What is an acceptable budget for a season/year of road race?

[roogazza]

Of course there is a difference between racing and winning. You can race on a smaller budget but if you want to win you have to out spend the other guy and there is always someone with more money than you!

Oh I don't know about that ? (but sure, if you are talking proper racing !)
Half the fun is mixing it with others that have spent a fortune.
I'd be pretty pissed if some old fart of sixty on a great lump of a bike went around the outside of me.
Wharfy and I just dabble in clubmans , doesn't worry me in the least what they spend or ride. Gaz.

[wharfy]

Oh I don't know about that ? (but sure, if you are talking proper racing !)
Half the fun is mixing it with others that have spent a fortune.
I'd be pretty pissed if some old fart of sixty on a great lump of a bike went around the outside of me.
Wharfy and I just dabble in clubmans , doesn't worry me in the least what they spend or ride. Gaz.

You did it to me ya bastard

It is actually quite cool to see someone on a half decent bike come into clubmans. You may finish ahead of them a couple of times and watch as they get their confidence, dice with you, beat you and then move into the proper race classes.

Of course some come in and kick your arse from day one, but it is still fun

[Kiwi Graham:Me]

Its a hard question to answer, if you go cheque book racing and you want to be competitive and the best kit it'll cost a fortune! If you want to get out there for the thrill of racing...........not a lot.
Ways to make it cheaper......product sponsorship, best one would be a tyre wholesaler/manufacturer. If you have a profile send out heaps of portfolios dude or direct an agent, they tend to skim the biggest potion of the money but at least its cold hard cash.........dont forget your sponsors are going to want something in return. Good luck.

[slowpoke]

Maybe it's something that needs experience to answer but the allocation of whatever funds you have is a big call.

I think you reach a point where the law of diminishing returns applies. With the available talent you have you may spend $20k to do a 1m9s lap around Manfeild, but to go 1 sec faster may cost you another $10k, to go another 1 sec faster again may be another $20k and so on.

That's bad enough, but the really difficult part is assessing the area that most needs adressing: rider training, suspension development (cartridges rather than emulators etc) or horsepower. To throw fuel on the fire, if you spend money on any one of the above the then chances are you will need to improve the rest of the package to maximise the improvements.

It's worth noting the times Mr Shirriffs did/does on a machine you could put together in just a few hours. Which highlights that money is not the be all and end all if you are good enough.

[GaZBur]

...I think you reach a point where the law of diminishing returns applies...

That appears so true. You got to ask yourself do you race to win, for your ego, or coz you like speed and racing? I just love competing and am spending probably around $2,000 a year all up racing at least twice a month. Yes it is a heavy underpowered bike compared to those who I compete against but it is even more satisfying to finish in front of a proper race bike worth twice the price on the bike I still commute to work on. I could instantly gain 5 or more places in most events by simply by spending another $7,000 on a better bike but why bother when I am not going to be in first place anyway.
If you are reading this and scared shitless by the $$$$$$ mentioned here - get a Motard, Streetstock, PostClassic or Bucket and have a go. How many riders do you see on super trick bikes that can't do them justice anyway.
Oh and one more thing, most peoples budgets are restricted because like me, three kids, school fees, orthadontists, morgage etc etc we are too broke anyway!

[sidecar bob]

Hmmm... I've got an ex MOT R80 in the shed, I might have to investigate an extra wheel ...

Rip the farings off, put a set of r90 tappett covors on it so it looks old, (thats about all BMW changed anyway) & come classic racing.
I suggest you will have more fun & laughs per dollar than any other kind of bike racing.
I really cant fully describe the fun i had at Manfield this weekend climbing all over the back of a '70s Triumph Bonneville powered sidecar dicing with the beautiful Mickelson AJS big wheeler.
The fun factor is no less than doing it at much higher speeds on the Hayabusa powered outfit i more regularly swing on, And if i hadnt experienced it myself i would have never believed it.
Although we won the Nats last year, that is only a bonus, we race for fun & stress relief & our budget reflects that.