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Classic car racing

richardg

richardg

Admonishtrator
Does anyone know anything about this? I was at a race today and was inspired by how cool the cars were beefed up but not cosmetically touched, no show ponies and there were some valuable cars there, a couple of MGAs, a TR8, a TVR. What I couldn't work out was how unfair the class was, the TVR was racing against the MGA. The MGA had an MGB engine bored to 1950, but still.

I also was not sure about age of car. There was a midget group, no bigger than 1.3 and there were Abarth 500s, NSU TTs (loved those), Ladas (I think) and a lot of Minis. But I am sure some minis were from the 90s.

So how does one go about selecting a car that will be eligible for various events, and reasonably competitive? I thought I could just get an 80s MX5, turbocharge it and smash all the other classics into touch.

Or is that not really the spirit of it?
 
You've got it, that's not in the spirit of things. In clubman racing you are racing mostly against yourself.
 
It’s the Goodwood revival this weekend - goto YouTube and type in GRRC and you’ll be able to stream the races over the weekend.. it’s fun to see a mini trounce a 7 litre American!
 
I used to be slightly into it, as a spectator, mainly because I lived about half an hour’s ride from Oulton Park and it was a nice day out.

Anyway as I understood it, there were races within races, like Le Mans, different classes, and the trophies awarded at the end reflected that. Suppose it depends on the organisers though.
 
Great one today, Tojeiro Jaguar beating Dino sports racer, plus D-types, Lotuses, all sorts of marvellous old sports racers.
 
Most competitors in classic car racing are racing a car they like. If everyone studied all the data and then built the same car to the same spec, there’d be three spectators and a burger van at each meeting. Well, ok, at some meetings it can be like that!
Go to a meeting, spend some time in the paddock, and chat with some teams. They’re usually a friendly bunch whether you’re a racer or not.
The last meeting I went to at Brands Hatch was won by an Aston, and at one point a Citroen BX was bring up the rear!
 
Most people buy a sporty car, go to a few track days and decide they'd like to take it to the next level and get an ARDS licence to go racing.

There are loads of owners clubs for one make series, like lotus, or you could buy something random, stick a roll cage and some track tyres on it and find some clubman events, but they're not really racing in the conventional sense.

There used to be an MG Metro racing series for which you only needed a stock MG Metro with some basic race prep as a dirt cheap go at motor racing, dunno what the equivalent is these days.

I've never driven round a track myself, but know a few that do and have been a plus one a few times. To do it well is far harder than it looks and takes a lot of practice. That said, a few laps of Brands Hatch in the passenger seat of a Lotus 211 with a great driver remains one of the most thrilling experiences of my life and it's easy to see the attraction.
 
The Project Binky crew (Bad Obsession) have recently prepped a Citroen C1 for the race series it shares with the Peugeot equivalent and I think a Toyota Aygo. Looks like a lot of fun.
 
Rug Doc said:
It’s the Goodwood revival this weekend - goto YouTube and type in GRRC and you’ll be able to stream the races over the weekend.. it’s fun to see a mini trounce a 7 litre American!
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The noise from Goodwood this morning was huge. I hope they give free tickets to those that live closer. It’s always fun to gawp at the outfits as punters arrive at Chi station. Going to London for the day instead!
 
Nero said:
The noise from Goodwood this morning was huge. I hope they give free tickets to those that live closer. It’s always fun to gawp at the outfits as punters arrive at Chi station. Going to London for the day instead!
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Yes they do!
 
Don’t worry, it goes much quieter during the many safety car periods. I doubt I’ll ever go again unless someone gives me a ticket. Too frustrating for extended periods, and a dangerous track.
 
The ITV coverage of the Goodwood Revival…

STFU!!!

A field full of glorious sounding Cobras, E Types etc, and sweet chocolate monkeys we have commentators trying to out-do each other with excited chat about sweet fa. I can just about make out the engines every now and then.
 
I’d go as far as saying that watching two races from the Revival has only reinforced my decision to never go to that meeting ever again. Paying a lot of money to watch multimillionaires enjoy themselves, and their horrible brats sneering at the cameras… no thank you. Same old cars, same old drivers, same old circuit, same old attractions.
 
Tony Lockhart said:
The ITV coverage of the Goodwood Revival…

STFU!!!

A field full of glorious sounding Cobras, E Types etc, and sweet chocolate monkeys we have commentators trying to out-do each other with excited chat about sweet fa. I can just about make out the engines every now and then.
Click to expand...

I stick to the live stream.

I assume it's different to the ITV coverage.
 
Bother, I've promised myself a visit to the "Revival" for years. Have marshalled at the Silverstone Classic some years ago and loved it. MG live was, arguably, better still cos it seemed so "democratic" somehow. Old cars may be slow but they can be such fun to watch being driven well at the limit. Mostly they're a joy to drive too, modern cars are just too competent.
 
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