Well, a few points here:

1) There is no televised series that I know of that would allow you to run a 996 platform.

2) You could run a 997 platform (mine or others here for sale) in a low level televised series like Patron Challenge.

But, dont kid yourself that you will be able to get aby visibility. You may meet someone, another racer, that needs your services (a la country club environment) but don't count on having income from this offset the expense.

You need to have a motorsports marketing contract with your company if you plan to deduct this on the corporate side. Talk to your CPA or tax atty about writing off the expenses and make sure to get it right. And never call it a hobby.

 

Not true

World Challenge is televised on VERSUS.



WORLD CHALLENGE's GTS Class will allow a 996 to run. And the BEST part, is for 2011, the spec tire is PIRELLI SLICKS.

ENJOY..............

 

I've been thinking about things and it seems like WC GT may be the best for me. This is considing that I have the required private instruction and a couple a NASA races under my belt first. In WC GT I can have the best of both worlds because the cars are not limited, we can put on ABS and use 2010 cup car specs.

Any opinions? I will start a new thread on WC GT....

Good racing,

Chris (Trader247)

 

Chris,

I admire your enthusiasm, but it's going to take a bit more than a couple of NASA races to get into a WC race. The prerequisites for the driver ar either a full season in an SCCA pro series or at least three National SCCA events, and you typically have to run a number of regional events to qualify for nationals. This is after you get your rookie licence...

There are ways to speed this up to a point but you still have to go through the process...

On the car side of the equation, if you do only have autox and a few DEs even a 6 cup is a lot of car, if you do some research you'll see most guys getting a simpler platform to learn on. Not that it can't be done in a cup, but zero to hero in a 7 cup in just a few NASA races isn't really realistic...

 

No offense, but read the above post. And read it again. And again. This is the truth +996. Unless your last name is Senna or Schumi or Bergmeister or Long, etc. you cannot expect to go pro racing virtually overnight. Hell, all those guys were driving carts when they were 5. Kinda like me saying I have ice skated a few times and enjoy it. Help me decide which hot pair of ice skates to buy so I can play for the Montreal Canadiens. It ain't gonna happen.

Buy the car, have fun, get plenty of seat time, and move through the DE ranks. Try your hand at PCA Club racing or NASA first. If you buy a Cup and are racing WC at this time next year, I will eat my words and retract my statements. Good luck...

 

And such is the dirty little secret of "pro" road racing. You can run WC or Grand Am too if you can write the check and have pretty minimal experience. IE, do a bondurant school or something.

 

Chris (Trader 247),

I admire your strong desire to want to accomplish as much as possible sooner than later.........why not reach a little higher and strive for more than what is expected.

You certainly need to align yourself with a shop and/or coach that can guide you up the latter in a matter that you are comfortable with, talent and budget-wise. But make no mistakes about it, it can be done.

I took a first time racer who bought a 997 Cup car from me and jumped right into Patron after some direct coaching through GMG. IMSA checked him out in his first race at Sebring and he ran mid-pack.....his first time there and was then signed off and followed up with a WC race later that year. His 2nd year he stepped up to ALMS GTC and did rather well for someone with just one year of racing under his belt. Mind you, I was with him every step of the way and I knew how much to push because I was able to gauge his level of talent. If he wasn't going to be capable or competitive, he wasn't going to continue at that level.

Are there more conservative paths to travel getting your racing license in a Cup car, sure......but when you have the budget but not all the time in the world, why not try and achieve as much as you can within your limits.

Regardless, I look forward to meeting you next week Chris.

 

...clay, "secret"?...

 

Hi Guys,

FYI, I did not just decide to aspire to WC GT by myself overnight....I have spoken with teams and pro drivers that advised me that for me with my 20+ years in P cars (I am 42) that the traditional path (no skippy school but private track/coaching in the right car) , is not necessary and could be harmful. I was advised that with proper coaching and team support that I would have the best chance of accomplishing my high expectations. This is of course presuming that I have the talent, aspiration, budget, coaching, private track time (not DE) etc.

Good racing,

Chris (Trader247)

 

Dude, awsome. go out there and kick some butt! Im in full agreement that the De/skippy school etc. path to racing is not the only path.
i too had a bit of an accelerated path and had some really good results this past year, obviously with tons more to improve. but it was definately not a stock, standard path thru the ranks.

i would strongly recommend hooking up and latching on to an experienced coach/shop like GMG/Safronas. They know all the ins and outs of the process, how to get you prepared and to ensure you are safe.
Obviously thats a more costly avenue, but if you have the funds, heck, why not? you cant live forever, and in 5, 10 years you might be just hanging loose doing easy laps. if you got the urge and the money to spend to get it done, go for it.

just be careful. racing aint like running DE sessions. those little orange turn-in cones dont exist nor do point byes. you're no longer running De/qualifying laps but setting up passes, and trying to think logically about how stuff comes together. car is no good? no pitting in back to your truck to mess about. you gotta deal, sometimes, with a horrible car.

anyway, enjoy. kick butt. just do what a guy like safronas tells you to do and be safe.

 

Hi spg993tt,

Thanks for the appreciation...I never planned on doing this alone. James with GMG may be a great option.

I never once thought that I could do skippy school and race...I just happen to fortunate and have my companies blessing to do what I think my be pretty cool...

Good racing,

Chris (Trader247)

 

Something that may be worth considering. Continental challenge would give your company the exposure they are looking for. You could team up with a pro that would help give you the good results and also be a coach along the way. You could run the same car GS or ST in WC probably as well. Pick the tracks you like, get winning results faster with the help of a pro/coach co-driver, and race in multiple series with the same car. If a GS Caymen/M3/997 ect.. doesn't interest you you could allways "rent" a ride with a continental challenge team and put your company logo on the car and get the cup to run in club races untill you feel the experience/skill level is up.

Not sure if you have considered pit equipment, transporters, crew ect.. Pro level racing normally takes a higher level of support and the cost of all the equipment and transporters can be way more than the car running around the track. Wasn't sure what sort of budget your company is allowing. That would greatly affect what series/car you might choose to run.

 

I think all the posts here carry good advice and everything so far is useful. May I add:

Money can put you on pro racing real fast but the learning the tracks is going to be a time process.

I suggest you buy an spec Boxster and learn your tracks before jumping into the Cup right away. Cups could snap right away and any off track excursion will cost lots of money.

Than again, this coming from someone who uses his Cup to run errands