What's the road to Formula 1000?

[Viante]

I'm 15.

I'd like to start racing. I understand the extreme cost involved, I got a trailer already. Helmet, Suit, etc.

I'm in the middle of gathering funding from Investors, hopefully my startup will prove profitable and I can have more money to attribute to racing.

I was going to sign up for Formula Vee, but I heard that was a bad route.

What's a good series to start after racing school?

I hear FF, but I want wings.

Suggestions, Tips, Advice?

Thanks
God bless

[Paddy O'Brien]

TAG Karts or shifter karts is the best combo of speed/competition/cost. Check what is popular in your area. A stock Honda shifter kart will lap the Mid-Ohio long track faster than a SCCA Formula Ford for less than $3,000.

[BURKY]

^^^^^^^^^

[Viante]

TAG Karts or shifter karts is the best combo of speed/competition/speed/cost. Check what is popular in your area. A stock Honda shifter kart will lap the Mid-Ohio long track faster than a SCCA Formula Ford for less than $3,000.

Ah, I see.

Well, what would you suggest after karting?

[Daryl DeArman]

After you have karted for a couple of years you'll have a real good idea of what is the best route for your budget and time. The answer is different for everybody.

[protoform]

A Formula 1 driver a few years back, was Asked by a reporter What it was like going from a Kart to a Formula 3 car. I think the reporter expected the driver to say how fast it was,and how he wasn't use to such a powerful car. but the Driver said well it is very slow and sluggish coming out of the corners. To Drive a formula Vee takes talent a lot of Formula 1 drivers started in them.You can race a vee for 1 to 2 grand a weekend You can't do that with most Formula cars and you can buy one for 7k and a really nice one for 12 to 16k a vee will teach you a lot especially carrying corner speed. It is fun watching the top national guys passing the new formula ford guys on a lot of tracks with Vee's Do your self a favor learn to drive first . then go for the speed. I had a car with wings , your front washes out so you add down force then you have to raise tire pressure then the rear is lose If you get one hope you have a full time engineer to go with you. It is a lot of work to set one up A vee has enough adjustments to do I am glad I don't have wings.. I will say they look way cool. but I am glad I don't have them. Best of luck with your racing I wish I was 15 again instead of a carear that is winding down. Hope you are still racing at age 64 like me.

[Paddy O'Brien]

Valante, as a 15 year old snot-nosed racer you will learn lots more about racing by competing against other 15 year old snot-nosed racers rather than a 67 year old retired dentist in his Swift DB1 as in in SCCA. If you are in Cleveland there are several tracks in Michigan and Ohio. You should check out Circileville Ohio and WKA enduro at Mid-Ohio, Grattan, Gingerman. Also check out NewCastle Karting in Indiana, Josef Newgarden and Conor Daily learned to race there. Three seasons of competitive 125 cc karting and F1000 will be no problem adapting, except 10X cost!

[Neil_Roberts]

An additional viable, easy, and fun option is autocross. Do that as well as whatever else you decide on. You can drive much more frequently, you can focus on car control without the fear factor or traffic, and you will learn how to maximize your first racing lap on cold tires. True story: after many years of autox, I passed 9 cars in the first 2 turns of the first race I ever ran!

[Viante]

A Formula 1 driver a few years back, was Asked by a reporter What it was like going from a Kart to a Formula 3 car. I think the reporter expected the driver to say how fast it was,and how he wasn't use to such a powerful car. but the Driver said well it is very slow and sluggish coming out of the corners. To Drive a formula Vee takes talent a lot of Formula 1 drivers started in them.You can race a vee for 1 to 2 grand a weekend You can't do that with most Formula cars and you can buy one for 7k and a really nice one for 12 to 16k a vee will teach you a lot especially carrying corner speed. It is fun watching the top national guys passing the new formula ford guys on a lot of tracks with Vee's Do your self a favor learn to drive first . then go for the speed. I had a car with wings , your front washes out so you add down force then you have to raise tire pressure then the rear is lose If you get one hope you have a full time engineer to go with you. It is a lot of work to set one up A vee has enough adjustments to do I am glad I don't have wings.. I will say they look way cool. but I am glad I don't have them. Best of luck with your racing I wish I was 15 again instead of a carear that is winding down. Hope you are still racing at age 64 like me.

Thanks Sir!

I just wasn't sure if I should start with Competitive Karting or Formula Vee as my predecessor to Formula 1000.

So you're suggesting to start with Formula Vee and then move over to Formula 1000?

And I have to commemorate your athleticism to still be racing at 64, that's quite an achievement.

[BURKY]

How did you find out about F 1000? Was it APEX? Just curious?

[gcoffin]

Karts.

one more time.....KARTS

more track time, more comp, less money.

guys who come up thru carts are always fast when they get in formula cars.

Finally KARTS

[SEComposites]

You can't go wrong with Formula Ford in my opinion. If you can win in a competitive FF series then you should be able to adapt to anything. You'll learn a lot. This is a great example of the cut and thrust of Formula Ford.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WeCYnmPbItg

I started in FF in '97 and went on to much quicker cars but having been out of racing for a good few years it'll be in a Formula Ford that I get back into it.

[TimH]

After you have karted for a couple of years you'll have a real good idea of what is the best route for your budget and time. The answer is different for everybody.

Karts, karts, karts to start.

[JohnPaul]

I went straight from racing karts for a few years to Formula 1000's and never felt over my head for 1 second (I was also dirt and road racing motorcycle's from your age). Race karts for the next couple of years then get an F1000. They are more fun and faster than FV's or FF's. Not that FV's or FF's aren't a great way to learn but because karts are way more cheaper. It's strictly the case of more bang for your buck.

[gnat]

If you do go the karting root, which is a great place to start, do not start in shifters. I would recommend starting in something slower than TAG atleast for the first year but it might be hard to find a lot of people to race against. Find a track close to you see what they are racing and talk to people. Also Karting can also be very expensive.

[SilverCarbir_FC26]

As everyone else has stated very well Karts is the place to start and hone basic driving skills. After a few years in karts and you have picked up new skills and gain confidence that should be when you look to move up. I started out in karts and as soon as I turned 18 I had the opportunity to jump in to a very competitive Formula Continental and I will say coming from karts I was more then prepared to handle the car. There were a few things I had to learn to be up to speed but I picked up things quick. Maybe another car to look at getting into after karts is a Formula 500, there is great competition in that class and car setup is very similar to that of karts. And as for budget its right around the same as a Formula vee and the initial cost isn't as high as other formula cars.

[Brett Lane]

I would think the transition to winged cars from karts would be better if you raced FF's for a while. You would learn a lot more about mechanical grip and chassis setup that would be useful to you later on.

Hell, rent one for a year. Use it to go to drivers school, then enough races to get your license. Then decide what path to take.

[Revs2-12k]

In 10 years since joining SCCA. I've gone from from Dirtbikes, to Sportbikes, then autocrossed a Honda S2000, then went thru SCCA PDX program.

Initially I bought a Formula Continental just to Autocross, but started to compete in SCCA Hill Climbs & Time Trials. I've raced SCCA Regionals for 3 years, before I moved to F1000.

I've learned from each & every event, but it's mostly been what my budget could allow.

As for F1000, they are certainly very capable, bad-assed cars and the FB class has great momentum. 19 cars were at COTA and 15 cars will be at the USF1000 event at VIR in just 10 days, more than any other SCCA open wheel class. That say's something, so stay tuned to www.USF1000.com

If your budget can allow, and you've got a good support network (you'll need that more than you think). Go for it.

[Revs2-12k]

Nicholas Ortiz & Alex Mayer are a few of the young guns in F1000.

Both are very capable drivers, with good support networks.

http://www.usf1000.com/Drivers.html

[Modo]

Below is caution on class selection, missed on 'Getting Started", sorry folks!!

At this point may be a lonely one, exotic cars being run but original sell was a plug-in 145 HP engine straight out of a bike for $2300 in a winged formula car (as opposed to $10000 for same HP for pro-prepped car engine in same car), they all run prepped engines now up to $10000 at 190 HP with exotic chassis, nifty class that is taking a while to take off slowed by development troubles namely with blown engines, that's correcting itself but you are still facing a numbers problem and it is a niche (sp) class now at best

PS when people want a lasting car and class, curently they might go to a spec or quazi spec car with a stock tuned large and lasting engine stuffed "in there", may not be the fun way to go buuuttt......... Indy race league would be the biggest example after Roger Dodger's monster 6-cyl turbo-mercedes back when (not a great example though, they have their problems)

[La Scuderia Raggi]

2 years in carts, with the final in a 125 shifter. If you are competitive with the pointy end of the grid, AND have the budget, you could step into F1000.
I also suggest you follow Lloyd Read. He did carts, FE, then ProMazda. Target is Indy. His is a good story for you to follow.
Finish school and get your degree!

[Marshall Mauney]

If you do go the karting root, which is a great place to start, do not start in shifters. I would recommend starting in something slower than TAG atleast for the first year

Why? A TaG shouldn't be a problem - if you can't handle one as an entry point, you probably aren't going to get to F1000 anyway.

If the goal is spend a year learning to drive/compete, I would think that a TaG is the right direction. The keys are track time availability and the cost per lap, and TaG gets you a lot of track time for very little money. Since it doesn't have wings, shift points, etc., it also forces you to concentrate on getting the kart to handle properly, finding the line, and keeping the kart right on the grip circle. If you can be fast in a group of TaGs, you'll be fast when you move up and add more variables.

JMO.

[glenn cooper]

Below is caution on class selection, missed on 'Getting Started", sorry folks!!

At this point may be a lonely one, exotic cars being run but original sell was a plug-in 145 HP engine straight out of a bike for $2300 in a winged formula car (as opposed to $10000 for same HP for pro-prepped car engine in same car), they all run prepped engines now up to $10000 at 190 HP with exotic chassis, nifty class that is taking a while to take off slowed by development troubles namely with blown engines, that's correcting itself but you are still facing a numbers problem and it is a niche (sp) class now at best

PS when people want a lasting car and class, curently they might go to a spec or quazi spec car with a stock tuned large and lasting engine stuffed "in there", may not be the fun way to go buuuttt......... Indy race league would be the biggest example after Roger Dodger's monster 6-cyl turbo-mercedes back when (not a great example though, they have their problems)

Not sure what's up on the west coast, but Brandon and I have both won a slew of races turning lap record times w/ engines straight out of a low mileage bike, under $3000.
I have had a few engines refreshed (which I know look upon as unnecessary given the (at that time) very low mileage.
I have no doubt someone can spend several thou on an F1000 engine, but front runners have proven that is not required.
GC

[Wren]

Coop beat me to it. A stock engine straight out of a bike is the preferred engine for the class. Use a prepared one if you can't get a stock one.

[jim murphy]

After getting comfortable in racing carts then look at a new car that has been in development since 2009 - a Formula 600 - 600cc motorcycle drivetrain in a semi-spec F500 chassis. As fast as a FF but for 1/2 the cost to buy and operate. We can rent you one - www.formula600racing.com - and later you can race in our pro series starting up this year - www.theformula600challenge.com Best bang for your buck.

Jim

[Modo]

Thanks Wren and Glenn, I must have heard a rumor, also looked at some specs and out of the box 160 HP, 145 after gearbox which doesn't count.....take the 160 HP and GCR sez u can dry sump and add some ecm tuning with original ECM but not much else ....... maybe that's where I heard the 190 HP or perhaps confused it with DSR specs ...... hope you guys get some numbers, also see there might have been or is, a pro series attempt ...... for the beginner above , yes if you can get a lot of seat time in a kart do so, .... a lot of us played ball every day and got really good at that, tuff to go practice racing every day or every other day ...... some new Kart kids do almost that and blow everyone away with first touch ..........

[wmunsey]

Like many have already said. Start with karts then move up to F1000 once you are successful. Karting provides one of the quickest learning curves out there, great race craft, and they develop quick reflexes. Almost all of the F1 guys started in karts and still run karts in the off-season to stay sharp. Once you have mastered karting, the F1000 should be an easy transition. Coop and some of the guys are proof you don't have to spend $10k on a F1000 engine to run at the front of the pack. Have fun, work hard, and get lots of seat time.