BSCDA E-NEWS

So, what figure do you have in your head? Are you’re thinking £50,000?

Well, if you are, think again. Halve it! Yes, £25,000 will buy you a good race-winning car.

So, is that really how much it costs to be victorious in F1? No, not at all! Halve that price again to £12,500.

You may be surprised to learn that this year we have had race-winning cars on both surfaces in the £8,000-£12,000 price range.

To put that into perspective, you can buy or build a race-winning BriSCA F1 stock car that is cheaper than some V8 Hotstox (one car is currently on offer for £20,000), BriSCA F2s and Ministox and only double the price of a kid’s F2Micro.

BriSCA F1 has always been open to everyone to some extent. You can come in and compete to your budget and level and be part of this great sport and great people.

The backbone of the sport is built on budget drivers who compete at the level they can afford.

We have budget drivers who only race on Tarmac or shale and others who do both on a limited budget. We have drivers who chase World Championship qualifying points and achieve their goals and qualify for a World Championship semi-final. F1 stock car racing is versatile and limited budget drivers are always welcome to the sport.

313 KARL ROBERTS

“From being a boy I’ve always wanted to race. When the time came, when I was 10 years old, to race Ministox I was lucky enough to be able to do it. I won loads of races and when that happens you want to do more and more.

“I turned 16 and my dad said I had to start funding racing myself. It took 10 years but I saved enough money (£12,000) to buy an F1 stock car. I looked at a few and I got one within my budget.

“It’s not anywhere near the market of some small-block elite cars, but it does a job!
Winning races on a budget means more and if you have belief that you can be fast, then there’s still a market for people to win on a budget.

“I got to red grade in a £12,000 car on a tight budget, and I’m not the first and won’t be the last.”

216 JACK FRANCE 216

“I’ve always raced something. If I couldn’t race cars I’d race a horse if I had to – that’s just who I am – I live my life to race. But I’ve always wanted to race in F1 because of the noise and the crowds and the people you get to meet.

“To win in the car we have and the budget I race with, you can’t really put into words how it feels. It’s amazing – more relief than anything, knowing the time and effort you’ve put into it has all finally paid off and proves you don’t need a £20-30,000 car to win.

“All these people who say you need money to win I’ve just proven them wrong. I bought a car for £10,000 and, yes, it’s taken time but we’ve made it our own, without putting stupidly-priced parts on it. You can race in F1 and win without blowing £30,000-plus. I’ve just proven that along with many others.

24 MARK ADKINS

“I was selling my F1s to have a year out but the only offers I had was some money and a BriSCA F2 so i thought “that will do, it keeps me on track with some money in the bank”.

“The F2s on Tarmac are hard work. There are a lot of bright people out there spending hours and hours on their cars – setting them up, buffing tyres, etc.

“I changed a load of things on my F2 tar car to try be competitive, but I just couldn’t get near and while I was spending the time I was also spending the money. When I worked it out it was costing around the same, so it was a no-brainer to go back to F1s.

“Generally, in F1s you have more than enough power. So, in my opinion, it comes down to the driver not the tackle. I paid £13,000 for my car complete and I was racing off white but was running close to the top lads! This simply wouldn’t happen in F2s.”

268 RICHARD WOOD

“I race because it’s a team effort and a dream to race the big league. I always like to compete as and where we can, smile and have fun.

“Being part of the sport on a budget is good because it doesn’t control our lives and when we can run with some of the top boys who put thousands into their racing, it puts a smile on our face to know that we can compete on a budget.

“To race you don’t have to have £30,000 at all. I once got told by a former world champion that I wouldn’t be able to race unless I had £30,000 in my pocket. So the fact that we have a lot less than that in it proves a point.

“People who race and say you need thousands just get carried away and think they have to spend the money to win. You just need the knowledge and how to cut costs.”

When we suggest you can win in an F1 stock car on a budget, don’t imagine that is just by winning the odd consolation with 14 cars on the grid.

This year heats and Grand Nationals have been won with low budget teams and cheap cars. We have also had a £10,000 car winning a Grand Final.

And it’s not all about what it costs or what it doesn’t cost to win an F1 race, the age of the cars comes into it as well. Older cars are just as competitive – at least two final-winning cars this year are in their eighth season of competition, with some race-winning cars close to two decades old.

If you need any advice on how to get into the sport then please contact the BSCDA, who will help pointing you in the right direction.

Photos courtesy of Colin Casserley
Guy Parker 2017