Beginner Formula Mazda Guidance

Hey guys I hope everyone had a good weekend.

I have been looking to get into racing Formula Mazda's for a while now and am finally at the point that it should be financially possible.
I'm currently located in Oklahoma City Oklahoma and am was curious if anyone knew of any good tracks to hit with the FM along with what series I can race in.

I have been to the Skip Barber 3 day formula school and am eligible to get my SCCA license once I have a car.
I've been trying to look at the SCCA regions and honestly get very confused on what I would be eligible to race in and where to even start.
If anyone can point me in the right direction or give me some insight it would be greatly appreciated.

Besides the cost of the car and trailer what are you guys usually spending per race? I'd like to give myself a good budget on how much I need to spend per race. This budget I'm calculating does not include the cost of travel. Only the cost of the race itself.

Thanks guys for any help.

Welcome to your new addiction! =0)

Yes, the SCCA regions and classes are a bit overwhelming when you first look at them.

Hallett OK is the closest track to us. Next would probly be Eagles Canyon (TX), MSR Cresson (TX and home of all FM), and further out there are tracks in Kansas, St Louis, College Station TX, and of course COTA in Austin.

FM is great because its got its own class in SCCA, I think it still has a class in NASA, and these are all run at regional, Majors, and national level in SCCA. Pick your poison, the bigger the race the faster the competition.

I PM'd you my number, feel free to ask anything you need. FM guys are all here for ya, we are all about fun.

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Originally Posted by rgnhd

Hey guys I hope everyone had a good weekend.

I have been looking to get into racing Formula Mazda's for a while now and am finally at the point that it should be financially possible.
I'm currently located in Oklahoma City Oklahoma and am was curious if anyone knew of any good tracks to hit with the FM along with what series I can race in.

I have been to the Skip Barber 3 day formula school and am eligible to get my SCCA license once I have a car.
I've been trying to look at the SCCA regions and honestly get very confused on what I would be eligible to race in and where to even start.
If anyone can point me in the right direction or give me some insight it would be greatly appreciated.

Besides the cost of the car and trailer what are you guys usually spending per race? I'd like to give myself a good budget on how much I need to spend per race. This budget I'm calculating does not include the cost of travel. Only the cost of the race itself.

Thanks guys for any help.

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Another option outside SCCA is the COMMA series at Hallett. COMMA series is much lower cost and much more track time. Is a "run what you brung" type series where all winged formula cars are classed together in FA. Races are Saturday and Sunday. Each day has 2 practice sessions, a qualifying session, 6-lap qualifying race, and 12 lap feature race. FM is very competitive in the group, mostly FC and FM, but you never know who or what may show up. Racing is very good and clean, and the Stephen's family that owns the track and puts on the series places the emphasis on safety, fun, low cost, and max track time.

First race is this weekend 4/22 and 4/23. I will be there racing my FC. Will PM you with my contact info. Be glad to help in any way I can. Never raced FM, but been racing open wheel since early 80's (dang, just gave away I am an old guy....)

Aaron

It will be great to see you join FM. Speed per dollar, the car is a great value.

You asked about budget. That is going to be highly dependent upon how much work you do yourself. The car is not high-tech; I think it is easier to work on than my street car. If you do your own mechanical work and learn some very basic fiberglass skills, etc, your biggest expense may be rubber. I run with SCCA and we are now on a spec Goodyear tire (R470 compound) which runs on the order of $1100/set + mount/balance (I do this myself with a manual tire change from No-Mar and bubble balancer). You could stretch a couple of race weekends (assuming 2 qual's and 2 races per weekend) out of a set and have something leftover for practice days. I've found that I tend to go 3 race days before going to fresh rubber with the spec tires. Race fees and fees for test and tune days are straightforward - you can look at this on-line. Running at premium tracks like COTA comes with.... a premium price. You will have expenses for parts here and there that wear out. The cars run on pump gas so even if you burn 20 gallons on a day with a lot of practice, that's all of $50 for the day. I'll just say that averaged over the year running with SCCA, my expenses for a race weekend now average out to something like $1500+ to enter, run and maintain the car. I am guessing that I am approaching the shoe string end of the scale for racing budget. I still spend money outside the figure I just gave you; I put in a new data/video system this year. I have not yet had to face the expense of an engine rebuild - that will change the numbers for whatever season that occurs in.

Sounds like you have not yet bought a car. Be aware that within SCCA this car is a spec car and not all FM's on the free market are SCCA compliant. Check rules with other race organizations you may be looking at. Purchasing a non-compliant car could cost you... A sealed engine is a big ticket item to watch for if that is a requirement for the organization you want to race with. Watch out for the age on the belts and and fuel cell. Also be award that in addition to 'non-legal' changes someone might have done if they had the car as just 'track day' car, over the time of manufacture, there were some variations on the car construction; an older car may require some upgrades such as an increase height roll bar. If you get a car with a current log book for whatever organization you intend to race with, you should be fairly safe.

Hope to see you at the track.

These guys are giving you plenty of good info.

If you ever have any questions, or would like help in finding a good car, please feel free to reach out to us. We are the manufacturer of the Formula Mazda. If you are ever in the area, stop by and check out our track and facility.

Thanks,

Moses
817.382.4188

Thanks guy's for all the help and tips.
I have already been speaking to Aaron and Matt since they are both local to me and I can't say how much I really appreciate all your help.

Moses, thank you for your contact information.
I will be reaching out to you in the next couple of days as I seriously start looking for a car.

Hopefully we'll all be able to meet at the track here soon!