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Saturday, 14 October 2006 |
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As much as I know it will scare me, I thought it made sense to figure out what my expected costs will be before the start of the racing season so I can budget for them. I took the figures from the Mighty Mini website, combined them with some info I'd got from other drivers at the Mini World Action Day, and added in a few extra bits and pieces to suit my own circumstances. Here's what I came up with:- Driver and Paperwork - MSA "Go Racing" Starter Pack. You need this to prepare for the ARDS course, and it also includes the application form for your race license. £49
- ARDS course. This is a pre-requisite for getting your race license and would normally cost £250. I plan to combine it with some extra tuition if possible to improve my driving skills, hence the higher than usual cost. £400
- Medical check. I've got no idea what this will cost yet, but I can't believe it will be less than a hundred notes - £150
- Race license. I think the actual license fee is about - £40
- BRSCC "Racing Member" membership. Required in order to race, as the BRSCC run the Mighty Minis series. - £150
- Championship registration fee. This gets you your race number and the various sponsors stickers etc. - £150
- Race suit. I'm an odd size so Sods Law dictates I'll end up forking out for a more expensive suit as they won't have any of the cheaper ones in my size. - £250
- Gloves. - £30
- Helmet. - £100
- Baraclava. - £20
- Shoes. - £100
Car - Mighty Mini race car. I want to buy a ready-to-race car as it's cheaper and I don't think I'll have the time or facilities to build/convert a car myself. Apparently a few cars come up for sale during the off-season so tracking down a decent car within my budget shouldn't be too hard. - £4000
- Trailer. If I'm going to be trekking up and down the country I want a decent serviceable second-hand trailer that will tow well, and also fit in the garage. if I get lucky I might be able to buy one with the car, but if not it'll be off to eBay to hunt for one - £400
- Seat. I'm 6' 7" tall and have fairly wide hips so there's a fair chance I'm going to have to buy a new seat in order to get comfy. - £300
- Steering wheel. Because of my height I have to sit a long way back in the car. This means I struggle to reach the steering wheel, hence I'll probably have to buy a massively dished one. - £100
- Odds and Sods. Even if I buy a complete car there will undoubtedly be a few bits and bobs that need replacing or repairing, so I best have a bit of contingency in the budget. - £200
- Tyres. The car I buy might include a set of wet tyres, but I'm probably going to need to buy a new set of covers one way or another. - £200
- Suspension setup. Even if the car's been set up before, I think it would be a false economy not to get it checked over again just to be sure. £100
- Rolling Road session. I need to check the power output of the engine to a.) make sure it's in good shape and will be competitive, and b.) to make sure it's within the regulations which limit the output to 69bhp. - £100
So adding all that up comes to.... [drum roll!!!] ....£6839. Fuuuuuuuck, that's a lot of money. And that's before I actually go to my first event. Update: July 2007 - You can see what I actually spent getting ready to race here. My spend-o-meter for the 2007 race season is here.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 02 July 2007 )
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