How the heck do you start racing?
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My "first" E46 M3 race car build
How to get into racing
Where do you start?
What do you need to think about / what are the considerations?
What car do you race?
What series do you race in?
Do you buy a ready-to-race car or have one built for you?
How much will it cost?
I've shared here my own experience as a partially disabled person of getting started in racing. It's the same for anyone except for me I had to undertake an additional assessment of my ability to get out of a car quickly in the event of a fire . . . yes, it's possible, fuel lines can break, fuel tanks can get damaged, fire is a real possibility so being able to get out of a burning car that could explode is kind of important.
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Driving after a spinal injury
After I regained my driving licence through the RDAC (Regional Driving Assessment Centre) assessment in 2011, despite still being wheelchair-bound, I had hope! Hope that I'd be able to walk again even if with aids. As it turns out this is exactly my situation today, eight years on . . I can walk, but need walking aids full-time. Either an AFO (Ankle-Foot Orthosis . . a support that stops my foot from dropping) and walking sticks which I can do without for short bursts, walks of a few hundred yards or so.
It's amazing how much technology there is out there even for normal "civilian" folk like me.
Having found two types of AFO (Ankle-Foot Orthosis - both sorted out for me by Stoke Mandeville) I have a carbon fibre, fairly rigid one for walking and getting about, even for driving my road cars but I use a slightly more flexible one (a hard resin) for racing, both made by Ottobock; I adapted my driving technique to left foot-braking and simply leaving my right foot over the throttle where I use my thigh to push my heel into the floor, and effectively lever my foot onto the pedal. It's not ideal, definitely have no fine throttle control nor any degree of sensitivity, and therefore not great in the rain but it works and I can race! Thanks to simple things like
Over the course of a couple of years I got back to enjoying driving regularly and even bought myself an Aston Martin. One of my lifelong dreams after seeing Goldfinger as a child. Okay, it's not a DB5 but it is a "DB" . . I recently sold it after seven and a bit years (2013-2021) as despite it being a wonderful car, I simply never get the chance to enjoy it. Driving a performance car on normal roads these days isn't something you can really enjoy anymore and frankly, nothing compares to racing for thrills now. Next will be an old classic that takes proper driving and full involvement to enjoy . . . to come in the future.
How did I get round to racing . . . ?
In 2015 I took my daughter to Thruxton for a Porsche track day (track cars, not my own car just so she could learn how to drive). During the session I was chatting to one of the instructors and asked him what it would take to get my racing licence. don't ask me why I did that . . it was an itch I have always had and seeing how much fun she was having, I had to find a way.
Having raced karts a little over the years, including a dabble with Club100 some years ago plus plenty of outdoor karting at lesser events, I always wanted to try my hand at car racing properly.
When the instructor explained to me what was involved I thought "wow, that seems easy" and sure enough, anyone wanting to race, I urge you to go and get your licence. It's really simple and you have to be a complete muppet to fail.
I kept this in the back of my mind and decided I'd look into it properly at some point. Five days later I was at Mallory Park doing an Aston Martin Owner's Club (AMOC) track day with my dad. Having signed on as a "novice", after the second session on track one of the guys running the day told me not to be silly and moved me into the advanced group, leap-frogging the intermediates. 10 minutes later one of the other chaps asked me if I'd considered taking up racing, to which I replied that I had, only recently, and in fact had wanted to race since I was knee-high to a grass-hopper.
AMOC Track Day Ensemble - mine at the far end
9am the following morning, literally, I was on the phone to the MSA (Motor Sports Association, the body in the UK run by the RAC and officially responsible for the governance of motorsport in the UK, now known as MotorsportUK).
The process is simple:
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Apply for your "go racing" pack which includes the "Year Book" or most normally referred to as the "Blue Book", the annual motorsport rules and regulations for all UK motorsport, a video and instructions on how to take your test
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Book your test, known as an ARDS test (Association of Racing Driver Schools) - contact one of the race circuits in the UK that has an associated ARDS school (Click here for a list of ARDS schools in the UK) and book a date/time. They're held midweek normally and the whole session comprises a classroom lesson focussing primarily on safety (flags, what to do in an emergency, anything that relates to safety at / on circuit), then some time on track with an ARDS instructor who will coach you and then assess you (the idea being for them to consider whether they think you have some kind of a clue as to how to drive a car on a circuit, use the right lines, car control at speed etc.), and then decide whether they should give the "nod" that you're allowed to complete the test; a written test on the safety aspects of racing learned in the classroom session earlier.
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Once you've passed your test you may be required to have a medical check up by your GP (depends on age and any underlying , pre-existing conditions; in my case Cauda Equina Syndrome).
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Additionally for me, I was required by Motorsport UK (the MSA as was) to have a video recording taken of me getting out of my car within eight seconds . . . I can tell you now, you want to live, you'll find a way to get out quickly!!
To be honest, unless you're an idiot it's pretty easy to pass your test . . or so you'd think. In my session there was a young driver who spent their entire time looking at their phone and asking when we'd get out on track. Funnily enough nothing in the class went in and they couldn't remember their flags - BIG FAIL! Dopey sod. If I can advise you anything make sure you know your flag signals inside-out, round and round and back-to-front. This is the number one, most important thing when racing as it's the marshals' and other circuit officials' only way of communicating with drivers on track.
With ARDS test passed easily, it's now December 2015 coming up to end of year. I've got a novice race licence. "Now what the heck do I do?" I asked myself . . . well duhhh . . . race!!!
So now what? How do I race? What do I race? How much will it cost me? What is the best championship to race in?
Blimey, it's all too complicated and it looks costly this racing malarkey. What the heck did I get into this for? . . . oh yes, because I've always wanted to.
It is in fact really easy and you definitely should not be daunted by the idea. Once you speak to a few people and get involved, if you're committed it will happen.
Let's go racing
Let's start with the number 1 issue I have to contend with . . I can only use cars with two pedals.
That rather restricts me. So how do I find out what's possible.
Starting point . . ask somebody some questions. I called Thruxton where I took my ARDS and spoke to one of the instructors who pointed me in the direction of the main racing clubs in the UK, the BARC, BRSCC and the 750 Motor Club which were the main three nationwide clubs at the time. You've now got the MSVR (Motorsport Vision Racing).
In addition there are plenty of local clubs that organise specific meetings and it's possible to look at racing on a much more local, "clubman" level basis, especially if budget is an issue. Club racing can be incredibly competitive and great fun.
Each club runs a range of race series and championships (series being a series of individual races that don't earn you championship points, a championship being a collection of races that earn points towards a championship trophy). Championship regulations are much more tightly controlled due to the competitiveness of them and have to be sanctioned by MotorsportUK to attain championship status.
I started searching . . .
I called each of them and spoke to various people to seek advice on what might be possible. Whilst speaking to Giles Groombridge at the 750MC he informed me they were just starting a new series this year (2016) called the M3 Cup, intended as a one-make, one-model series with tightly controlled regulations to keep costs down. The great thing was the cars were all to be E46 M3s and SMG gearboxes were allowed - two pedals!!!! YES!
Okay this was the one for me. I mean, why not? I was after all, in the immortal words of Richard Hammond, a "Driving God" and, I used to have an E46 M3. "I know what I'm doing!" I thought . . . famous last words.
The next question was, do I have a car built for me or just rent a drive. After I looked into the costs of renting and insuring, I decided buying and owning was the way forwards. For anyone else considering getting into motorsport, it really depends on how much you want to do, whether you know what you want to race and your driving style. Some people rent drives and have a go at different things until they find the right series for them.
Now, don't get me wrong, M3s are not cheap at the best of times. Turning one into a race car and running it, repairing it, servicing it and burning through pads, discs, tyres and fuel is not actually that cheap. To this day my wife would prefer not to know and that's best for all concerned.
The questions you need to ask yourself are:
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Do you want to own your own car?
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Set up and run just for you or do you want to buy and own jointly with someone - this will save you money but reduces your race time and if anything happens to the car then one of you will get miffed that they don't get to drive it
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Do you have the necessary skills to run the car yourself? And by "running" I don't just mean getting it to track and keeping it checked over when you're there. It needs setting up, suspension, anti-roll bar, geometry, engine and fuel systems running properly, cooling, full spanner check etc. Can you do this all yourself?
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What happens if you crash? How will you get the car home? Who will fix it for you? Can you get it out on track again yourself at the circuit if you crash / damage it?
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Where will you store it?
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Can you transport it to the track?
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If you rent a car / drive, are you prepared to pay the insurance?
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If you own the car will you insure it?
In my case I had (have) no clue about fixing cars when they break. I needed someone to do everything - this is the expensive part of racing and the more expensive the car, the greater the cost of running it. It is, I have discovered, fairly achievable to race something like MR2s, MX5s, Caterhams and other small, inexpensive cards that use road tyres, especially if they're light weight without spending too much money - easy to run, cheap to run and repair and fairly simple machines. The problem for me is that they don't come in automated manual and most of them are too small (I'm 6'3" and have a duff right leg . . squeezing down into a small car is not possible for me).
Okay, decision made. But,
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What do I buy and how do I get it converted?
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Who will convert it?
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Can the people who convert it / build it also run it for me?
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What sort of expertise do they have and how much should I be looking to spend?
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What do I do about insurance
Let's tackle this last point first - I decided to insure the car against fire and theft whilst it's stored and transported. For the first few races I also insured it against damage up to the value of the car.
What I learned very quickly was that the insurance industry is very clever and full of bright people called actuaries who work out the risks so that your premiums can be calculated. Unsurprisingly the excess to insure the car somehow worked out to be the same as it cost me for each of my three crashes in 2017.
I didn't bother with race insurance after that and nor does anyone else. It's known as self-insuring. Learn to race better and put some aside in case someone hits you. That's about it!
I'll tell you now, when it comes to safety, don't scrimp. When it comes to reliability, don't scrimp. When it comes to good car set up, don't scrimp.
There is no such thing as the perfect car, no such thing as the perfect team, no such thing as a guarantee of success by spending money. However, there is most definitely a high degree of probability that something will break if you try to do things on the cheap. Just think, these cars are going to be put under way greater strain and stress than they would ever be subjected to as a road car - chassis, suspension, engine, cooling, safety etc.
My wife agreed to let me race . . in her words "If I don't let you do this you're just going to be a grumpy old sod for ever . . so please just make sure you are as safe as you can afford to be."
Getting Started
After deciding I would own my own car and having spoken to several clubs and deciding which series I would race in, I was guided to speak to a number of different people to discuss building a car for me.
After several conversations with different people I ended up speaking to Geoff Steel Racing.
Now, for those of you who are new to racing, Geoff himself has been around this game for decades having started as a rally driver himself when he was young. GSR focus on BMW and have huge expertise in building BMW race cars - taking normal BMWs and converting them for the race track, building around a shell and creating something unique, modifying existing race cars, uprating and even engineering their own parts; one of Geoff's other businesses is fabricating carbon fibre parts amongst other things.
After a 30 minute conversation with Geoff I had decided they were going to build my car for me. He had that air of quiet, calm, understated knowledge and confidence in what he and his team do.
I found an old E46 M3 with 80+ thousand miles on the clock but essentially sound - structurally intact, engine ran fine and all in all, in good shape as a donor vehicle. Geoff arranged for it to be collected and I waved it off, bizarrely with no paperwork in place or ever having met Geoff personally.
I'm in the IT business . . you never do anything without contracts being in place. What was I doing? I just knew though . . . it would be okay.
Donor vehicle
Mmmm, nice, gold wheels. This is a six-cylinder German sports car, not a four-cylinder turbo-charged Japanese fun car. What did it matter, I was ditching the wheels anyway.
Base colour was perfect. I decided I would use that as the basis for the colour scheme. Navy although in certain light it almost looks black.
The build starts
The car is shipped off to Geoff Steel Racing in Lincolnshire . . . and I start to get excited.
After a few weeks they've already got the car stripped down and caged, engine out and on the bench, new wiring and a raft of other things.
Engine refitted, fire extinguisher and fuel tank, seat, harness, suspension and wheels all go back on . . almost there.
I had elected to enter the 750 Motor Club M3 Cup where regulations were tightly controlled requiring the fitting of certain parts including coilovers, airbox, brakes, rear wing and a host of other things. Performance was to remain standard, factory default 338bhp +/- a few percent.
Geoff and I had spoken about the idea of investing in building a car that could be upgraded easily should I decide to enter a different series / championship so the base build, the foundation of the car had to support upgrades.
The airbox above was fitted to comply with the Tegiwa M3 Cup.
Since moving from M3 Cup to endurance racing (750MC Club Enduro), we've been able to fit a GSR carbon airbox that swallows volumes of air and that, combined with a remapping have given rise to significantly better power and torque without modifying the engine.
This ensures good reliability - small cost, big gains.
End of June 2016 the car was ready for testing. Blyton Park in Lincolnshire, Ginetta's own track . . a shakedown, of me!
OMG, my own race car. Can I even drive it? Do I know what the hell I'm doing? What possessed me to take up racing?
Yikes . . moment of truth
Blimey . . what a machine! A BMW M3 E46 race car . . . MY BMW E46 race car . . .
Okay, I was ready. Or so I thought . . . I'm joining the series half way through. So far the M3 Cup boys have raced at Donington, Brands Hatch, Croft and Snetterton and all are used to driving this machine. But that's okay, I know how to drive. I watched them all at Donington for the first two rounds and thought, yep, I can do this. Can't wait to get going.
I'm ready . . . as I said earlier, "I'm a driving god!" . . . . Oh dear . . . I know how to drive a race car? Errr, no!
Let the racing begin!
First stop for me, Rounds 9 & 10, Anglesey July 2016 . . .