Quote from Intrepid :

I am pretty confident Junior Ginettas cost quite a bit more than that. I would hazard more like 50k + if you want to be competitive. Doesn't appear to be any testing restrictions. I have seen em down at LLandow a few times as well and no one was checking

It's a competitive series so. unless you are willing to spend I wouldn't reccomend it. And to be honest they looked pretty miserable to drive

I would say 10k is the absolute minimum to do a season on now, however some of the front end lot were telling me they were doing over 30k, and that was two years ago.

They are pretty fun to drive in the wet, but the locked diff makes them a bit crap in the dry, although the Junior cars are now fitted with Limited Slip diffs just like the Senior cars so they're probrably quite fun so long as you dont mind oversteer. The Junior cars are a bit underpowered though (and for a good reason).

However I wouldnt reccomend the Juniors either if you're just in it for fun, just about everyone in the series wants to be the next Lewis Hamilton, so driving behavior at the sharp end isnt always the best, and if you're planning to turn up with just a car and trailer, they probrably wont be to interested in you.

you could try ministox
they are oval racing minis and can be run for about 1k a year
at the track i goto we spent about 2k for the first year including buying a car
i have just got myself a new car and if you are interested this is my old car:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Junior-M ... 65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Quote from brt900 :

Thanks for the replies,
my friend at school does autograss personally i dont think it looks good she drives a citreon ax round a 1/4 mile dirt oval. i would rather race round a track personally i think sax max is the best option

It is about the cheapest form of wheel to wheel racing available and certainly worth considering if you have to ask how much it will cost. Of course it won't get you anywhere professionally, neither will SaxMax or Ginettas unless you've already got some karting connections/sponsorship deals behind you.

Quote from Alistair :

you could try ministox
they are oval racing minis and can be run for about 1k a year
at the track i goto we spent about 2k for the first year including buying a car
i have just got myself a new car and if you are interested this is my old car:

You could improve that listing no end by not writing it in big blue text. Include a lot more pictures, of the car as it is now not in action, people buying a car they have no idea of the construction let alone condition of will want to see general pictures of a (clean) engine bay, the car at least from the rear and detail never hurts. If you choose to try and sell a competition car on ebay remember that the customer is unlikely to be able to look at it first (given the low price in this case) so you have to do the convincing that it really is in the condition it is in. If you're not desperate for a quick sale I would sell it to people who already know the car (usually the best way unless it is a dog or you're worried about somebody beating you with it and want it to go as far away as possible) or through conventional advertising, where people can view the car, purchase and collect it in one trip.

Quote from 5haz :

I would say 10k is the absolute minimum to do a season on now, however some of the front end lot were telling me they were doing over 30k, and that was two years ago.

They are pretty fun to drive in the wet, but the locked diff makes them a bit crap in the dry, although the Junior cars are now fitted with Limited Slip diffs just like the Senior cars so they're probrably quite fun so long as you dont mind oversteer. The Junior cars are a bit underpowered though (and for a good reason).

However I wouldnt reccomend the Juniors either if you're just in it for fun, just about everyone in the series wants to be the next Lewis Hamilton, so driving behavior at the sharp end isnt always the best, and if you're planning to turn up with just a car and trailer, they probrably wont be to interested in you.

Yeah good point, I understand the fact that some cars have very poor build quality, so I am just wondering if you can actually assemble it yourself or are they allowed be built by any Tom Dick or Harry?

Quote from pacesetter :

Yeah good point, I understand the fact that some cars have very poor build quality, so I am just wondering if you can actually assemble it yourself or are they allowed be built by any Tom Dick or Harry?

You used to be able to buy one in kit form, I'm not sure if they do that now, but obviously you can get them (very loosely thrown together!) from the factory, but a lot of second hand cars are put together by anybody, however quite a lot of them have been 'leased' out to people by Ginetta and have also been sent back to the factory and been rebuilt.

Ginettas are a series full of younger drivers with parents with large chequebooks - a Mr D Hill's son races in it and has done some rather interesting performances but some were a bit less visible. It's on ITV4, so if you do it and crash we can all point and laugh (or maybe not)

I haven't seen any SaxMax racing, but it definatley has a terrible reputation of being filled with a grid full of wannabe Lewis Hamiltons - but the driving turns in to Yuji Ide after a few beers too many and a 50% reduction in talent.

thats were i first saw ginetta juniors on itv4 and it looks awesome but the price tag is a bit high

Quote from duke_toaster :

Ginettas are a series full of younger drivers with parents with large chequebooks - a Mr D Hill's son races in it and has done some rather interesting performances but some were a bit less visible. It's on ITV4, so if you do it and crash we can all point and laugh (or maybe not)

I haven't seen any SaxMax racing, but it definatley has a terrible reputation of being filled with a grid full of wannabe Lewis Hamiltons - but the driving turns in to Yuji Ide after a few beers too many and a 50% reduction in talent.

Shame you missed when they showed ginettas on motors TV back in 07, you would have got to see me lock up and go straight on into the gravel at Donnington right infront of the camera, then you could laugh.

And yes, the driving standards are often frightening, by the end of 2007 the MSA championship official bloke was almost glowing with rage in drivers briefings sometimes.

Heres some typical Ginetta racing from 07, I'm driving the white car that goes past the camera at 15 seconds.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v= ... VGvPE&feature=related

Autotesting, Autosolo's, Drifting, Quad Biking, Motocross, Supercross, Supermoto, 125GP, Mini Moto's, Lawnmower racing (fast ones)

theres a lot out there - just search for them - autosolo/autotesting are easiest - just go to your local motor club - hope you can afford a car though! im 15 but i have a micra, punto, bmw 323i coupe and i am getting rid of micra and punto to get something japanese and rwd:P

autotesting/autosolo - up to until you get a license from 14 years old you use a saloon car up to 1.4 litre and do all forward tests. it is only something like £5/10 to enter an autotest/solo so it is really relly cheap. Cars come from £50 too! my micra was only £75 and it works like a dream!
(check my u tube channel for the nissan micra vid for my runs www.youtube.com/crabbie04 )

I'd love to do some autotest, it looks like mega fun.

Quote from pacesetter :

There is also the Junior Rallycross championship, there is one over here and I'm positive theres one in the UK too

limited to 1 liters though.... had several 106's and enjoyed it very much... marshalls are overly strict and doors go flying when you roll...


stick to the one type of car so you can inter-change the same parts ( saves you alot of money ) and you have the laugh of your life...

my best was a third and all in all 5 races cost me 2000 ( parts, transport and all costs combined)

couldnt of spent the money any better.



though i was going out on purpose to rally the life out of the surprisingly reliable 106's i had a frontal kiss with a punto, he crushed like a soda can, i smashed the bonnet with a hammer and changed the radiator and she ran again...


who ever said french cars are s*** ??

Quote from Timdpr :

That's the one! http://www.ashley-craig.com/

That's pretty sweet, who was classified in front? Or was it considered a draw?

Yeh that's him alright. It was classified as a draw in the end, I think we both shared 4th place. Luckily it wasn't a podium place or we would have probably ended up in fisticuffs for the little plastic trophy

5Haz, how many BHP are the Juniors? I remember I did a test day in the MR2 at Rockingham at the beginning of the season and there were a few of the Juniors there and I was able to keep right on their bumper for most of the lap.

Someone mentioned Josh Hill racing in the class, so I thought I'd make a point. I remember watching one of the Donington races (the one where Josh nailed that big foam thing) where Dino Zamperelli did a fantastic drive from way down the field to battle his way through and eventually win the race. Yet when the race was finished, did we get an interview with Dino? No, instead we got to hear from Josh who didn't drive particuarly well and lost the lead of the race to someone from way down the pack, presumbly for the sole reason he was Damon Hill's son.

That pissed me right off, it wasn't fair for Dino to not get the attention he deserved after an amazing race.

Quote from ajp71 :

You could improve that listing no end by not writing it in big blue text. Include a lot more pictures, of the car as it is now not in action, people buying a car they have no idea of the construction let alone condition of will want to see general pictures of a (clean) engine bay, the car at least from the rear and detail never hurts. If you choose to try and sell a competition car on ebay remember that the customer is unlikely to be able to look at it first (given the low price in this case) so you have to do the convincing that it really is in the condition it is in. If you're not desperate for a quick sale I would sell it to people who already know the car (usually the best way unless it is a dog or you're worried about somebody beating you with it and want it to go as far away as possible) or through conventional advertising, where people can view the car, purchase and collect it in one trip.

if they want more pics all they have do do is alsk and i can send them some pics but i don't have many.
it is a running and competative car (i would not have got a second place finish if it was not
all the cars are basic but that is what keeps the price down it 2K a year not 30K a year like Ginetta's

Cheapest Circuit Form is bound to be Saxmax its £10,000 a year ( that price is including buying a car which is around £5,000 - £6,000 )

I Done Karting for a few years, i went onto Grasstrack racing now going up to Saxmax.

The way its going everyone is going to switch to saxmax due to the credit crunch.

But stepping up from karting to cars is a big thing.. If i was you before your test get Your Guardian to pay for a test day with an instructor.

T Cars is going down the drain, i heard they abandoned last years championship due to Not enough people registered to race.

Quote from Jordan2007 :

Cheapest Circuit Form is bound to be Saxmax its £10,000 a year ( that price is including buying a car which is around £5,000 - £6,000 )

I Done Karting for a few years, i went onto Grasstrack racing now going up to Saxmax.

The way its going everyone is going to switch to saxmax due to the credit crunch.

But stepping up from karting to cars is a big thing.. If i was you before your test get Your Guardian to pay for a test day with an instructor.

T Cars is going down the drain, i heard they abandoned last years championship due to Not enough people registered to race.

I wouldn't call karting to cars a step up. Unless a driver has competed and won at the highest levels beating Ardigo and co then mayve you can call a move from karting a step 'up'. A step up in terms of cost and complication? maybe, but certainly not in actually driving talent and ability.

If you haven't competed at that level (which you haven't) then moving to cars is merely that - just moving or AVOIDING. Even Dan Wheldon said about racing in Las Vegas this year in the TaG class "this is MORE competitive than IndyCar". If it's a step up please explain why Tiff Needell couldn't get within several seconds of the pace in a KF1, while Plato couldn't do MUCH better?

There I go again!

Also SaxMax for 10k? That's not what I hear... to be competitive, as with most other motorsports its FAR more expensive than that!

Quote from Intrepid :

If it's a step up please explain why Tiff Needell couldn't get within 10 seconds of the pace in a KF1, while Plato couldn't do MUCH better?

are you referencing to the latest fifth gear episode? you have access to official timing in proper runs not shown on TV?

Quote from JJ72 :

are you referencing to the latest fifth gear episode? you have access to official timing in proper runs not shown on TV?

yes. are u surprised?

linky please?

Quote from JJ72 :

linky please?

there's no link. I just speak to the people that were actually there. It was a private test day. There were no official time sheets because no one was there to make them. Just a stopwach!

And you only have to watch them through the hairpins to see how slow they were. They burnt through some clutches that day and Tiff smashed a 10k camera!

He's an old man though so what do u expect? a KF1 with all that grip will challenge the fittest of people! Did u not see Tiff on the end of the vid lol was funny!

The dude is a well known kart trader/tuner and supplied the karts for the day. A guy named Nick was the mechanic, who you can briefly see on the weigh scales.

This dude does alot of advertising through Alan's site!

Quote from Intrepid :

Also SaxMax for 10k? That's not what I hear... to be competitive, as with most other motorsports its FAR more expensive than that!

It's a lightly modified Saxo running to very tight regulations. Nearly all the components are specified specifically, leaving almost no scope for modification. The rollcage is specified as an exact bolt in cage that all competitors must use, hence removing any chance of someone turning up with a proper rollcage and with the corresponding chassis modification regulations preventing anyone from getting away from the fundamental inadequacies of the road car on which its based and preventing excessive lightening (legal or otherwise) due to the dependence on the bodyshell for stiffness. There is very little that can be done to make it go much faster with a standard engine, non-structural rollcage and limited suspension bushes and top mounts. You could spend a fortune on dampers but you still wouldn't get any advantage.

Presuming there's no accident damage (optimistic) any geniuely special driver should be able to be front running for a season with a car built from scratch for £10,000, including trailer purchase/hire and a couple of test days.

Quote from ajp71 :

It's a lightly modified Saxo running to very tight regulations. Nearly all the components are specified specifically, leaving almost no scope for modification. The rollcage is specified as an exact bolt in cage that all competitors must use, hence removing any chance of someone turning up with a proper rollcage and with the corresponding chassis modification regulations preventing anyone from getting away from the fundamental inadequacies of the road car on which its based and preventing excessive lightening (legal or otherwise) due to the dependence on the bodyshell for stiffness. There is very little that can be done to make it go much faster with a standard engine, non-structural rollcage and limited suspension bushes and top mounts. You could spend a fortune on dampers but you still wouldn't get any advantage.

Presuming there's no accident damage (optimistic) any geniuely special driver should be able to be front running for a season with a car built from scratch for £10,000, including trailer purchase/hire and a couple of test days.

I have spoken to a few competitors who tried SaxMax (so I am not plucking numbers from the air) and that's not the story I hear. 10,000 is possible, but no where NEAR a realistic budget to be anywehere near competitive. I usually do a sum to figure these things out.

Take the sum advertised for costings for a season and then x4!

The kart class Rotax MAX for example allows no modification to the engine, and all parts have to come from the factory. Also, only a registered sealing agent can rebuild the engine. However, with these UBER tight regs a good engine will sell for 5 times RRP. Engines will go for the estimated costings for a season of SaxMax.

My point - don't believe the cost hype. I am not saying a special driver can do great things on a budget, but 90% of the time it isn't the case.

If you want to have some fun and race I would avoid classes percieved as classes with 'drivers of the future'. These are classes where big money is thrown about like confetti.

Alan have you ever seen a SaxMax race or looked at the car preparation levels? It is nothing special, people maybe spending more but the result is bugger all benefit because the regs are sensibly written to put a cap on how much can be thrown at a car to make it faster. The driving level isn't great, a good driver should be able to come along and win in any car on the grid, to be honest SaxMax is still full of clubies sons and daughters and is not meant to be producing the stars of tomorrow.

Are there many prefessional teams in Saxmax? Privateers got completely killed off in Ginetta (including us ) thats why its so damn expensive because teams like Hepworth are charging £30K a season.