JRitt@essex

I wanted to share something really interesting that one of my brake customers recently brought to me. He is a tech guy/entrepreneur who loves tracking his GT3 and Supra in his spare time. We were test-fitting our latest rear brake package on his Supra, and I took him and his wife out to lunch while my engineering team was doing their thing with his car. He and I were discussing track cars, and I told him about how I sold my last track car, a C6 Vette, a few years back. He asked why I got rid of it, and I told him because I didn’t have time to work on it, nowhere good to store it, I wasn’t using it enough to justify keeping it, etc. I think those of us who have been in this game long enough probably all know that story…kids, wives, other hobbies, etc. all get in the way of playing with our favorite toy. It becomes harder and harder to justify pouring money into something that is generally viewed by everyone around you as a distraction or nuisance.

His first question was, “If you want to get back on the track, why don’t you just rent a track car and do some arrive-and-drive HPDE or endurance racing (Champ Car, Lemons, etc.)?” I explained that I always felt like it was a hassle to find a car, that it was probably too expensive, too complicated or time-consuming to go through the rental process, etc. Then he told me that he had just created an app to do exactly that, which I thought was a killer idea. As we started discussing the concept further, it became clear to me that this could be a really awesome way for current track car owners to subsidize or even completely cover the cost of their own track exploits.

I told him that I loved the idea and that I would share it in the communities in which I participate…so that’s what I’m doing here. The app is called Kerbz and it works similarly to Turo if you’re familiar with that app. You rent track cars directly from the vehicle owner, and the entire transaction is completed through the app. It is set up so you can find cars in your area to use for autoX, HPDE, time trials, W2W, etc. They even have an option by which you can co-drive your car at an event with the renter, so you can cover your own track expenses while also keeping an eye on your car.

If I still had my vette, I would have definitely taken a long, hard look at renting it out. When I initially bought the car I had planned to go to the track at least a dozen weekends per year. During the three years I owned it, I ended up going to the track four times total…doh. The car just sat in my driveway under a cover and collected dust most of the time. I took it out every two weeks for a quick jaunt to run oil through it, but otherwise it was more or less just in the way. I also had some annoying issues with my Accusump, fuel tank, power steering pump, etc. that I was trying to sort out, so it felt like I was constantly running back and forth to the shop and spending money on repairs despite hardly getting any wheel time in the car. Twenty years ago I may have been a little hesitant on renting out my pride and joy, but after owning several track cars, I’ve accepted that track cars are most definitely a depreciating, commodity-type asset. Anything I could have done to pay for fuel, brakes, entry fees, and those damn 345 rear tires would have been extremely welcome!

From a community standpoint, I also really love the idea of sharing cars or co-driving with someone. When I first got into this sport in ‘99, I met my future best man at an autoX, and have made a bunch of other lifelong friends through motorsports. I think this app could be a great community builder that could get a lot more people out on track who don’t have cars, while also helping those who already own cars pay for their addiction.

The founder is in the Northern Virginia/DC area (Summit Point/Dominion Raceway), and most of the current cars for rent are in that area. He said his main goal currently is to add hosts (people willing to rent their car out) near all the road courses throughout the country.

Anyway, I think this app and idea have a ton of merit and I wanted to float them here for all the track junkies. Hopefully some of you can leverage this app to buy yourself some additional track time and/or reduce the burden of owning your car. At the very least I thought the concept would generate some interesting discussion.

Here’s where to download the app, or just search for Kerbz Adventures in the app store: https://kerbz.app/hosts#individual

Thanks and stay safe out there!

nineball

sounds like a decent idea but no way would i let a stranger take my personal track toy out on the track. street driving is one thing but for all i know the potential renter, who told me he had years of experience, just took my baby out for his first track event ever.

i suppose if you have something that you don't have much money into, like say a used miata, it would ease the worry but i don't think i would feel comfortable giving someone a car i have spent $100,000 or more on prepping for track. ymmv.

LuigiVampa

There are people who are OK with this but not me. I barely trust myself driving my car.

If you own your own business there is a way to use pre-tax dollars to pay for racing expenses by setting up a marketing agreement between your company and your "race team."

You need to be able to trace revenue generated by this activity back to your company otherwise you run afoul of the hobby loss rules.

markmark26

This is like a rent a wife app. Takes a special man to do it

ProCoach

Don’t ever fall in love with a car.

It’ll never love you back…

JRitt@essex

A few years back myself and two of my employees took my Miata out and beat on it for a day at VIR. I had a total blast and the car didn't miss a beat. I had about $4500 total into that car. I had just as much fun in that car as I've had in $100k cars, and I would have gladly rented it out to someone else. All I ever did was put oil in it and throw some $60 tires on it once in a while.

From what I've seen being in the track community for 20 years, many people start out with a very expensive street/track car, and ultimately end up with a considerably less expensive dedicated track car. They believe that their shiny new car will never get hurt, they try to keep every spec of dirt off it, etc. They eventually realize that it's extremely tough to keep a car pristine if its being tracked, no matter what preventative measures they take.

With the above said, I think everything in this discussion is relative to one's financial standing. I had one customer deliver us his 991 GT3 with saran wrap on the steering wheel, seat, and shifter because he was afraid it would get dirty. The next GT3 that came in was filthy, covered in stone chips, and had a cracked windshield...even though it was only 3 months old! Some of our wealthiest clients drop $400k cars at our shop and say, "Do whatever you like with it, I have three others." Others are terrified of us dinging their Hyundai. It's all relative.

For me personally, I have more fun at the track in a $25k track rat than I do a pristine $100k road car. I feel like I can drive it harder, it's been prepped not to break, and these days I also really want a full cage and fire suppression around me. I could also care less about lap times and am more interested in just having fun, learning something, and possibly making some new friends at each track event. To me, that's what this sport/hobby is really all about. All fantasies of my becoming a racecar driver evaporated long ago, and I think I'm much better for it.

Anyway, thanks for the input gents. I will be sure to share all the feedback!

JRitt@essex

Can I get an amen!?! I change cars like I change my socks. They're all fun, but I want to try every single one of them before I die.

ProCoach

Great post. Mirrors my experience. I drove other people's cars for three decades, some of them now worth tens of millions of dollars. Loved and appreciated it.

My first race car I bought for $700 (then put $3500 in it and won more than a hundred races with it), loved that as much or more.

Have driven fast prototypes for twenty-three years. Love that, too.

The laws of physics don't know the difference in price tags between cars.

It's about the fun and about the people.

I think the peer-to-peer rental idea is a good one. Works with a lot of other commodities.

JRitt@essex

My customer told me that with his app you can actually co-drive a car at an event with a renter. So, you could run in one run group and the renter could drive in another. In that manner the renter's fees would cover your costs for the track day (and likely then some), while you are at the track keeping an eye on the car/making sure no foolishness is occurring. My hunch is that many people could very well come away from that type of experience with a new like-minded friend, which would be really cool.

When I was autoXing my Integra Type R when I first got into this sport, we had a group of about 5-6 guys who would always swap cars, try to beat each other's time in their own car, etc. It was a total blast, and some of my fondest motorsport memories are from those days. I once beat my friend in his own car to secure the season championship, and I still talk smack to him about it 20 years later.

JRitt@essex

I've also been living a bit of this lately, except with street cars. I keep coming back to the fact that I just have more fun in lighter weight, slower cars. I recently bought an ND Miata, and it is hilariously fun on the road (haven't tracked it yet). I also bought a Fiesta ST last fall to eventually teach my 14 yr. old daughter how to drive stick next year. I like the car so much, I may just keep it for myself! My 997.2 sits in the garage more than I drive it these days, and I sold my NA1 NSX last fall because it was mostly collecting dust. I prefer my 987 Base more than both of those as well.

nineball

my point exactly. at $4500 i'll let anyone "rent" it all day every day. break into 6 figures, car alone or car plus track mods, and that changes drastically. hopefully it works out for your friend and any that use the app.

needmoregarage

I wonder how it works with:

- mechanical failure through no fault of the renter (who possibly must forfeit the remainder of his paid-in-full track event reg fee)
- tech inspection cost & logistics
- damage when driven by renter and is their fault
- damage when driven by renter and not their fault (but they were in wrong place/wrong time when something unavoidable happens)
- track insurance - paid for by renter with lessee’s name added to policy? Who pays deductible?
- liability to the owner for injury to renter while driving the car (due to accident or mechanical failure, whether or not the fault of the renter)

Seems like it could be complex. I don’t know if the liability insurance policies for track days would cover something like renting your car to someone. Not sure if personal liability would cover something like that. I’d need to understand the worst-case-scenarios before doing it.

Obviously if a car is relatively low value, maybe one just self-insures and there’s no need for track insurance. But there is still liability associated with renting your car to someone who is injured as a result.

Maybe some of the attorneys will chime in.

ADC1

Kaizen at VIR

Kaizen does this.

JRitt@essex

Thanks for the thoughtful response...definitely quite a few things to unpack there!

LuigiVampa

Loving a race car is very similar to loving a pet - one day it is going to end in tragedy.