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There's a lot of generalization on Rennlist when it comes to discussing the actual cost of racing. CXC Simulations, which sells $50,000 Motion Pro race simulators, got down and dirty with the hard numbers of putting a race car on track. Granted, this article is nearly two years old, prices and operating costs have surely gone up, and there are plenty of outside factors (crashes, mechanical breakdowns) than can dramatically rearrange the numbers. But here are four very different kinds of racing and what they cost. I'll quote directly from the CXC Simulations article.
SPEC MIATA - Based on the first and second generation Mazda Miata, Spec Miata represents an ideal entry level class for people starting out in racing as well as veterans seeking a competitive class of racing. In a search for available cars, we found dozens of Spec Miatas available for sale with prices as low as $7500 up to $35,000. Keep in mind that if you race your own car, you’ll need a truck and trailer to get it to and from the track as well. (The article doesn't mention the hard cost of a race weekend but, based on personal experience, a Spec Miata weekend will average around $2,000. Rentals are typically available for $3,500 a weekend.)
PORSCHE CAYMAN GT4 - Stepping up in speed a bit, we looked at the new Porsche Cayman GT4, which is being raced now in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the Pirelli Driver’s Cup. The car, which comes with a $200,000 price tag, also requires a budget of $125,000 to compete in the ten-race Pirelli Driver’s Cup. It works out to roughly $1800 an hour to run the car.
PORSCHE GT3 CUP - The Porsche GT3 Cup is a standard in both Pro-Am and professional racing series around the world. Used examples will be in the neighborhood of $190,000 with the newest model costing around $270,000 by the time it is ready to hit the track. Costing approximately $2300 an hour to run, a season in IMSA GT3 Challenge will cost $400,000-450,000.
LE MANS PROTOTYPE (LMP3) - A new type of car that is quickly gaining traction in North America is LMP3, which will debut this season in the IMSA Prototype Lights series. Around $220,000 will buy you an LMP3 car from Ligier, Riley-Ave, Ginetta, Adess, Dome or Norma. In the European Le Mans series, with a cost to operate the car around $2000 an hour, a season of LMP3 will run you around $500,000 which includes one test weekend and six four-hour races.
CXC Simulations is quick to point out that these numbers don't include the typical race weekend expenses of travel, accommodations, and meals... or the unanticipated expenses of crashes and mechanical breakdowns. "Over a season of racing, of course, you can expect some amount of damage. The average cost of running your Porsche Cayman GT4 or Porsche GT3 Cup into something is around $10,000 (per incident)."
When I first started going to the track in the early 90s I took my car to the dealer and told him I wanted to go faster......his question was this.....SPEED COSTS MONEY HOW FAST DO YOU WANT TO GO?
There is no form of racing that is inexpensive.
I had a conversation (a short one) with a shop/team 10 years ago regarding running a GT3 Cup in Grand Am for a season and it was over $500,000 back then.
When I first started going to the track in the early 90s I took my car to the dealer and told him I wanted to go faster......his question was this.....SPEED COSTS MONEY HOW FAST DO YOU WANT TO GO?
There is no form of racing that is inexpensive.
Who can forget Smokey and the Bandit? Speedy car - guy pulls off several $100 bills. Speedier than that. More bills. Speedier than that. Grumbling, more bills. Not really the same thing, but same concept.
Chumpcar/WRL are both cheap racing options. Cost is between $200-$400 /h to rent a seat for chump, the fastest WRL cars probably up to $800 an hour. A decent WRL/Chump car can be bought for $5000 - $15k.
It's also a team sport, so if you have friends that likes to have fun it's awesome. Very friendly community as well.
But of course, you will be racing 100-200hp cars. Not 500hp cars...
Chumpcar/WRL are both cheap racing options. Cost is between $200-$400 /h to rent a seat for chump, the fastest WRL cars probably up to $800 an hour. A decent WRL/Chump car can be bought for $5000 - $15k.
It's also a team sport, so if you have friends that likes to have fun it's awesome. Very friendly community as well.
But of course, you will be racing 100-200hp cars. Not 500hp cars...
Ah, ChumpCar......I did a track day last year and there were a bunch of them on track with us getting ready for their races that weekend. A few were very nicely turned out but on this particular day the majority were complete s#!tboxes that, as Ricky Ricardo would say, looked as if they would 'splode at any second and vomit every fluid they had everywhere.
At NASA nationals the top Spec Miata’s had closer to $100K into them and the top GTS3 cars had over $150K into them. The higher the level of competition, the bigger the money, even in the “cheaper” race series.
$100k into a Spec Miata. Wow, that really seems to go against the whole idea of what Spec Miata was created for, a cheap platform so lots of people could race
At NASA nationals the top Spec Miata’s had closer to $100K into them and the top GTS3 cars had over $150K into them. The higher the level of competition, the bigger the money, even in the “cheaper” race series.
How the hell doyou end up 100k into a miata, especially in a spec series? id love to see some type of breakdown on that.
$100k into a Spec Miata. Wow, that really seems to go against the whole idea of what Spec Miata was created for, a cheap platform so lots of people could race
its the extra extra details that cost. Its a lot of work/skill to squeeze out say 15hp with the spec series. Everything has to be perfect. They weigh and balance everything to be within a grey area of the rules. Other series as chump, wrl, NASA might be cheaper and more performance. Counterintuitive!
Agree that a 100k sounds a lot, I have heard $50k as high.
But unless you are the top ten then you are fine with a $10k miata and junkyard engine.
12-10-2018, 03:07 PM
The Co$t of Racing
