If you were to race a SR, what class would you pick?
I know I could ask this on a sports racer forum, but I am curious if you didn't race a formula car and wanted to go racing in a sports racer what car and class would you choose and why?
Please give three answers:
Low budget $18ish
Medium budget $30ish
High budget $50ish
That is car only of course.
Must be a SCCA class/car
Do you want to race? Or just go fast?
My region is a large one, yet SRs aren't popular here. If you want to race (with someone) you need to visit your local tracks and see what kind of turnout they have. If we get 3 SRs (other than SRFs), it's a good turnout...and this is on a weekend with 250+ entries. The SRs we get seldom run close to each other, so it's more high-speed driving than wheel-to-wheel racing with passing.
Assuming what you want to do is race, I'd definitely go SRF. Spare parts are available at a reasonable price and you'll have someone to race with. CSR is almost dead, and DSR is getting very expensive.
Larry Oliver
International Racing Products
Sports Racing - S2 in SRCC (vintage racing)
Sports 2000 (S2) has a growing following in the vintage racing community. Don't laugh. The racing is real and lots of it to boot. Good fields, top notch drivers at the front, all the other benefits of a rules-stable class. Run groups are better (IMHO) than what you encounter within SCCA.
And - the drivers pretty much police themselves. You hit somebody, make a bad passing decision with contact - and you are back on the trailer. You can race hard or race for fun - you will find someone to race with. At some of these events, the size of the S2 fields will rival that of the Runoffs. They also get their own special S2 only groups at some events.
When the track time over 3 days is compared to an SCCA 2-day event plus a test day, the entry fees are very comparable. And - you can run for a championship if you want.
jg
sports racer -- under $ 18 k & cheap to operate
Obviously you know how much cash you have in the bank to buy a race car today. So that answers wheather it is a $ 50 K car, a $ 30 K car or an $ 18 k car that will be in your garage.
However, It is not just buying the car, but operating expenses per race that eat you up.
For example, can you do all the work on the car your self ? Speciality shop labor is very expensive.
Here is a tiny portion of what you also must keep in mind operating cost wise.
gas for tow vehicle to get to races, cost for trailer, parking & storage for tow vehivle & trailer, tires & tow vehicle maintenance & insurance if it is an extra vehicle for towing added to the stable
gas for race car - avgas or racing gas for whole weekend ?
hotel for over night at track or RV costs if you have one.
parts cost & availability if you tear a corner off the car, wear out a CV joint, bend an upright, damage a wheel bearings, clutch, brake pads, rotors, etc..
maintenance items like brake pads, brake fluid, engine oil, trans oil & replacement gears, etc..
entry fees, club dues, eating out at the track, feeding crew, etc..
engine replacement costs in case of it letting go as they sometimes do.
engine life expentancy hours based on truth not conjecture for cost per Hour
trans cost, including replacement or over haul cost, changing gears selection, Special oils, etc.
used tire cost & traction treatment if you go that route - or new tires cost - calculate per race tire cost.
Plus the dozens of other stuff that adds up & other costs that come up.
How much do you feel is your per weekend opetrating average cost including all of the above that would be acceptable to you ?
Then once you know that you can do a better job to pick a car.
Good luck.
mike