Kids and Karting

[Wile E. Coyote]

Watching the motorsports section on C4 with the kids this morning, there was a piece on a kids karting camp over in Scandinavia.

 

My eldest saw the kids flying round and was asking about how old you need to be to go karting... and if he can have a go when he's old enough.  I reckon he'd love it (he's been driving battery powered stuff since he was 2, and wholeheartedly subscribes to Colin McRae's "if in doubt, flat out" mantra) but I'm a little wary about him getting hooked and then not being able to support the ongoing cost of it.

 

The internet is riddled with pages saying how cheap karting is, but these are frequently caveated by "depending on how competitive you want to be".  Makes me worry that, like most other forms of motorsport, depth of pocket can end up being more important than pure talent.

Does anyone on here have any insight into just how bad the costs can get?

[blue ass fly]

I did it years ago (35yrs ago)ij the junior britain class - for one season

Just like you my dad thought it was cheap motorsport

My kart was £350 and needed the engine rebuilding - cheap tyres were about £100 for slicks and they were narrow ones

+Helmet, suit,boots,trailer,rac licence,gloves,wets

Rich kids were turning up with brand new italian karts with hydraulic discs and body panels in fully equipped vans

My kart was hanging out the boot of my dads P6 rover

What ime trying to say that"inexpensive motorsport" is relative to other forms - which are expensive

Someone on here will have done it more recently ime sure ,although it probably not got any cheaper over the years

[Wile E. Coyote]

Just like you my dad thought it was cheap motorsport

 

No no no! I don't think it's possible to use the words "motorsport" and "cheap" in the same sentence without references to "not" or "relatively"... hence my skepticism... 

 

35 years ago £350 was a good chunk of cash!

[blue ass fly]

Absolutely

After a few enjoyable laps around chasewater park on practise day , my main memory was being hammered by everyone and being a bit deflated

The difference was that previously i had been on fun karts at the seaside where they were all even performers so i had half a chance

Maybe i was just crap at it :-(

A friend of mine started his son off in mini stox , then onto circuit racing in corsas

Hes a real tight A*** so wouldnt have spent much

He was then spotted by renault and was one of their clio drivers - think he now drives for bmw

So its not all doom n gloom

[Mark (smokey mow)]

One of the longest threads ever on the boardroom

http://forum.wscc.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic/65088-karts/?p=648395

There's a lot on information in there

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman)]

Yep, Jeff C went through this a few years ago, there's lots in that thread, just get comfy before settling in to read it   

[JeffC]

Yep, Jeff C went through this a few years ago, there's lots in that thread, just get comfy before settling in to read it 

 

I reckon we must have spent thick end of £100,000  before I packed in               early days were awesome as you can see if you read the early part of that  thread spending £25 on a days fun  but read the last 10 pages or so you will see when you get to the top of your game its not so much fun £600 a round doing the british championship Super one sharp takes the edge off the fun.

 

saying all that Im pleased we did it, proud dad and son time was worth every penny. 

[Wile E. Coyote]

Thanks chaps... will read through that thread, but might not manage all 226 pages in one sitting! 

 

Out of interest Jeff, so that I can decide whether I need wine or scotch to accompany the reading, roughly how long was that ~£100k over?  And was it just for one child, or did more than one of them get into it?

 

I don't like saying no the the little chap but am reluctant to start him on something where money might get in the way (especially if he turns out to be good at it), so just want to be in a position to manage expectations - especially as #2 seems even more mechanically minded (and fearless!) than #1...

[JeffC]

was over 4 years , the first two years were relatively cheap just going out practising for fun and 2 races a month, club racing is cheap at the start but as any motorsport to get to the front and stay at the front of the grids the front runners will be using new tyres every meeting and have maybe 4 top engines, we won two local club championships on a shoe string budget on one set of tyres and one set of wets for a year and one engine that I never got rebuilt  whilst everyone else was throwing money away like it was going out of fashion . during the first 2 years we all raced, I raced and finished 2nd in two championships  but I found as my lads got older they were faster than me so the last 2 years I took a step back and  retired to let them do it, we did Honda cadet, Tkm junior and finished off last year with both my sons racing Prokart senior.

 

at out karting peak we were away 40 weekends of the year all over the country into Scotland, the lakes and down south I built a motorhome to make life more comfortable for us , it really does take hold of your life but  as said when you get to the front is when it gets messy, I found myself arguing and shouting on in paddocks after being accused of cheating  as my two lads were winning more experienced drivers sometimes by quite a margin, these drivers  were spending eye watering money , we had our karts and engines stripped loads of times in scrutineering bay and all was  always100% legal  I even offered to swap engines tyres and even swap karts with other drivers for my lads to race but drivers still doubted our pace! was only then after nearly coming to blows in a paddock after another driver that was second to my lad in the championship got another driver to deliberately knock my son clean off the circuit that I took a step back and decided to sell up, when the fun went out of I decided enough was enough!

 

 

in short if you want to do it seriously, unfortunately you have to spend the money even if you have a top pilot, but I would have a go at club racing  and see where it leads but have no doubt if you go to the next level that  some of the 8 year old kids running at the front of super one will be running a £200,000 a year budget, thats reality .

 

 my youngest son liked to come and watch his two older brothers race and was desperate to have a go so  I put him into a cadet last year to see what he thought , he went twice and quickly decided it wasnt for him which really surprised me!

 

we had some serious highs in our 4 years and some lows but thats motorsport.

[Terry Everall]

That makes Westfield Speed Series look cheap and we don't act like pillocks ( well most of the time!) as we help each other and share set ups etc

[JeffC]

That makes Westfield Speed Series look cheap and we don't act like pillocks ( well most of the time!) as we help each other and share set ups etc

 

 

that just doesnt happen in karting terry, It gets to the point where everyone was wrapping gaffer  tape around the camber adjusters and wheels spacers so no one could copy set up, I even know of marshals and officials  taking bribes to sneak into Parc ferme after a race to check tyre pressures of the fastest karts as 1 psi in a kart tyre can be night and day on lap times! as said this is in cadet racing which is 8-13 year old , problem is dads are spending 100s of thousands of pounds to get little jonny to win races so despite tight regulations it is sooooooo corrupt !!

 

and yes what you experience in the speed series we also see in car club racing like the nsscc everyone is friendly and drivers regularly help out competitors 

[Wile E. Coyote]

Jeff - thanks for the tremendous insight, it's really useful.

 

I think we'll avoid anything competitive and just focus on the fun side of things.  After all, a tenth of that sort of cash easily buys a second Westie for the lads when they reach track day age.. along with some track tuition.  Who knows, we may eventually take the plunge and do Speed Series/Mag7s or similar.

Will still settle in and have a read through the mammoth thread though!