Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogue Leader
STI's are great cars, depending what you are using it for. But all this talk of what car to get is putting the cart before the horse.
IMO before you buy anything you need to hit Skip Barber and try out racing a car for real. Next you need to review whats out there series wise and what your budget will cover. Skip Barber even has a national championship where guys like Scott Speed, AJ Allmendinger, and even Juan Pablo Montoya got their start. It will cost you about $20k-30k or so for the season IIRC but that is probably the best way to get going on being a pro if you are serious about it.
For example owning and racing a car, you need the car, a trailer, a tow rig, a lot of time to tow it places, you need money for fuel (obviously a lot of it), tires (which you will go through 1 or more sets a weekend depending on the series), spares, etc. AND you need to realize you could roll the thing and have a $40,000 paperweight. I should know, I ripped the side off a Skip Barber car on the backstretch at Limerock... it happens!
Some of the spec series these costs are lower, or easier to manage since you're very limited. VW TDI cup everything is given to you for your entry after you qualify, so its just a chunk of money and nothing to worry about but driving. If you wanna go single seat cars, Pro Formula Mazda or just below it Star Mazda is a great start.
Either way you need to at least loosely define your path and your goals. You have a LOT of research to do my friend. Where do you want to end up? NASCAR? Sports Cars? IRL? I'm not even gonna throw F1 into that ring.
The days of buying a car, and going out and racing it everywhere in the hopes of getting picked up are LONG gone. You need to decide where you want to go and aim yourself at it, and then buy a race car that can get you started, OR get some money behind you to go to a team to run their cars. Theres soo many options out there, your choice of car should be the last decision you're making.
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I definitely agree with you. I only want to get a track car to practice in, not really race in.
Personally, in the beginning, for the big leagues, my preferred choice is Nascar, and that's where I'd like to set my goals. Obviously, it's too late to even think about F1. Like I said, I prefer rally, but I understand that there is no money here in the states, except for block and pastrana.
What I don't get about skip barber is the contract in case of damage. Obviously, I understand that the car is given in my hands, and I'm liable for it. What I don't get though, is how much I would need to shell out in case shit happens.
I also prefer the VW TDI cup, rather than the mazda cup. But what it comes down to is that eventually I will need to sign up with a team, or heck find enough sponsors and start my own, which I just don't see the TDI or mazda cups eventually leading to. I just don't see SCCA leading to racing with someone else's money.