Posted: 28 July 2009 at 12:58pm | IP Logged

Hi there,

Why not come and say hello to us all at Oulton?  Its a great series, and everyone will help wherever possible.

Martin

Posted: 28 July 2009 at 7:30pm | IP Logged

Hi Chris,

I'm kind of in the same boat as Chris Thorley - I built my own car over the last couple of years at the weekends and have just completed my first race at Rockingham.  I've been involved in the championship for a number of years as a spanner boy for other drivers in my team and I have to say it is the best championship around as far as camaraderie goes.  Having now built my own 924 and tested and raced it, I have to say you can't do much better as a starting point for racing - they're fast enough to keep the adrenalin going whilst controllable enough to not scare yourself!  Definitely get involved!

First of all I'd start looking for a second hand car - building your own works out more expensive and you'll come across major problems (my rebuilt engine didn't start for 5 months...).  The only benefit with building one is that you become very familiar with the mechanics behind them, but you'll pick this up as neccessary just from owning a built one.  If you want a left-hand drive one (not the one which i built) which is spotless I've got just the car!

Next, get your ARDS test booked.  I did mine at Snetterton, but think they are all much of a muchness, just book the one closest to you.  Don't worry - you don't have to be a racing god to pass, infact during mine I lapped a guy doing it with me in 6 laps and he still passed with flying colours!

Get in touch with Andy Davies and the rest of us after that - we can lend a land with parts and support if you need, but the most important thing is to get comfortable with your car - take it to a couple of trackdays at least to get a feel for it, then decide when you first want to race.  I did my first race 1 week after driving the car for the first time, but i'd done plenty of other track-driving and karting before, so you may want to give it more time (plus the car will be more reliable with more testing...)

I agree with Martin, head over to Oulton Park and go and meet some of the guys in the paddock to get a feel for it - you'll be hooked straight away.

Adam