster in real life too, i've only driven 4 times by now, yet im already on pace, racing is racing, no matter from where you get your experience!
Ok ok ok, need to remind myself that all of these prices are in dollarydoos.
David Larson oh that’s right... so it’d be more expensive in USD I presume?
Nanderlizer Nanderlizer who hurt you?
10knight0 less, actually
@@Rovou7 actually formula vees out in us go for like 7 k check em out
@@Rovou7no, cheaper in USD
1. Get money. Three times as much as you think you'll need.
2. Become a mechanic. You will ultimately have to depend on yourself.
3. Get more money.
4. Get friends who know more than you. Find or pay someone to constantly tell you how wonderful you are. Confidence building, yeah!
5. Get More money.
6. Driving talent is the last thing you need and it's not even necessary. How many drivers are really capable of winning the Indy 500?
Thanks for bringing my hopes down lmao
Well I guess racing is staying in my dreams
There are cheap(ish) arrive and drive go karting series, honestly racing is racing so I reckon bang for your buck there's not much better out there. Simulators are also very good if you invest in a good wheel / pedal set / VR.
@@thomsenmotorsport7201 Ok around how much is a decent simulator?
Blitzen expensive(ish)
Blitzen you can enter a karting race series for about $1,000 a year
@@blitzen435 you can get a logitech g29 for a couple hundred
What i'm going to do is design them, in the driving part i'm not so involved, what i love is engines, aerodynamics, everything the car has, not the driver, thats why i'm putting effort into the college, i'm also doing a mechanic course and i have learned a lot, etc, etc... cheers!
Also go and try lemons racing if you're in the united states. $500 cars with a $600 entree fee plus $150 per driver for 2 full days of racing. You can put as much as you want into safety equipment but there are obvious requirements which will cost some money. You need at least 4 drivers to register so a good way to offset the cost is to have 4 or more buddies get together and each pay an equal part and go out and race.
And $6000 worth of safety gear...
Dylan Hale yeah, all in you’re looking at a couple grand per driver to drive a slow shitbox car, it’s def not cheap. Karting is the only remotely affordable racing.
Dylan Hale $1650 around that price
@@shawnconklin3453 Just for each driver. The car needs a roll cage, fuel cell, and other safety stuff that is NOT cheap if you have to pay someone to fab/install it all. And, again, after all of that, it's terrible parity with a painfully slow car that will probably break halfway through the event. LeMons is a goof off thing for rich people that do other racing. Chump Car is a little better as it's more like $2000-$3000 cars to start with, but still not great parity. IMO racing only means anything if it's all pure spec vehicles identically prepared and well maintained, anything else is just pay to win and screw that.
This is great! I wish this was around when i started last year. This video needs to be played on the tv show speedweek.
Thanks man, exactly what I wanted to know. It must be the ultimate doing the design, build, setup and driving the thing! 👌👌👌
Really good video series. Love the commentary.
Genuinely can't wait till 5 when I clock off and can watch this!!!
Ben Knight don’t be too excited he’s gonna crush your dreams when you get around to watching it
Don't forget about buying tools
True, that's a good few hundred right there.
Well done buddy! Very informative. Another video on how the sport has changed you as a person (builds character) would be a nice follow up. I would love to hear what you have learned and how much you have grown from pursuing such a challenge. Keep it up.
Best Matt
I'm thinking of doing a video at the end of the year to look back on the project, that would be a good thing to include as part of it. I'll remember your suggestion, thanks.
thanks for this very interesting.
Could you do a video that specificlly covers getting into Vee? I mean a comprehensive guide that helps me find out what I need to know to build one. The restictions and regulations, and other info that is hard to find with a Google search.
Thanks for this video. I'm going to sub
Have a big ol stack of money!
OK I'll watch the video now :)
Traveling for races I found to be the most expensive. The amount it would cost to travel interstate for a weekend. In the thousands and it's before you even race. Plus repairs and maintenance are a close 2nd and 3rd lol
You fogot to add all of it together at the end :P great video altogether very informative :) earlier in the year I was researching rallycross but as a student i just dont have the money and will likely have to wait another few years yet but some day!
Whoops, that's a bit of an oversight.
ThomsenMotorsport I got u, I just crunched the numbers:
One year= AU$36,510 or USD$25,890
Two years = AU$60,720 or USD$43,058
Three years = AU$84,930 or USD$60,226
Four years= AU$109,140 or USD$77,393
Five years= AU$133,350 or USD$94,561
The ants are taking over 😭 well kiss my racing dream goodbye
It’s my dream to be in some sort of race car, so I’m just hoping one day it’ll happen, though I highly doubt it im still young and can hope :) I would prefer formula vee or formula Ford cause I like the look of those cars
Unless you live across the road from a race track, figure in TIME.
Dragging a car hundred of miles in each direction on a race weekend can be exhausting and expensive, and if you have a day job the long weekend can have a knock-on effect on your job and your home life if your spouse isn’t on board.
Oz is large, and the US is large, but the Brits are rarely more than 100 miles from a decent circuit.
One thing I want to point out was about what you said about the observed driving session.
You state that they want to see speed. While I agree that yes they do, the focus should be control. Speed is a bi-product At least in most club racing in the US, they stress SAFE driving over speed. Speed is the end goal, but safe driving should take paramount. (Also note that slow driving can mean unsafe)
Now. This probably changes from organization to organization and location to location. However...
I think that comment suggest your priority should be driving as fast as possible, and slightly go for broke reckless. Yes, the the end goal is speed, but I think safe driving technique should be learned first and foremost.
We aren’t talking about missing a block, or dropping a pass. We are talking about controlling anywhere from 450-4500lbs of weight(depending on series/class/type of racing) that should be treated as a pretty big responsibility.
In short I’m just saying I feel most competitors will respect the guy who takes his time getting up to speed. If you are that quick, taking it slow will still work ;)
Side note. I agree karting is a perfect start. If you are interested enough, you may even want to start with a simulator setup at home. While a big initial investment, it’s still smaller than most forms of racing and has a very small operating cost once established.
This is true, I didn't mean to imply that one should drive in a reckless manner - but if you're too slow you won't be passing your OLT (I think you mean this by saying slow driving can be unsafe). They go hand in hand.
cool video! im definitely interested. though, what is the cost of building your own car?
Thanks. Doing what I've done is about a $30k exercise. Could be made much more or much less expensive depending on your goals.
Thanks interesting video :)
My local track did an open before the race and I got in it I had a shit box car the others guy had these wicked cars I just drove my way and had the best time ever
Currently getting more and more into karting. Racing in a rental kart Championship at the moment, trying to set a Foot into the racing kart world. Wanna start in a local x30 Championship but jeez its expensive
Can't beat rental kart championships for bang for buck - racing is racing.
I’ve been trying to get into Motorsport for a long while I can’t really afford at and there are no tracks around me
I'm wondering if I should start rallying
I'm 17 and I'm from the Philippines. I really want to build a Formula Vee car after college. Does it only need a VW engine or else?
good
Hi, Is there any european formula vee club? I can't find anything in Europe.
im 26 about to be 27..sometimes i feel too old to get started,..but i really want to try this.
Not uncommon to see people much older than that get into club level racing - they finally have the cash they need.
@@thomsenmotorsport7201 man that makes me feel so much better.
I made a small fortune in motor racing.
I started with a large fortune.
What's the song in this video?
Is there a way to race a somewhat modified daily driver?
If in Aus, look up the excels, they're quite cheap.
Ngl I prefer sim racing over real racing. I go kart racing sometimes but that is still expensive for me because I am unemployed (to young to get a job where I live) and I don’t have rich parents so I bought an ok sim racing rig and I am perfectly happy with it.
Sim racing has been really legitimized by the pandemic, having lots of professional drivers joining the ranks and start streaming. It's not quite the same as real life of course, the stresses on the body and feedback for the driver are different, but it's still racing.
Great video. But are there ways to get money back like sponsership deals or pricemoney for winning?
+Carl streZZah no prize money where I am, can't speak for elsewhere. Sponsorship is possible but is normally a lot of work both to get someone on board then to keep up your commitments to them. Not impossible though.
+Carl streZZah In the USA, at the road racing club level, almost no sponsorship exists, as the only track spectators are the friends and family of the drivers competing. Sponsors need eyeballs to justify the expenditure, and road racing doesn't give them enough eyeballs.
However, if you go the roundy round route, and run at the local short oval track (dirt or pavement), you'll have lot more luck in occasionally talking some local businesses into giving you some small sponsorships, as there are almost always quite a few paying customer eyeballs there each week at the track to watch the races.
In reality though, your racing budget will already be consuming every penny you can spare (and a lot of pennies you can't spare, but you'll spend them on the racing all the same), and yet it'll still feel short of what you really 'need' to go racing properly. So, even when you do get a lucky break and manage to talk someone into giving you $500 or $1000 for a nice big ad on the side of your car, that $1000 isn't money that gets put into your pocket to spend on non-racing things like food and rent. All that getting a bit of sponsorship means is that your engine just got itself $1000 worth of refresh/retune, or that you got to buy an extra set of new tires for this season.
As far as prize money goes: The local oval tracks do payout, but even if you won every single race that season, the total still wouldn't be an amount even close to being equal to what your race car cost new. And again, any prize money earned just tends to get reinvested into the race car, anyways.
As the joke goes: How do you make small fortune in racing? Start with a large fortune.
ask yourself what you can do for the sponsors
a sponsorship is an investment and not a gift. the sponsor wants something in return mostly exhibition. maybe you have to sell their stuff (at race tracks), maybe attend events for them outside the sport
sponsorship doesnt have to be money: you could try to get a deal with a cardealer, aftermarket parts shop, welding company, CFD analysing company, etc
But in the end no sponsor cares if no audience cares about you
And for sure, what both Mike and Simon said. Sponsorships are almost never straight up $500 for this spot on the car, $1000 for this other spot on the car. It's that, plus whatever other non-decal related benefits you can give to the sponsor.
For example, one sponsor gave me a half dozen shirts with their logo's on the front and back. It was understood that not only did I wear those shirts at the track, but also as often as I could when in public on non-race days. Especially if my picture was likely to be taken.
Another sponsor I had (a realtor) literally kept track of how many people I referred to her, to get them to give her a ring when they where looking for a new house. She wasn't expecting me to 'sell', per say, she just wanted me to get some extra referrals sent to her, so she would have a chance at gaining a possible client, and making another house sale in the future. The selling end of things was completely up to her. I must have sent her enough, as she renewed the following year. :)
Had the same basic arrangement with a used car dealer, but, he was more of a race fan, though. The thing I think he liked the most was having me call him on Monday, and give him the 'weekend report' from the races. Made him feel like the assistant head coach of the team or something, like he was involved and 'part of the action' even when he couldn't make it himself to the races to watch. But even that guy needed to have decent amount of referrals sent his way to justify things to his accountant.
Another sponsor I had was a car mechanic shop owner. He didn't give me any money, but he let me use his shop and tools for major builds/repairs, and he got me deals for parts at cost. Of course, I could only use the shop during non-peak hours. I know this particular sponsorship doesn't sound like much, but in all honesty, without him, I probably wouldn't have even been able to continue racing much past karts. Sometimes a 'services' sponsor is even better to have than a 'cash' sponsor.
A funny sponsor story: Did work related business with an auto body shop owner, got to know him after a few years of doing business. He found out I was building a new racecar for the next season, and he offered to paint it for a sponsor spot. He then said, "Well, I just finished a big job that used safety yellow paint, and I've got a ton of that shit left over -more than enough to paint your race car. So, you can have any color race car you want, but then you're buying the paint. Or, it can be bright-ass safety yellow for free."
Guess what color car I raced that year?
Make friends. Be nice to everybody at the race track, especially when they come up to you on autograph night. You never know which one of those hundreds of folks in the stands might be inclined to help you out a little if you pitch them the right proposal.
And pitch often. You'll never get that one 'yes' until you've gone through those 99 'noes'.
Takes time and lots of hard work to get there but it can be done! 🏁
Argg i cant i live in bloody south east asia where there is no racing.my dream is to be the next seb vettel but i cant.this gave me depression after my family and friends put sense into me.but now im used to it
What's the song name?
travel costs?
Okay some one help me, I joined the military because I found my self not "bright" enough for college and now I want to go to college. Annnnnd I was never really into cars or racing before, But in the military we get to drive some pretty hefty shit and since I've spent time around vehicles I realized I actually like working with them and getting my hands nice and greasy is the most satisfying thing I've experienced, but not as satisfying as pressing down on the pedal of a 2 ton machine and hearing the magic of engineering the most beautiful noise that man kind has created the thunderous machine that we control........... In other words I really really really really really really really really really want to get involved
also i want to go to college :
The LIKE to DISLIKE ratio is amazing. Congratulations
Karting and maaaaybe motorcycles are the only remotely affordable options for regular people to go racing. However, privately owned karts suffer from major parity issues (and you have to be the size of a horse jockey to be competitive, no tall people allowed past a certain skill level, the kart just won't handle right and you'll be too heavy). Motorcycles also suffer from the problem of parity and that the skill floor is high so beginners are more likely to crash and injure themselves from fairly minor mistakes. You really have to be diligent and patient to get fast on a motorcycle without injuring yourself, it's nowhere near as forgiving as karts. For me, rental karting is my bread and butter, 2-stroke karting is an every-now-and-then step up, and car/motorcycle track days are a once a year-ish thing that I mostly do to experience famous race tracks.
The more time that passes the more I think arrive and drive series' are the best option - within reach of most people and frankly, racing is racing, I didn't get tens of thousands of dollars more out of owning a Vee than I would have just driving in a rental kart series.
@@thomsenmotorsport7201 This is the only conclusion I've ever been able to come to. While it would be fun to step up in speed, the cost associated with it is logarithmic as is the time needed to keep the vehicle in ship shape and also the risk of life-altering or ending injuries goes way up. I really have no plans to do anything but rent race vehicles for the foreseeable future, it's just too much money and work for the small bump in fun. It's like the difference between watching a movie on VHS vs. Blu Ray, but the Blu Ray disc costs $1000 and you have to build the Blu Ray player. If only the Club 100 2-stroke kart series had branches worldwide, to me that will always be the best "everyman" race series.
I started racing RC cars at a dirt track. It's very different from racing a real car, but you might like it.
If I remember correctly that's how Lewis Hamilton started.
@@thomsenmotorsport7201
Yes, Lewis Hamilton was my inspiration.
Just so you guys know you dont have to go at it alone, with a few friends the cost drops a lot.
I wanna do like 1 formula 2 season I've never driven b4 but that's what I want to do
You gotta start soon then, the pros have been doing it since they were kids
I dont have the money, and that is what puts me down everyday😔
I only Raced Forza the indy car career on PS4
If I get more of recognition in karting, I can start formula 4 in 2 years
Can i ask what type of cars is that???
Australian Formula Vee.
Mmmm I'll just stick to watching it on tv
I think a HANS is useless and not worth the price at that level. A neck brace is largely enough. Remember, in the 80s turbo era and during the wing cars era in F1, racing drivers had nothing around their neck but miles and training for some of them.
1 hour of hire kart in brazil: R$400
Minimum wage per month in brazil: R$1200
I simply race all the time it’s my life I just need a person to give me a shot and let me race
In my country $1=4R$ So *NOTHING* is cheap
R$400.000 for five years of Racing
I didn't really learn anything I thought you were going to walk me thru the different ways to get a car and the requirements and challenge for each method. Those being buy lease AND BUILD!
Don't forget that i live in Brazil
How do you get in gt cars??
I think there's a Hyundai Excel series in Australia that's meant to be cheap, probably the lowest cost point of entry (once you're out of karts). For tin tops that's the point of entry. But the full answer involves a large number and a dollar sign.
@@thomsenmotorsport7201 rip
@@thomsenmotorsport7201 how did hamilton came inf1 cuz he wasnr rich
...whelp
Does AGE matter?
This is good information but it's unfortunately still a wealthy mans sport and is still possible for some of use to get into. Cause of not being able to come up with the money do to lack financial support or having the money in general do to being poor. So it seems my dream is dead before I got the chance to even try it. Due to not having the money to pay for any of it or really having access to financial support to be able to pursue it. Just makes me hate being poor even more now knowing that I can't even achieve my dream in any fashion cause lack of funds.
Getting into Motorsports: the only guide. The days of the average person getting into racing are long gone. Unless you have bags and bags of money. Or a rich daddy.
Yeah it's expensive, no way to sugar coat that. I think the best route for those that want to race is arrive and drive karting. There's a track near me in Paris that costs 200 euros for a day of racing (3 races + qually). Just as competitive as this was for me, good racing and affordable if you're really interested.
I want to be an IMSA racecar driver. Hit like who else want to be this.
Im 16 and I want to start motorcycle racing. The only objection is my parents disapproval : (
Instead of paying Your racing vehicle yourself, can you also search for sponsors, that will pay the biggest part?
Yep, if you can find 'em.
@@thomsenmotorsport7201 thats maybe a good plan for me in the future. With sponsors
I can't even afford a sim racing wheel, so I guess I'll just stick to watching youtube and dreaming
marble racing
umm... Hello. I am trying to get into motorsport, but my dream is to be an f1 driver. The point I want to say that is formula 4, is the same route as formula vee?
F4 is a step up I'd say
Thanks!
so basically i cant own my own car but can hire karts to see what i can do at 17
14k dollars a year just for the car and then a bunch of gear costs and license costs and club membership and what not.. all together it gets to 20k-25k every year. Keep watching youtube videos if you are not making about 100k a year or something. What is the minimum wage in your country? 2k? let's say most people make 3-4k a month and you are a bit ahead of that and making 5k a month. You will end up with 60k every year. 25k is nearing half of your entire earning every year and here we understand even just to start you gotta be kind of rich. Btw such salaries are found in very few countries around the world. In countries like germany, france, italy and such, a waiter is making around 2k euros a month. If you are a policeman you make about 3-4k a month.. if you are a doctor starting salary goes up to 5-6k a month.. Such earnings are impossible in most countries for those positions. Go try being a waiter in bulgaria or egypt or brasil.. try being a policeman in africa or south asia.. go try to be a doctor in turkmenistan, uruguay or china.. you will be earning less than what they pay as unemployment salary by the state in those top few countries. If you are the best in the world for running, you can say you are the best in the world. But when it comes to racing we don't know who is the best in the world even in a specific category, because the world is not able to participate and challenge those who can participate. It is a sport of elite and yes we would love to be able to give it a go. But before that we need to make it to the end of the month and try to save some money to buy a car for daily driving and if we can save enough we try to buy a flat so we don't have to pay rent and meanwhile trying to save here and there to go holidays at least once every year or second year.. and then kids and their costs... ups you are getting towards your 50s and your kid is getting married, no holidays this year and after all that spending you are in debt for the next 2 years or so.. While you are going through all these stuff some retard like paul logan turns in to a millionaire doing retarded stuff on youtube.. The world is a fucked up place and no we cannot go racing end of the story.
Alternative is an arrive and drive karting series. Cheap and frankly, you can have just as much fun with that as you can in a Formula Vee if the competition is good. Can't argue about the state of the world though.
@@thomsenmotorsport7201 Agree. I've dabbled in every thing but rental karting with a facility that maintains them well is the only way to really race regularly without being a lottery winner or eating ramen noodles and water for dinner while living in a barn. I like to do a "real car" event of some kind about once a year, but I don't ever see myself willing to spend the massive amounts of cash to do it with any regularity, and I'll probably never race wheel to wheel in a full-size car just because of the financial risk from an accident that may not even be my fault (people total cars right after the green flag drops all the time). I wish Club 100, a fleet of 2-stroke rental karts kept in very equal shape that travel around the UK for $300 USD per event, was in every country.
Wanna go pro gotta be Rich or at least well off 🤗
no, just start young, be a prodigy and sign with a big team
That's a lot of money for a kid ☹️
A kid should start in karting.
so it costs about 5.6 billion to get into. Good to know
It's far too expensive for sure. I can see the sport really dying off (at least in the lower categories) if it can't address the costs. There are ways if you're really strapped though. I think you can get a lot of the enjoyment of racing from arrive and drive leagues held at hire kart places, which are FAR more reasonably priced - perhaps around $100 round. Often the drivers are still very competitive (I know a couple of professionals who have raced in one in Sydney for fun) but it can be hit and miss. I competed in two rounds of an arrive and drive series in the UK and the difference between karts was frustrating and added a bit of a dice roll to the thing. But it was still a lot of fun, if all you're after is to compete.
Fuck me this is way too expensive
Step one: get rich parents.
Okay so what happened to this channel?
ran out of money, LOL
jesus christ thanks god here things are way cheaper cause from your video. to get into the hobby u need like 50 k dollars to spare