i have dilema - not done any motorsport or trackdays yet but v interested in getting started. do i....

1. get my ards test done and racing national b licence and then do some rgb 750mc races and some hillclimbs? - this will be considerably expensive considering i dont have all the clothes yet or even a tow bar for my car etc. but i will be able to get valuable race experience and i will have got a lot of the stuff licences etc out of the way

or...

2. wait till next year for race licence and just get a non race licence, do some track days and do some hillclimbs?

all suggestions will be appreciated.


p.s. if you hold a race national b licence can you enter NON race events? an ards school i rang didnt know!

p.p.s do you learn much on the ards test or just do the test and thats it? anyone have any recommendations for quality tutuion classes, good tracks, things for someone of my experiance to help move into motorsport?

CHEERS

one super cheap option is AutoSolo, its not balls out motor sport but it teaches good car control and it could be said its the step before sprints and hill climbs,
at between £20-£30 entry (plus membership to an invoted club) its a great cheap day out and lots of fun.

Not sure where you located but there s afew clubs up and down the country that organise them, heres a few local clubs I know of:

http://www.fdmc.org.uk/

http://www.bristolmc.org.uk/

http://www.dolphinmotorclub.co.uk/

http://www.oxfordmotorclub.co.uk/

And some more info on Solos,

http://www.fdmc.org.uk/marchsolo2009repa.php

And some vids of mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSnBm8UZTNo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Db7dZpCRZoY

stopping the car jumping out of gear would be a good start

Sorry couldn;t resist!

I'm sure some knowledgeable chaps will be along soon, but failing that, why not check out the 750 race calander and pop along, you'll get it straight from the horses mouths then, as well as seeing what you actually need to race.

contact your local car club.

They will be folks there with varying experiences from just a few months experience in auto-tests right through to decades of experience in various levels of motorsport.

Have a look on the web and google car clubs. People under-estimate the wealth of knowledge and experience car clubs have and think too quickly of boy racers on the local halfords car parks.

I started on autotests and local 12-car navigational rallying and never really liked the idea of trackdays and track racing. But each to their own tastes and preferences...

Good luck in whatever you decide.
Andy

Speed events are a perfect start.

Your licence inolves no test or ARDS course. Send away the form and the fees and get your licence back.

In speed events - that's hillclimbs and sprints - you won't get caught up in someone else's accident.

Join a local club that is associated with a venue - like ours is - and get yourself along to some events and speak to some people.
It'll fall into place all by itself after that.

There are a few places offering 'arrive & drive' services, including a few in the 750 Motor Club. You could rent a car for a race and see what you think of the experience before committing to the full investment of car / kit etc. You would need to do the ARDS test and get at least a Nat B licence though. I don't think having one actually disqualifies you from entering any non-race events, as well.

The ARDS test itself doesn't include any tuition as such but many places do offer an option of tuition + test. I did mine at Silverstone and had an hour of training with Barry "Whizzo" Williams before he actually made his licence assessment. It was absolutely brilliant, and utterly invaluable. It was a deeply humbling experience too - after a few demonstration laps he picked up the pace to the point where my internal organs were leaking out of my ears and then he said "...and now full speed" and went even faster. He did admit though that after 40 years of practice he should have got the hang of it by now!

Everyman at Mallory are good for ARDS and will do extra tuition beforehand (recommended, although I did mine at Croft).

You can use a Race National B for Non-Race events (go on the RACMSA site and read the 'Blue Book' which is online; this is the bible).

I went straight into circuit racing (no trackdays, sprints etc beforehand) and it was fine - you just need to spread the costs of kit etc

If you want to have a look at a race-prepped ST Locoblade, bjw970s and myself both race one. If you are thinking about racing something else (not your kitcar), then I thoroughly recommend buying something pre-race prepped; you will save a lot of money in the long run for a higher initial purchase price.

And for what its worth, having since done sprints and hillclilmbs... Once you race with other people, anything else just won't cut the mustard