Picture this.

[Peter Mallett]

You are young, inexperienced and flat broke. You feel that you are capable of doing exceptionally well in motorsport. Trouble is that with no money and no experience you don't know where to look for your entry into the sport.

What do you do?

[Dan Friel]

From personal experience... you buy a playstation and pretend you're World Champion....

Otherwise, unless you have well off parents - forget it!!

Or maybe.. start in karting and hope you get spotted. Lewis Hamilton gets 50k a year from McLaren!!

[yelwoci]

You go to a major metropolis and practice street racing while developing rapid entry skills, post race car disposal, and general evasion techniques.

More fun than the circuit stuff anyway.
And you occasionally get free bed & breakfast

:-)
IanC

[Peter Mallett]

Well, thank you for those wise words Welicoy.

Actually this thread was prompted by a posting from F1Ciamp. So, if we have any SERIOUS and sensible (the latter obvoisly excludes Yelwoci ) suggestions I am sure F1Ciamp would be pleased to read them.;0

[DAVID PATERSON]

I've never understood these guys who have no experience, yet they believe they have what it takes to go all the way to the top. What a crock of ****! How on earth do they know this, quite frankly they don't. I on many occasions have had the tremendous pleasure of watching extremely confident novices coming out to their first come and try track days, just itching to show off how good they are. A couple of hours later they're either on the phone to a towing company to come and collect their wrecked pride and joy or they're sheepishly trying trying to find excuses for being 15 seconds a lap slower than a dungy old Datsun. If you really want to go racing, and you don't have a lot of money, look at historic touring cars or saloon cars or Formula Vee or karts, all of these can be done on a modest budget. Ok, you won't win, but you'll get plenty of experience and have heaps of fun. If your budget won't even go that far, forget about racing, but don't give up on motorsport, because lap sprints and hillclimbs cost bugger all and you can use your everyday road car. It's then entirely up to you how far you want to push it, because in one at a time events, you can't have someone else's accident.

[Dan Friel]

I totally agree with above...

No experience means no apparent talent!!

Starting in Formula Vee may be the best way for the poor (like me), but it's still going to cost £5000 for a car, engine rebuilds every other race (apparently) - and you have to beat 50 other Vee pros.... easy I reckon.

[Peter Mallett]

I can't help but agree with you David. I recall when I first turned up at the race school (when I could still get into a FFord 1600). There was a guy about three years younger than me who turned up with a race suit, helmet, boots, gloves etc. He couldn't even get used to a right hand shift. Never saw him again.

So. What makes people think they can race cars then?

[Dan Friel]

My race experience: Karting (lots of crashing)..

And 5 laps in a Formula Ford..

Don't think I'll ever win anything, but the above experience means that I just have to go racing!!!

Anyone like to sponsor me?? Me thinks not...