Estimated cost for season of Ferari Challenge

+1,000

For $1,000 a weekend you can get better racers and racing. NASA ST series.

 

My typical weekend is about $1,000. The average is higher of course.

$350 entry fee
$100 gas
$100 food
$0-800 tires
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$550 to 1,350 is typical

NASA ST has tire contingencies with Hoosier among others, the days of 8 free tires a weekend are over, but you can still get 2-4 free tires a weekend. These are $400 tires each, either the DOT R A/R6's or R80/100 slicks. I can run slicks in ST. Rears only last a weekend, but fronts can last 2-3 weekends.

Additional typical expenses.

$400 for out of town races more gas and hotel
$100 mount & balance set of tires

Additional yearly expenses.

$300 set of pads every 3-4 weekends
$1200 set of rotors every 2 years
$6000 major every 4 years
$10000 top end every 8 years
complete rebuild every? (haven't needed one of these yet)

The key is the tire contingency as that's your biggest expense hit if the car is reliable. With that it really is close to $1,000 a weekend.

When I raced the RX8 it was close to zero cost and some weekends I made money. My contingencies were 4 new Hoosiers and $1200 cash from Mazda a weekend. Mazda also paid me for the Division Championship and going to Runoffs. The RX8 major cost was the depreciation between everything I put into it and what I sold it for. That was about a $20k difference and I raced that car about 25 weekends.

 

Did you do everything 100% yourself or arrive & drive support?

I don't blame club racers that spend $3-5k a weekend, but it isn't required if you do all the work yourself and work the contingencies.

 

FA and SR are probably the two most expensive SCCA classes out of 30+. It falls off steeply down to Production and GT cars where you can tinker and spend what you want for little advantages or Showroom or Touring where there isn't much tinkering or experimenting, but buying new cars every few years to get the latest flavor makes it expensive.

I find many racers spend a lot of money, but not because they have to. They spend a bunch of money because they can and there are plenty of racing companies to accept the money. $500k Renegades, 2-3 person crew (or arrive & drive), farming out complete build of your car, buying 3-4 sets of everything for comparison tests or spares, and rebuilding engine to keep at a 99% level.

A bunch of dumb money gets thrown at racing, 75% of your results aren't because of your wallet, but certainly to reach the top of Runoffs you need both the wallet AND talent. I was happy to win Division Championships and just make a couple Runoffs Top 10's as a $1,000 a weekend racer. Disappointing not to be even better, but somewhat satisfying to consistently beat big budget racers. 2006 Runoffs my old Toyota Tundra and open trailer was paddocked between a Renegade and 18-wheeler of fellow Touring competitors.

I won't put down people that have the money to have big amateur budgets, but then don't put me down for doing well on a fraction of the budget. My numbers are spot on for weekend to weekend costs, but for the life of a race car adding up every little penny I guess the weekend averages would be $750 for Spec. RX7, $2,000 for RX8 (mainly depreciaiton from new car), and $2,500 for 355 C (mainly for engine rebuilds).

 

A 430 C is a great car for SCCA T1, there aren't any other classes in SCCA good for the other Ferraris. NASA has the best thing going for ALL Ferraris whether 348 C to 458 C or GT/C cars.

I will still do a few weekends a year, but car racing is falling down my list. I will just do more Friday member days so I can enjoy drive out to track in 328, 355 C already at track ready to go, and then be home for the girls by 4pm. Also not gone all weekend.

Yesterday for first time I did a cross country air race. That was pretty darn fun, I'll post a YouTube video in next couple days.

 

you don't know me then. rotor life has a lot to do with which pads you use. I use race pads, but they are very easy on the rotors. I actually didn't change the rotors I bought the car with in 2003 until after 5 years and about 15 weekends! I still have those same rotors as spares and they only have a few minor hair cracks. now the spec RX7 I would go through 1-2 rotors a weekend because of cracks, the stock rotors couldn't handle the race pads and nothing we could do about it because both were spec parts. RX7 rotors were only $80 each though.

I think this mindset shown here is the biggest thing hurting club racing. There is a myth that you can't club race for under $1,000 a weekend. You guys are doing the sport a huge disservice. You guys are spending more money, but I also guess you guys didn't start in Spec RX7 or Spec Miata where most everyone is a budget racer.

 

yes, but some on here didn't believe you could even get 15 weekends on a set of rotors.

 

me! I already explained that, a slick or even a R6 is $400 a tire, but I was winning 2-4 a weekend. I only used 2 rears a weekend and 2 fronts every 2-3 weekends.

Spec RX7, SM, IT, and many of the regional classes you can race on $1,000 a weekend. Tires for many of those cars are only $150-250 each and their contingencies just as good or better.

The top Spec Miata guys do spend $50k or more for car and several thousand a weekend, but again that's a choice, I've seen $1,000 a weekend budget SM drivers at the front regionally.

On the 355 Challenge they seem to last forever, Spec. RX7 1-2 new rotors a weekend because of major cracks, and RX8 new rotors every 3-4 weekends because of hairline cracks. For some reason the 355 Challenge rotors just last a long time, again, mostly because of the pads I use.

Nothing I liked better in club racing than beating dumb money on the race track. Also frustrating to get beat by dumb money, the Mothers Polish brothers would usually beat me in their RX8, this was a touring class and for some reason their cars sat 2 inches lower and had more negative camber. That was money for "parts" and development I didn't do and they got away with it.

 

understand, but when the thread title is "Estimated cost for season of Ferari Challenge" and you only had that post with no other qualification I just wanted to do the qualifying.