Costs of racing Options

[Brew]

I just finished reading about the 912 racer in Excellence, and was starting to feel inspired, thinking of ways to come up with the $$ to properly prep my 914 for the track.

Before I do anything drastic, I'd like to hear from the guys that track their cars regularly.

What type of racing do you do, and how much $$$ does a season cost you? What are the primary expenses?

[jhadler]

Racing, or other competition driving, can be as expensive as you want.

Contrary to what alpha said, your skill level does not in any way dictate what level pf preparation you need to put into your car.

There are a lot of great venues for competition with the 914. It makes a superb autox car, and out here you can find at least two events (or more) a month in summer. SCCA has a very active autox scene, PCA has a few events, but nowhere near as much as SCCA. BMWCCA has a series as well, and they take all comers.

Figure costs can be as little as $50 a weekend. Registration fees, lunch, and gas. If you keep your car bone stock, additional expenses are pretty minimal. If you -want- to prep your car for higher levels, you can. Just read the rules for whatever class you choose to compete in. Read 'em three times before spending a dime. Sometimes a seemingly simple modification can bump you into the trailer-riding-fire-breathing-monster classes.

Then if you want to step to track events, there are number of events at Pueblo this year. DE's are an excellent way to get track time in a more controlled setting than a full wheel-to-wheel race. Fees for DE's tend to run between $100 and $200 a day depending on the club and the track. DE's are non-competitive events. There are no trophies, but you learn the skills that you can take with you to competition events. And don't forget gas and lodging, as these events tend to be "away" events for most people...

Up from there is Time Trials. PCA, SCCA, NASA all have TT programs. Figure similar costs as DE's for entry fees but tak on additional costs for transponder rentals, and gas. And as it's a competition format event, keep in mind tire costs. Comeptition tires run from as little as $125 a tire to as much as $250 a tire for "street legal" race tires. Expect to go through two sets a season.

Then we've got wheel to wheel. Here the fees are a lot higher, and the costs of running a car in wheel to wheel competition go up as well. Tire costs will go up. Car preparation costs go up as well. Even if you kept the car "stock". You've got the cage, fire system, suit, and all the safety gear. Then you've got car prep above and beyond that.

Motorsports can be as expensive as you want it to be.... Just ask Brant... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

Come on out to the La Junta event!!! I'm hoping to have my car back together and running by then...

-Josh2