Car racing????

It's been decades but I always got out of any cage all beat to f@ck. Being strapped in and not being able to move and yet still trying, head and neck slapping around, the suspension not really doing anything but transmitting every chassis movement right into your back.

If I was going to do anything in a car it'd be one of those Formula Fords after doing Karts for a few seasons.

 

Think he has done every level of Porsche academy,

 

Based on that, SCCA would grant him a novice permit. But if It were me, and I had that kind of dough, I would call TLM and rent a GT4 or a Cup Car and do some FARA weekends. Hell I bet if he made the call he could race Sebring next weekend with us.

Did he race the challenge at Daytona? Or has it only been schools thus far?

 

Only schools, think he got a race license last weekend. I'm an employee so don't ask to many questions. I'll know more the next time i see him

 

I think the big question that needs answered is what is HE trying to get out of this experience? Does he want to race for the thrill of competing and craves close wheel to wheel battles, regardless of the car? If so, spec Miata or Spec Racer Ford are the answers for now until he gains experience to do it at a higher level.
Does he really crave pushing his personal limits in something exotic? Then Ferrari Challenge or a Porsche Cup series is the right choice.
At 60 years old, don't overlook vintage racing. There he can get seat time in cars he drooled over as a child/young adult. Some of those vintage guys run pretty hard too. There's also vintage Nascar Cup classes if American Iron is his thing, or even Trans Am. Speaking of Trans Am, that series is still around, albeit basically glorified club racing, but those cars are intoxicating
Long story short, what does HE want out of this? Any of the choices should included arrive and drive with a prep shop handling all the prep and logistics.

 

It does sound like the OP is trying to give his boss good advice, but the ass-kissers nearby are trying to suck as much $$$ out of the poor guy. Props to @Captain Morgan for trying to do the right thing.

 

Sprints karts yes, old dudes head to road race tracks and run 250 superkarts, it's lots of fun.

 

Not saying I'm fast... I'm not. Just that he can have fun somewhere in the middle of the pack in a high end challenge series, where the weekend is full of pretty girls, champagne and fromage. That's my kind of racing

 

Would love to try one of these some day!

 

Thanks for the insight, fishing has been kind of slow, will have time to talk waiting on the marlin to bite

 

Ok, your making good points , I like fast car/ motorcycles painted red (yellow in a dream) and cheese, and wine

 

He should get a nice 100k irace sim for the boat.

 

DSR all the way… When I can’t ride anymore I will build one… but until then I just love watching and hearing them… Lap some Vettes and others easily at tracks like Barber…

 

A friend of mine recently raced a Sebeco at Barber. Looks like a cool track car

 

Are they still building those with TZ750 engines? (Yeah, that's how old I am.)

 

Mostly 1000’s now.. GSXR and R1’s

 

Racing is expensive, but the best feeling ever in the world is being fast on a 1/4 of the budget of someone you just beat

 

DSR 1000cc cars corner at 2.5G. A sixty-year old better be pretty damn fit to do that, and the fields are small except at the largest races. And the guys at the pointy end have been doing it for years and are excellent drivers. If the guy really wants to race hard wheel to wheel ("rubbin' is racin' "), rather than drive a race car in a race, the best options are Spec Miata and Spec Racer Ford, because the fields are large (even if five seconds off the pace, he'll have competition), the competition at the pointy end is fierce, and the cars are relatively easy to drive fast. If he wants more of a rich guy country club experience of being a "racer", Ferrari or Porsche options are probably best. Then there is Trans Am and IMSA if he wants longer races and a more "professional" experience. If the guy is willing to go against young up and comers, or wants really good instruction, and doesn't want the expense and complications of owning a race car, the Skip Barber Formula series is an excellent option.

 

Tell him not to buy a car. Tell him to call an established team and see about renting a seat in a series. Some series are similar to MotoA as in they'll pay the premier teams a small purse to put another car on the grid, no matter how it performs. (If he wants to race at that level)

If he does want to purchase... a "cheap" a super high performing road race car that is easy on spares, crashes well, and can be re-configured for sponsors/body easily, tell him to buy a TA2 car. The fields are huge and the racing is good.

Ferrari Cup is sweet but maintaining one of those 296 Challenge Stradales is not cheap. the consumables are astronomical. A full refresh of the braking system is easily $20-30K.. I'll bet you cant get 2 front rotors for less than $10,000.... if he knocks a corner off the car its prolly around $50-60K..

He can toss away a decent amount of full TA2 cars for the price of a 1-2 bad weekends in a Ferrari Challenge car.

Anyway, it's cool he wants to spend his money racing. I'm all for it.

 

I built a DSR, got the frame done and the body but short of buying a machine shop I kind of gave up and sold the project.
A well tuned Rotax 800 was the plan for it.

BTW back in I believe it was the mid 90's F1 raced in Australia on a street course and as a support class they invited the
pro class 250 superkart, The TZ 250 motored ones, Turns out the superkarts did laps that would have put them on the pole in the F1 race,
needles to say they weren't invited back next year.