MrKnifeys Road to Racing - Build/Progress thread

Been watching the series on BOM's Youtube channel. Looks immense fun and a far better way to spend money than on a sim rig. Only thing is it seems they just need a bit more power. Danny DC2 is another one to watch he is currently partaking in the MR2 championship with a Mk3.

I have always wanted to dabble in some form of road rallying at some point but time and kids always gets in the way so hats off for giving it a go!
 
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So nothing much has gone on over the week, just been ordering parts and organizing all the stuff ill need for next year. So far I ordered and received my Motorsport Go Racing pack, which includes the application form for my Race licence and a few other assorted bits. Then I booked my ARDS Test/Course, once that is completed and a vision test I can send my application form off. I have also been looking at safety equipment and I plan to make the drive to Demon Tweeks to ensure my measurements are correct.

I did not realize so much had to go into even grass roots racing, but I am sure it will be worth it in the end!

Here is the pack I received, which was really nice. It comes with a few booklets, application form, key ring and a USB stick with some videos and the Motorsport UK Yearbook on, which is the goto Rule book. Here is a poor quality pic of the pack :

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Car wise, I made a little movable stand to be able to push it outside and pressure wash all the much off it and it also gives me the option to move it out of the way in the workshop should I need to. The mandatory and safety kits take a few weeks to put together so until I receive those there is not a lot I can do "race prep" wise. I put a massive order in with Euro Car Parts for items such as Front Calipers, Tie Rods, Track Rods, Rear Drums, Wheel Bearings, pretty much everything so I do not have to worry about worn old parts failing on me, I will also take the old units with me "just in case". As for working on the car I have so far Replaced engine oil and filter, water pump, thermostat. I did manage to swap the opener for the boot from a key style to a push button for the rules. I have also swapped the fuel filler to a non locking! Spending wise this is where I am at:

Car Based

Car - £500
Mandatory City Car Cup Kit - £2900
Safety Kit - £1399
Non Locking Fuel Cap - £12.88
Non Locking Boot Button Release - £13.70
Factory Rev Counter + Plastic Surround - £68.95
6 x Spark Plugs (3 for replacing 3 for spares) - £23.74
Brake Calipers, Brembo Discs, Track Rods, Bottom Arms etc - £708.58
Mandatory ECU Tune - £120

Total - £5746.85

Personal

Road to Racing Application - £99
ARDS Course - £270

Total - £369

Grand Total - £6115.85

Hopefully I will get my racing equipment done and dusted for around £1300. So budgeting around £8k total it *should* get me to track day/testing day with my licence and PPE. Which is the cost I got quoted for a complete car on its own! So im happy with that!

Just because your all missing the car.. heres how she is at the moment!

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P.S - Will take biscuits and tea as sponsorship :D:D:D
 
So I cheated a little bit and bought a complete ready to race car. It came up for a good price so I nabbed it, ill keep the other as spares now!

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First outing is Brands on the 18th of December!
 
For a racing seat that looks to be more comfy than my computer chair. This series looks to be incredibly fun and at a pretty reasonable cost too.
 
So small update, this week has been the week of tests. First up was my B+E which is what you need to tow a trailer if you do not have grand father rights. Im confident reversing a trailer etc so that wasnt an issue, I booked a single day, so practice in morning and test in the afternoon. This nearly caused a problem for me, my reversing was on point, however after 16 years of driving on the road ive picked up a few bad habits, so getting back into full "test" mode was hard. I passed with two marks down for hesitation and road planning so not bad at all!

Second test was my ARDS, which is basically your race licence. I attended Brands Hatch to do this with MSV, the course was around 3 hours long with two hours being in the classroom with a written exam. I passed the written exam then it was time to do the driving part. We done ours in a BMW M4, you go as a passenger with the instructor for two laps who shows you where to brake, turn in, clipping points and acceleration etc, then you pull into the pits and jump in the drivers seat. This is where it nearly all fell apart for me, you may think your a driving god and you'll just jump into the BMW and show your skills, but you wont! Your for around 6 laps driving, 4 laps were instructor led, the last two he goes quiet and thats your test. First couple of laps I was all over the place, braking was poor, turning in was poor, I was not accelerating hard enough (easier said than done when fastest car I own at the moment is 140hp MK2 Escort!), the car felt totally alien to me and I was told if I kept braking as I was when he done the assessment I would fail, so I started to get a little flustered, made a mistake and nearly spun! The M4 is 400hp + and on a damp track and having to actually give it some, it can catch you out! After this I settled down and just kept it smooth and fast, braking points and turn in points all spot on. Still couldn't get used to doing 130mph in the damp and braking hard into Paddock Hill bend was insane! Its also WAAAAY steeper than it appears on TV! But we done the two laps and he said I was much improved and was happy with my driving. They are really full on, I was not expecting it, nor was I expecting to have to basically give it the beans in a car you have never driven with big power! You also had to use the gear selector to change gear, was not allowed to use the paddles! I managed to pass so now I can send my paperwork off to get my licence for next year!

I am back at Brands Hatch on Friday for a track day with the C1. So will upload photos/videos when I am back.

Here is a rubbish photo my dad took of me in the BMW!

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I've looked in to C1 racing myself and did wonder whether you would be better off buying a built car for the costs you had listed.

Was the M4 DCT or manual? I had to do my ARDS in a Peugot (or Citroen, can't remember) at Oulton Park which was a manual. I'd never driven a manual on track and hadn't driven one on the road for years! Definitely made things more interesting during the test but as I'd done a fair amount of track days I was fine with all the speed, braking, traffic etc, just not the 3rd pedal :D
 
It was a DCT, but I had to manually operate the gear lever. That also threw me a bit as not having to use a clutch threw it into the wind a bit lol
 
Managed to get to Brands Hatch on Friday for the first outing in the car, I had a bit of a nightmare leading upto this, firstly I had to have a Covid test and await the results, secondly because Kent got placed into Tier 3, the hotel cancelled my booking for me on Thursday night, so I had to drive up Friday morning, which is a 4 hour drive for me!

Nevertheless we made it there, I took my friend to help with adjustments etc as well. Once there my friend unloaded the car while I went and signed on, weather conditions were damp/rain all day, but it was also cold. Once the car was unloaded I got changed into my race suit, this is also the first time wearing this along with the shoes and HANS Device, so we took our time adjusting the harness correctly and got going.

First couple of laps were interesting, only ever driven Brands in the ARDS test I just took my time, having only 68hp at best I was mostly a moving chicane on the straights for most cars! Also because the car is light I had pretty much ZERO traction. We started off at 40PSI front and 50PSI rear and quickly had to drop that! We went down in 5psi increments to settle at 30psi front 35psi rear. I could have probably gone higher IF my damping adjusters worked! Which was massively irritating as the shocks were full stiffness! After a couple more laps I got more and more comfortable in the car, but still rear grip was a MASSIVE issue throughout the day. Also it was pretty much red flag central for the day with loads of people going off at Paddock Hill Bend, I had a moment there myself which is in the video below :


Lunch time we set about moving the back of the seat more upright which made me feel a bit more comfortable in the car, we then set about getting back out there for a longer stint to see how it felt, I managed a good few runs but constantly ran into traffic, on the straights I was easy prey, on the corners I was getting held up! At one point I was stuck behind an E92 M3 for a few laps because he was taking the corners slowly and then struggling to get the power down, but once he got going he was obviously shooting away from me until the next corner!

Using my lap timer I managed a 1.18 in the wet which I was happy with, my Go-Pro only managed to record my low 1.19 time which is below:


We done a few more laps until an accident caused a red flag, which when I saw I then immediately spun off the track as I stupidly braked mid corner to acknowledge the flag! (Embarrassing). Unfortunately the day did not restart and was cut short, so didnt manage to get any faster times.

Overall I was happy with the day, first time driving the car and first proper go around Brands Hatch so wasn't expecting to be a driving god around there! Heres some nice pictures of the beast!

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Awesome. I'm thinking of starting some sprinting with my car next year. Aim is not to be last!

Although I like Brands as a track, the number of red flags there is always ridiculous. Not sure I've ever had a really good day there.

Do you mind saying how much the fully race ready car was?
 
Not at all, I paid £7500 for it.

Im just glad we are not racing at Brands tbh.

Booked Cadwell Park for next March. Holding out on booking anything earlier due to Covid...
 
Thanks, that's a very tempting price!

I'm in tier 4, but a bunch of track day companies are offering discounts for next years events now.

Question is how much I gamble on tier 4 lifting by then....

Good luck with the racing!
 
I have e-mailed MSV to see where I fare if I book for days in Jan/Feb and I am still in Tier 4, so shall post my reply

Thanks as well
 
I was at Brands on the 14th for my first car trackday (done 2 trackdays and multiple race weekends on motorbikes), morning was wet and it was sooooo slippery, especially around McLaren/Clearways. Also had a moment around Paddock but not as big as yours :D

I booked my trackday through Javelin Trackdays, the first booking was for Castle Combe on November 9th which was obviously cancelled because of lockdown and they gave a credit (not refund, as per their notice when I paid) quickly which paid for the Brands trackday. Not sure what there policy is if you're in Tier 4 now but maybe worth checking what their policy is as at least it gives some comfort that you won't lose the money...

I also watched the Bad Obsession Motorsport videos and it looked like a good class, Looking forward to your racing progress, hope it goes well :)
 
This thread is fantastic, will probably do the same in the not too distant future, looks fun :D

@MrKnifey please can you post up some exoenses, would be interesting to see how much this actually costs and how feasible it actually is.
 
I will try to the best of my knowledge remember all I have spent. Some of this stuff I probably didn't need.

Car Based

Car - £7500
First Car (Now for Spares) - £500
Non Lock Fuel Cap - £12.88
Boot Release Button - £13.70
Rev Counter - £68.95
6 x Spark Plugs for Spares - £23.74
Spare Calipers, Arms, Shoes, Drums etc - £708.58
Mandatory ECU Tune - £120 x 2
Lap Timer - £368
String/Line Kit - £437

Travel/Trailer

Trailer Licence - £475
Trailer - £2000
Straps - £90

Personal

Helmet, Suit, Gloves, Boots - £1300
Second Pair of Boots - £260
ARDS Course - £270

Total so far - £14267 - Thats without track days/race meetings. Obviously I have included cost of trailer etc into it. I could have saved a fair bit, but things like my first pair of boots I didn't like, the change of plan with the car etc didn't help!
 
Well, been a long time since I posted on this, but Covid stopped play. Anyways. First race is next weekend at Donnington! Was meant to be at Cadwell a few weeks ago but obviously it couldnt go ahead. Been playing around with geometry and bought corner weight scales so I can get it somewhere near. Car came in underweight with me in it as well so had to order ballast.

Yesterday I managed to get a test day booked at Llandow to give the car a shakedown, not driven it since Cadwell last year so was nice to abuse it! Learnt a lot about tyre pressures mostly and how to get faster lap times using tyre pressures!

Anyway wish me luck for Donnington! Never been there so will be an eye opener!

The setup!

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The Car

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Me pretending to be a BTCC driver

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