well back in those days i ran a motor accessory shop; had i "needed" to be there on the saturday, it would have entirely precluded my involvement; years later. when my son did honda then comer cadet, f yamaha and jtkm, our chosen circuit was shenington and i could NOT be there on the saturday; whatever the reality, his PERCEPTION was that he was on the back foot from the off, no matter how hard i tried to persuade him that 95% of them were simply going round in circles "adjusting themselves out of the race" and would in fact be no quicker, even slower, come sunday.... (thanks for the quote Paul molloy; multiple British 125cc geabox champiom)
now when i took up clubbie ff1600 in 1989, we did nil saturdaytesting; niet;nothing. it simply wasnt the culture, nor available. you turn up on the sunday, drop it on the track, do your best and thats pretty much still the case now, although some series do "double headers" however this SAVES money as its two races on one weekend; by 93 i'd managed 3rd in my series with some wins and was perfectly to have done that on a small budget and rememeber testing only 3, maybe four times.
for 2016, my friend and i are doing MSV's trackday team trophy in a celica bought completely prepared (cage, harness, omp seat, plumbed in extiguisher etc etc) for �631 on ebay. entry fees are �350 per round (brands, snett,oulton, cadwell) divided by two drivers for which we ger 1/2 hour qualifying and an hours race. should we need to test, bedford autodrome is �99 all day; and i BET that works out cheaper than the nett cost of hammering a MAX/X30 etc etc all day round shenington............additionally the car will not depreciate like a stone as kart equipment does.compared to this, as a clubbie activity, karting doesnt look good value.
the secret to MSV's series success is that its accessible, friendly. not an awning to be seen.and people are careful, not bumping into eachother.most have got to drive the thing home!!!!!!!!
with karting constantly flogged as a step on the ladder to F1, the whole things got overheated and out of hand; evryone's advertising "awning space"; who needs that to win a heat? time was it was a sport in its own right. now droves of teenagers leave it, the family finances ruined and dreams broken on the rocks when the realisation sets in there are only a tiny tiny number of buttons and hamiltons out there.
BUT; theres Is a way back and I am heartened that only this evening to have learnt about the non MSA stuff going on at Fulbeck on discarded 100's, 125 gearbox equipment available for small change on ebay; good on'em!
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