Is Racing Getting Too Expensive?

[Yorick]

£545 includes the pre-meeting practice day. Which many (only me) consider cheating.

Or just do a trackday close to the meeting?

[KungFooBob]

£545 includes the pre-meeting practice day. Which many (only me) consider cheating.

Or just do a trackday close to the meeting?

That's proper cheating.

[Yorick]

£545 includes the pre-meeting practice day. Which many (only me) consider cheating.

Or just do a trackday close to the meeting?

That's proper cheating.

How about racing there the previous weekend?

When i was instructing, I often got fast kids asking me to show them round a new to them circuit.

[Tricky]

I'm surprised no-one has thought to refer MSV to the Competition and Markets Authority. A monopoly is precisely what MSV has become, and they are flagrantly abusing that position.

I think that they are.
The bit that really makes me sigh , is the amount of F900 boys who have been excluded from qualifying or had other penalties imposed when very small amounts of non-Panda (the £4 / litre mandatory purchase stuff) fuel has been detected - I of course know rules is rules etc, but we're not talking about front runners, riders who are typically nowhere near the fastest through the speed traps and not trying to cheat, they have just done club races or TDs etc in between and used regular joe-public Optimax etc fuel ...

£545 includes the pre-meeting practice day. Which many (only me) consider cheating.

Based on my experience this season, I reckon you'd be in a class of one - I challenge you to try to get a half-decent place in the paddock if you're arriving at later than 6pm on a test day, let alone just turning up for race day- no chance matey!

[Tricky]

Or just do a trackday close to the meeting?

That's proper cheating.

How about racing there the previous weekend?

When i was instructing, I often got fast kids asking me to show them round a new to them circuit.

I could have done with you at Oulton and Combe

I know that (in theory at least ) you will never get to see this post as I don't exist in Yorick world, but just in case anyone does quote it, I honestly think that you really ought to come Bandit racing- it's obvious that racing was a real biggie (the biggest?) for you , and based on the amount of times you post your old LC days pics etc, I don't think it can be in any doubt that you really miss those days.
Bandit racing is probably the closest class you can get to that these days, fair few old feckers and very few (well, none really) young whippersnappers doing it, it's undoubtedly one of the cheapest classes, which of course is important to Yorkshire sorts- you need to do it.

Great bunch of people, top fun and once you've done that first race, barreled into that first corner 6 abreast and got that hit again, I guarantee you'll find TDs dull-dull-de-dull-dull and they'll hold absolutely no interest for you except for the social aspect. Pretty sure you'd win some tin and plastic , and you'd likely beat me too as an added bonus, if that matters.

You could own a bike that's capable of winning for less than what it'll cost you to hire that Portimao TD gixxer, it'd cost you 3/5 of feck all in tyres, book ahead and you have cheap flights over for whatever rounds you decide, the only big costs would be the entry fees

Gwann- I'll even keep and transport your bike to meetings if you want

[Bustaspoke]

This one just turned up on my YT feed.How much to run in the BSB Superstock class as a privateer?
They discuss the cost of a season's racing in this one.

[2xtwins]

Just been chatting to a racing pal.

He's doing the BMW 900 BSB support class. He told me the costs and was shocking. None of the sponsors money goes to the riders.
For some reason they're forced to use race fuel at £4 a litre.
And must buy tyres from designated seller who has huge mark up. Needs 4 per weekend.

He reckons he knocks out about £1,000 a meeting. Without entry fees

Sorry for the late reply to this thread but, as discussed elsewhere on the forum, I too have a mate in the aforementioned support class. An experienced, albeit not front-running , club racer formerly with Bemsee.

His season has just finished, obviously, but he will not be doing a second season in the F900R Cup - indeed, his bike is up for sale as we speak.

Long and the short of it is that this season has cost him twice what his racing cost him last year, and he hasn't been a front runner, or had any major crash damage expense. Yep, he's enjoyed it and, no doubt, improved his overall riding and was within a second of his lap times on his previous R1 race bike in Thunderbike Extreme, despite being significantly down on power and on a heavier bike.

Was regularly dicing with @Yorick 's mate and had a great final race at Brands, albeit that he was outside the top 20.

We've been chatting this week and he's heading back to Bemsee next season, although unsure as to which class, primarily, I think, down to the cost.

Kev

[ChrisW]

Dave Hewson was talking about the dearth of riders coming up that they might be able to choose from to put on their BSB bike next year in one of his recent youtube videos. Think he also mentioned how much BSB had cost the team

[Yorick]

Just been chatting to a racing pal.

He's doing the BMW 900 BSB support class. He told me the costs and was shocking. None of the sponsors money goes to the riders.
For some reason they're forced to use race fuel at £4 a litre.
And must buy tyres from designated seller who has huge mark up. Needs 4 per weekend.

He reckons he knocks out about £1,000 a meeting. Without entry fees

Sorry for the late reply to this thread but, as discussed elsewhere on the forum, I too have a mate in the aforementioned support class. An experienced, albeit not front-running , club racer formerly with Bemsee.

His season has just finished, obviously, but he will not be doing a second season in the F900R Cup - indeed, his bike is up for sale as we speak.

Long and the short of it is that this season has cost him twice what his racing cost him last year, and he hasn't been a front runner, or had any major crash damage expense. Yep, he's enjoyed it and, no doubt, improved his overall riding and was within a second of his lap times on his previous R1 race bike in Thunderbike Extreme, despite being significantly down on power and on a heavier bike.

Was regularly dicing with @Yorick 's mate and had a great final race at Brands, albeit that he was outside the top 20.

We've been chatting this week and he's heading back to Bemsee next season, although unsure as to which class, primarily, I think, down to the cost.

Kev

Dave told me recently that BMW are bringing out a new model which will make the current bikes worth naff all.
He wants to do another year, but will be on a lesser bike than some and at end of next year, his bike will be practically worthless.

[crust]

Dave told me recently that BMW are bringing out a new model which will make the current bikes worth naff all.
He wants to do another year, but will be on a lesser bike than some and at end of next year, his bike will be practically worthless.

Thats pretty much what happened when it stopped being a Ducati 848 series, a dollop of highly specced track bikes with nowhere to race them, going very cheaply for what it cost to buy and build them.

[Bustaspoke]

Here's how much it cost to race a season in BSB Superbike for Rapid Honda



It's so expensive I'm surprised BSB manage to fill the grids..

[Skub]

£316k to run a second hand Honda in BSB.

Fook.

[Yorick]

£316k to run a second hand Honda in BSB.

Fook.

And no prize money.

[asmethurst99]

Here's how much it cost to race a season in BSB Superbike for Rapid Honda



It's so expensive I'm surprised BSB manage to fill the grids..

i watched that last night- the cost is eye watering...

[Tricky]

£316k to run a second hand Honda in BSB.

Fook.

Yup, just one bike, and it could be said it's on a shoestring compared to the top few teams, and I reckon they understated some stuff too- the wages and food costs Matt stated made me smile, I reckon my typical race weekend food costs are not far off that, especially if you include beer

At the other end of the spectrum, Chris Northover was at thePrince Pembrey meeting I did last weekend with this old shonker, and although he perhaps misses out one or two costs , and he's a proper fast boy so makes it look very easy, he showed what can be done and how much fun can be had for (relatively speaking) very few £££

[Count Steer]

Enjoyed that.

[Skub]

Excellent vid @Tricky

[Whysub]

I wonder how much it costs to compete in the FIM World Endurance Series, even in the SST class? It seems to be well supported in the number of teams that enter each round.

The race season is held over four rounds, 2 x 24 hour races (Le Mans and BolD'or in France), and 2 x 8 hour races (Spa in Belgium and Suzuka in Japan)

Tom Oliver, who rides for French race team TRT27, told me that one 24 hour race is equivalent (in race mileage) to three full BSB seasons. Maybe not as hard a race mileage as BSB, but still racing.

[Bustaspoke]

I've just watched that Bikeworld video,I'm a subscriber to the channel,it's great to see how much fun you can have for not much outlay at grass roots level,CB500's,Bandit's & MZ's spring to mind.
I listen to a lot of bike racing podcasts & a common theme with racers looking back on their career's is that they got the most enjoyment from racing when they were just a 'Dad & lad' team or racing with their friends,not much pressure just enjoying the racing
The problem seems to be when people step up to the BSB support class paddock & upwards, £££'s .

[Tomcat]

It was getting expensive when I retired. This was 14 years ago but the figure of £300 is in my mind for some reason, and that was for a club race. It really started going up with the MCRCB (a group comprising mainly MSV) took over the British Championships and transformed it into BSB. Their guy Jim Parker took over the ACU soon after that and changed all the volunteer officials into salaried yes-men. We were told it would all be so much more professional and high profile but all we saw was entries getting more and more expensive. Today's club racers turn up with motorhomes, spare bikes, tuned up to the eyeballs superbikes, the days of an old TZ on a trailer are long gone.