I've had the idea of going racing at Castle Combe in my head ever since i started spectating there but it's only recently become anything more than a pipedream (admittedly though not actually that much more!)

The restrictions on entry to the championship are being relaxed heavily for 2013 so as long as the car was in production in or after 2000 it can be entered.

There will be 4 classes as follows by engine size:

Class A - 2501cc to 3400cc

Class B - 1801cc to 2500cc

Class C - 1501cc to 1800cc

Class D - up to 1500cc

with a forced induction co-efficent of 1.7 (so a turbo'd cars engine size gets times by 1.7)

No grey imports and engines fitted must have been available in a road car (so no crazy conversions)

I was toying with the idea of stripping and hybrid-ising/big turboing the Fabia; but 1.9 x 1.7 = 3.23 litre!!

Meaning the derv burning 300bhp max Fabia is going to have compete with the 2 litre turbo TTs and Leon Cupra Rs which are pushing 500+bhp!

A hiding to if ever there was one, so a rethink was required.

So far i've got as far as class B in either a Honda Civic Type-R or Clio 172/182 both of which seem to be around the price i'd (hopefully) get selling my Fabia.

Or potentially dropping down and finding something to compete in class D.

In my mind i'm thinking an easrly Ford Ka, or Toyota Yaris....

What do my fellow Briskodians think?

Please bear in mind that money IS a issue and everything will be done on a shoestring budget and the aim woudl be to keep the car road legal and use it for my daily commute.

Am i missing an obvious 1500cc rocket ships donor car?

Also remember that your response/ideas are exactly that and i hereby waive the right to actually do anything with them and may just end up continuing to be a frustarted spectator!

1.4 Lupo Sport? 100bhp, weigh hardly anything, cheap as chips!

Are you intending driving it to and from the circuit and will you have a support vehicle to carry wheels/tyres?

Or will you tow a trailer?

george

hehe im sure theres lots of parts for the yaris, thus make it competitive on price. Bought a 4-1 ceramic plated header for £50 once upon a time think you can get about 140-150 with NA. Not sure how quick they are in terms of race spec. Theres also the Suzuki iggy..

you could check out last years cars to give you an idea?

Integra Type-R would get you just in class C. I can't think of anything in that class that would even touch it.

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/honda/integra/honda-integra-type-r-dc2-uk-a-c--alarm/846771

Edited 18 October, 201213 yr by m0gsi

Integra Type-R would get you just in class C. I can't think of anything in that class that would even touch it.

http://classifieds.p...c--alarm/846771

Never knew the B18 engines were post 2000 and ukdm?

Never knew the B18 engines were post 2000 and ukdm?

That is a ukdm DC2 and that was registered in 2000. Production halted in 2000 iirc.

Wasn't your beezer any good for this then?

Ross might sell it you back :p

Ohhh, nice, sorry i didnt see link That would be an awesome machine.

Out of the box a little, what about elise for class C? how will that fair with the DC2?

_{Where the integra's not Officialy Grey imports Brought in by dealers not honda uk. They are fast though. Was there not a ford Ka that had a 1.6 engine and about 115Bhp.}

I would have thought the people racing in each class would have worked out over the years which cars where the best to use. Why not research each class and see what is most popular then see which one is cheapest to buy and maintain?

I would suspect the more powerful classes are more competitive therefore requires bigger budget. Sounds fun though. I think i would really enjoy this type of motor sport but im a pretty crap mechanic so unless you are mechanically minded it may get expensive. Or just dont crash.

wow a lot to answer

1.4 Lupo Sport? 100bhp, weigh hardly anything, cheap as chips!

yep considered but already one of these tearing up the race meets as detailed over here

Are you intending driving it to and from the circuit and will you have a support vehicle to carry wheels/tyres?

Or will you tow a trailer?

yes/maybe/no

car would remain road leagl and hopfeully be it's own support vehicle

I'm naively hoping a set of wheels with race tyres on will be all the support i need!

hehe im sure theres lots of parts for the yaris, thus make it competitive on price. Bought a 4-1 ceramic plated header for £50 once upon a time think you can get about 140-150 with NA. Not sure how quick they are in terms of race spec. Theres also the Suzuki iggy..

you could check out last years cars to give you an idea?

The regs have just changed and the class limitations rejigged so what was good this year won't necessarily compete next year.

That's why i thought Yaris.

Ignis has been done before but is a good shout.

Integra Type-R would get you just in class C. I can't think of anything in that class that would even touch it.

yeah couple of teg's have competed in past couple of years. didn;t think they'd sneak the 2000 year limit but maybe they would...

that said the previous one ran in (the now dropped) class D which essentially road spec and got albsolutely destroyed by almost everything.

Wasn't your beezer any good for this then?

Ross might sell it you back :p

lol unfortunately it was the final of the mk2's on a 99 plate and the mk3 came along in 2000 (being a 1.8T)

would also struggle in class being 2 litre but only having 115bhp

Out of the box a little, what about elise for class C? how will that fair with the DC2?

Championship is a "Saloon Car Championship" so no lotus.

_{Was there not a ford Ka that had a 1.6 engine and about 115Bhp.}

Hmm that's interesting

I would have thought the people racing in each class would have worked out over the years which cars where the best to use. Why not research each class and see what is most popular then see which one is cheapest to buy and maintain?

I would suspect the more powerful classes are more competitive therefore requires bigger budget. Sounds fun though. I think i would really enjoy this type of motor sport but im a pretty crap mechanic so unless you are mechanically minded it may get expensive. Or just dont crash.

See above answer to "check out last years competition"

the championship winner comes from class wins not overall wins so it's consistency against your own class that counts.

the last 2 years it's been won by a 106 Gti (albeit 2 differnt cars and 2 different drivers)

I like the old yaris 1.5 t sports, nippy, handle well and bulletproof

What about a starlet glanza...or are they all imports

Pulser gtir? Lightweight with bags of power from the sr20 motor

Does the RX8 not fit into the under 1.5 class?

Class C would also be good (depending on what other cars are like in the class) with a MK1 MX5 1.8

What about a starlet glanza...or are they all imports

Pulser gtir? Lightweight with bags of power from the sr20 motor

UK starlets stopped being made in 1999

All Pulsar's were grey imports

Does the RX8 not fit into the under 1.5 class?

Class C would also be good (depending on what other cars are like in the class) with a MK1 MX5 1.8

Castle Combe Saloon Saloon Saloon Car Championship

neither is a saloon

See here for suggested car list

Castle Combe Saloon Car Championship

ELIGIBLE VEHICLES FOR YEAR 2013

MAKE

MODELS

Alfa Romeo

145, 147, 156, 159, 166, GT, Brera, Mito, Giulletta

Audi

A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, TT Coupe

BMW

1, 3 (excluding all M3 models), and 5 Series, Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S

Chevrolet

Kalos, Lacetti, Aveo, Cruize, Spark, Matiz, Epica

Chrysler

Neon, Sebring

Citroen

Saxo, Xsara, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, Xantia

Daewoo

Kalos, Lanos, Lacetti

Daihatsu

Charade, Sirion

Fiat

500, Panda, Brava, Bravo, Grand Punto, Punto, Stilo, Coupe, Sedici, Idea, Croma

Ford

Cougar, Fiesta, Focus, Ka, Mondeo, Puma

Honda

Accord, Civic, Jazz

Hyundai

Getz, Accent, i10, i30, Coupe

Kia

Rio, Cerato, C’eed, Picanto

Lexus

IS, GS

Mazda

2, 3, 6, Demino, 323, 626

MG

ZR, ZS, ZT

Mitsubishi

Carisma, Colt, Lancer,

Nissan

Almera, Micra, Primera, Pixo, Maxima, 200SX

Peugeot

1007,106,107, 206, 207, 208, 306, 307, 308, 3008, 406, 407,

Proton

Satria GTi, Persona, Gen 2

Renault

Clio, Laguna, Megane, Twingo

Rover

Mini, 25, 45, 75, City Rover

Saab

9-3, 9-5

Seat

Cordoba, Ibiza, Toledo, Leon, Altea, Arosa

Skoda

Fabia, Octavia, Citygo

Suzuki

Swift, Ignis, Liana, Baleno, Alto, Splash

Toyota

Corolla, Celica Coupe, Avensis, Yaris, Auris, Aygo, iQ, Prius, GT86

Vauxhall

Astra, Corsa, Omega, Vectra, Insignia

VW

Fox, Lupo, Golf, Polo ’94 on, Bora, Jetta, Scirocco, Beetle, Passat , Up

Volvo

S40, S60, V40, V50, C30

Notes;

1. The production version must have been fitted with rear seats
   
2. Four Wheel Drive prohibited
   
3. No Grey Imports
   
4. Eligible Vehicles must be listed as in production on 1^st January 2000 on http://www.parkers.c...ars/find-a-car/ or such other source CCRC shall nominate
   
5. Applications for vehicles to be added to this may be made in writing to CCRC.
   

I used to handle the entries for this but we are talking 6 years ago now and back then they had a lot of 90's cars in it like EK/EJ civics, Escort Cossies and various Vauxhall saloons. We used to have quite a few Alfa's from our Alfa championship that used to compete in CCSC too.

I would go for an N/A car as if the turbo/supercharger goes pop on a F/I car that kisses goodbye to your season unless you have the money for a spare.

Cheap is good as well as you will be spending probably getting on for £200 entry fee for each race and if I remember rightly there's about 6 or 7 races per season. You will definately need a lot of tyres, potentially a new set every race as you have qualifying etc too. Do you have your MSA Race Nat B licence already or have you got to get that?

If you're wanting to use the car as a daily driver I'd just get something really really cheap and forget about being competitive, remember you've can't drive to work if you've stacked the car into the armco at the weekend!

Suzuki Swift Sport may be an option. Can be had fairly cheaply for an early one, light and about 130bhp. Handle well out of the box too just get smaller, lighter alloys to give you more tyre choice and improve handling even more.

I have read your OP & i know where your interest is, But.

For a starter or a low budget, have you looked at going Sprinting or doing Hillclimbs,

or the cheapest starter of all, Autotests ?

eg

http://sevenoaksmoto...ines/speed.html

http://www.msa-autotest.org.uk

george

Cheap is good as well as you will be spending probably getting on for £200 entry fee for each race and if I remember rightly there's about 6 or 7 races per season. You will definately need a lot of tyres, potentially a new set every race as you have qualifying etc too. Do you have your MSA Race Nat B licence already or have you got to get that?

If you're wanting to use the car as a daily driver I'd just get something really really cheap and forget about being competitive, remember you've can't drive to work if you've stacked the car into the armco at the weekend!

yep these are all things that have been in my mind since the very beginning and the reason that "the plan" has never got past the idea stage as there simply isn't enough money around.

I just can't help sticking "race car" or "track car" into eBay and seeing what pops up!

Suzuki Swift Sport may be an option

yep i drive past one for sale twice a day on the way to and from work and it has been considered long and hard (even as just a replacement for my Fabia not a race car!)

I have read your OP & i know where your interest is, But.

For a starter or a low budget, have you looked at going Sprinting or doing Hillclimbs,

or the cheapest starter of all, Autotests ?

eg

http://sevenoaksmoto...ines/speed.html

http://www.msa-autotest.org.uk

If i'm 100% honest i'm kinda of satisfied with trackdays.

As Mr eybrow says its 200 quids it to enter a race weekend and you get what 20 minutes practice, 20 minutes qualifying, 20 minutes race?

For that kind of figure you an do an entire open pit lane track day and drive aaaaalllll day!

These are just thoughts that have been in my head i'm just venting them on here with no more intention to do anything about them than before!

a few options that crossed my mind on the way home

Toyota Celica VVTI T-Sport 190?

Ford Focus ST170?

Ford Puma?

any of the new VAG twincharged cars would slot nicely into class B (but muchos dinero)

I'm not sure if it's just me.

But having a look and seeing what Dave Rose has done to his Lupo I get the feeling it's a cheap championship that could easily get more expensive as you tweak and modify the car.

With the end result of it not being that cheap, unless you are happy to just take part.

With regards to a full track day, you'll only do three or four 15- 20 minutes sessions away.

You can't drive round all day, the car needs a rest between sessions, so the three 20 minutes sessions for £200 and the chance to race a bit is probably good value.

It depends on how deep your pockets are as metioned aboce the entry fees and fuel and tyre cost will be quite a bit.

I would start with a fairly quick car and what better than the legends of touring cars the Volvo T5.

You could even go the estate route if you wanted to as V70 T5s are very cheap and with a 5 cylinder 240 bhp engine to start with.

you can pick a decent one up for a grand.

Honda accord type R? Not sure If they were imports or uk tho?

My bro's got one and my god it shifts!

With regards to a full track day, you'll only do three or four 15- 20 minutes sessions away.

You can't drive round all day, the car needs a rest between sessions, so the three 20 minutes sessions for £200 and the chance to race a bit is probably good value.

All the unit 18 track days iv been to (as a spectator) have been 8/9am start hour for lunch and 4/5pm finish. Open pit, drive all you want, all have been far less than £200 too. I personally would be more inclined to get a track car/toy and do these kinda things for a while first.