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New kid here, want to get into rallying in the future

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#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
UPDATE: This is a very old post, do not respond directly to this original poster. Instead, please share general tips for someone interested in getting started as a rally driver. Thanks! - Jim

----------------------------------------------------

Tell me if this is the wrong forum, but it seemed right from the other topics.

Hey everyone, I want to get into rally racing in a few years and I want to prepare for it. General consensus says this site is a great place to start. I'm only 15 but I have a huge passion for cars, and I have heaps of ambition and dedication. Huge rally fan if you can't guess, I watch the WRC religiously. I am already stashing money for a trip to the Team O'Neil rally school and a rally car. I'm pretty educated as far as cars and general stuff is concerned, but I want to know the books I gotta read, the magazines I should subscribe to, and the websites I should visit to learn more and prepare myself. I bet you guys have heard this before, but this is like an obsession, and I don't want to end up like so many guys slaving over an office desk waiting for an inadequate paycheck.

So tell me then, where do I want to start?
 
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#2 ·
Desmond,

1. Start developing a long term outlook on Rallying. It isn't like riding quad's or motorcycles on a Sunday afternoon. It takes far greater committment than that. Focus your attention on Rallying for many years.

2. "GO" to the Rallies nearest you. There is no substitute for the real thing. TV and magazines don't come close. It will probably require weekend trips. This web-site (specialstage) and your SCCA Region web-site will publish the list of events and people to contact.

3. Contact the Rally Event Organizers before you go. They always need help and there is no better way to learn how a rally is run than being involved. Take an adult with you and get them involved as well. Ask a thousand questions when your there.

4. Make friends with Rally people near your home. Visit them often. Long term rally friendships are the usual result.

5. Rally Cars are purpose-built. Not like other race cars. You'll need to relearn everything you know, with a rally spin on things.

6. Get your Red-Cross first aid certificate.

7. Get a ham radio license.

8. Don't ever forget WHY you first became interested in rallying. As time goes on, those reasons will help you make choices and set goals.

9. Never give up your dreams. There truly is nothing else like Rallying. Especially on the forest and desert stages.

Good luck,

Rich Smith
 
#3 ·
>Desmond,
>
>1. Start developing a long term outlook on Rallying. It
>isn't like riding quad's or motorcycles on a Sunday
>afternoon. It takes far greater committment than that. Focus
>your attention on Rallying for many years.
>
>2. "GO" to the Rallies nearest you. There is no substitute
>for the real thing. TV and magazines don't come close. It
>will probably require weekend trips. This web-site
>(specialstage) and your SCCA Region web-site will publish
>the list of events and people to contact.
>
>3. Contact the Rally Event Organizers before you go. They
>always need help and there is no better way to learn how a
>rally is run than being involved. Take an adult with you and
>get them involved as well. Ask a thousand questions when
>your there.
>
>4. Make friends with Rally people near your home. Visit them
>often. Long term rally friendships are the usual result.
>
>5. Rally Cars are purpose-built. Not like other race cars.
>You'll need to relearn everything you know, with a rally
>spin on things.
>
>6. Get your Red-Cross first aid certificate.
>
>7. Get a ham radio license.
>
>8. Don't ever forget WHY you first became interested in
>rallying. As time goes on, those reasons will help you make
>choices and set goals.
>
>9. Never give up your dreams. There truly is nothing else
>like Rallying. Especially on the forest and desert stages.
>
>Good luck,
>
>Rich Smith

Thanks for the info! :)

Believe it or not I am actually already certified in CPR and First Aid, I just have to remember to re-take the tests when it's time.

I am planning to attend a few hill climbs and rallies over the summer, do something productive with my time off of school.

The rest I have to work on, but trust me, I will!
 
#4 ·
Wanna be a professional rally car driver? You will need four things to succeed: Talent, committment, funding and luck. Let's assume you have the first two, and we can never prediict luck, so take a look at funding, usually the most elusive element. As John V. would say, "Choose your parents carefully." And no he is not being sarcastic, and yes he's probably right. You will need lots of money to get your career of the ground. You'll need to buy cars, fix them when you smash them, go to events, etc.. and none of it is cheap when winning is your goal (and if you wanna be a pro, you have to WIN). Ideally that money would come from sponsors, but don't hold your breath. Hopefully you have rich relatives, and if you do, start sucking up to them now. Or if you are really, really serious, you could always borrow the cash. My sister spent $150,000 becoming a doctor, doesn't seem to bother her.

So you have your money, what do you do with it? First off, since you are still 15, go buy a motocross bike and ride the hell out of it. Snowmobiles might help too. When you get your license, go pick up a Group 2 VW GTI. Bomb around on some back roads for a while, then go see Tim O'neil. The first season run the GTI in your divisional championship and win it. Yes, I said win it. If you can't win it, then guess what, you don't have the talent. See where I'm going here?

Next year sell the GTI and pick up a Subaru 2.5RS PGT car. Run the entire SCCA ProRally series with this car, and win the PGT National Championship. Learn notes here as well.

Next year import a STI drivetrain for the 2.5RS and make it either a GrN or open car. Run the entire championship. You probably don't have to win this one, but you should come damn close.

Now you are probably 19. Don't go to college, that's a distraction. Sell your cars and everything else you own and move to Europe. Compete in a prominent one make series, one in which the payoff is a funded ride for the next season. The Puegot 206 cup comes to mind. Win this series. If you don't win it the first season, but come close, you may opt to run a second season. Once you win that, you will get a funded ride for the next higher up series (I think super 1600), win that and you get another ride, etc.... At any point from now on if you lose, you are out, unless of course you have the $$$ to buy yourself back in. If you aren't in a WRC car at some form (testing, privateer, etc..) by age 23, you probably never will be.

Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No, guys have done it before. Richard Burns worked his way through a one make series towards stardom. It's important to have the note experience and turbo 4wd experience as well, but not at the expense of the fundamentals. Time is on your side, the rest of old fogeys (I'm an ancient 28) are too late. If you think you've got it, go for it!


Dennis Martin
demartin@gbonline.com
920-432-4845
 
#5 ·
>Now you are probably 19. Don't go to college, that's a
>distraction.

Unless some-one's dropping $200,000 in your lap, study hard, go to college so you can make your own money, or you may never rally at all.

There's plenty of guys with enough talent out there, but very few with the funding.

No-ones going to sponsor you just because you're good.

It's better to get started later with your own money than under funded at 18.

If you spend $150,000 on med school, chances are pretty good that you can become a doctor (..and I've rallied against some pretty fast Doctors), If you spend $150,000 on being a professional rally driver, chances are still pretty bad that you will ever make a living as a rally driver.


A funded driver with limited talent will go farther than a great driver with no money. (no examples please)
 
#6 ·
>
>It's better to get started later with your own money than
>under funded at 18.
>
>If you spend $150,000 on med school, chances are pretty good
>that you can become a doctor (..and I've rallied against
>some pretty fast Doctors), If you spend $150,000 on being a
>professional rally driver, chances are still pretty bad that
>you will ever make a living as a rally driver.
>
>
>A funded driver with limited talent will go farther than a
>great driver with no money. (no examples please)

If you just want to rally and have fun, than I completely agree with you Mike. However, if your goal is to become WRC driver or like, than you need to start young. By the time you go to school, earn enough money, learn to drive, and get some experience under your belt, you'll be too old. Why should a team invest in a 28-30 year old when they can invest in a 23 year old with the same talent/experience? Granted, most young people don't have the funding to make it happen, but those who do have the funding are the ones that get there. How bad do you want it? How much will you sacrifice to get it? Do I think borrowing $150k to roll the dice on a race car driving career is a good idea? Hell no! But if you're good enough, and you want it bad enough, and you don't have access to free money, well then there is a way.

Mike is certainly right. Better off getting an education, getting a job, and rallying for fun on your own buck. That's what I did, and I'd say I have more fun than 99% of the rest of the world. Hey, can't beat that.

Oh, there is another way I suppose. Move to Finland, change your first name to Juha, and add a "nen" to your last name. :)

Dennis Martin
demartin@gbonline.com
920-432-4845
 
#7 ·
Well, see, what I'm gonna do is everything you said up until I graduate high school. If I'm winning all these rallies and actually think I have a large shot at making the big time, I'll drop college and go to Europe. If I don't think I have a sot I'll stay in college and get a good job so I can rally for fun. Either way though, I'm going to go to the O'Neil school within the next few years, and start rallying.
 
#8 ·
I would recommend going out and getting involved with a team based nearby you. That way you kinda get involved in what rallying is really all about (very few teams have dedicated 15 man service crews, with the parts on hand to basically rebuild the cars in 22 min) in the US.
Get your hands dirty, learn about different cars, get to know local drivers, and once your old enough see of they'll let you drive their cars at local rally crosses. That way you'll know what type of car you want to buy when the funds allow it. Most of us are out here to have a good time, and I don't think there's anyone making money rallying in the US.
I started out helping a friend of mine work on his car, and crewing on a couple of others; now I own a car and hopefully someday (God willing next Feb) will have all the bits I need to get it out on a stage.

Greg,
 
#9 ·
God damn, I had a really long post and it all got deleted, bah!

So this one will be shorter and suckier...

Uhhh...take these theories for becoming a professional rally driver relatively lightly. Everyone here has a different opinion on it and has good points to defend it, but none of the people that are going to tell you how to do it have done it themselves. Just take it for what it is and come up with something you think will work yourself with that advice in mind.

Anyway, I feel I can talk being young myself (17 years old). First thing, good job on becoming involved in the online rally community. I think about half the guys competing are involved in this thing somehow. I joined Rally-L when I was 11, and it was probably the best thing I've done for my rally career. Knowing everyone *really* does help. I've gotten the opportunity to test out a rally car when I was 14, drive a Gr. 2 competitvely when I was 15, and get hooked up for a co-drive for a rally just 3 weeks after my 16th birthday. If I wasn't on this thing I would have never hooked up with Chris to run the ProRally Champ.

Next, make sure you get to events. Go to Ojibwe, that's close to you and soon. If you're parents won't take you, hitch a ride with a rally team. That's what I did when I was 15...I still do it now, haha. Actually, I hitched a ride from PA to Ojibwe when I was 15 to go see it. I think I spent a whole $50 (I'm quite frugal and rallies have tons of free food if you look for it) for the 6 days it took to travel to, attend, and come back from the rally.

When you're there, work...You'll get more free food AND you'll learn the ins and outs of the sport. You'll learn how the rally is run, how the time-cards work, etc. It helps to have the perspective of a worker if you want to compete.

When you're 16, you can begin co-driving. You don't need a license to co-drive! Co-drivers probably have the greatest understanding of the sport and the rally aside from the organizers themselves. You'll be dealing with all the workers, becoming fluent with notes, in the car through all the stages and transits, watching at what pace a stage is driven, becoming calm in the car, and maybe even dictating the pace to finish ahead of the competition with the least risk. (I know I do with my current ride)

On funding...if you have no parental support, you can still buy a rally car. You can find a VW Golf GTi rally car with some spares in decent condition for about $5k if you're patient. The problem is the other stuff. As a high school student, unless you can work 40 hours a week during the school year and not just the summer, you will simply not be able to afford a van, trailer, parts (more than you think breaks after rallies), entry fees (which are sky high here in the NEDiv), gas for the van, hotels, etc. etc. Plus, it's a little ridiculous to think a 16 year old who's new to the road can tow a car 500-600 miles to do an event. Parents usually aren't too thrilled with that either...

Personally, I'll just be renting a car for an event or two to start getting a more serious feel for the driving aspect of rally. I spend a lot of money doing the ProRally series, so I can't afford to do too much, but it'll be a good measuring stick to see exactly where my skill level is at this point...

Oh, RallyX is good to get comfortable with the driving. I know it's debatable, but here where I live, the RallyXs are almost like RallySprints, so it is good practice...

Also, there is sponsorship available...but it pays more to be a good salesperson/businessman than the best driver. Talk to Chris Rhodes (Texrex). He only did a ClubRally season last year in his 2.5RS and now we have a sponsorship for the ProRally season that equals a few thousand per race. It's not because he proved he's the best driver in the world or anything, it's because he put together an excellent package and presentation, knew who he should talk to, and told them what their sponsorship of him could do for them...So yes, it is possible.

IM me @ RallyBrat sometime so we can talk. I've been involved in this rallying thing for the past 11 years, and I am your age...

Thanks,
Alex
 
#10 ·
Too many people in US rally have it wrong about funding. The way to be successful in any form of racing is to spend someone else's money.

There is money out there for anyone willing to hit the streets and knock on lots of doors. The number one rule is to present a professional image right up front. Remember that a sponsor isn't interested in you winning a rally 500 miles away, he wants to put his business' name in front of as many people as possible, and make it LOOK like he's sponsoring a champion. That means showing the car at several local venues every year (county fair, car shows, display the car on a pile of rocks in front of his business like a Jeep, gimmicky stuff like that). It means a consistent brand image -- pick a color and a logo and make EVERYTHING match, just like the factory teams. (hint: Pick the color you want, THEN buy racing suits for the team. And get the suits embroidered and sew lots of patches on.) It also means running a "sexy" car that people will want to stop and look at. Car-friendly places are the best to start with, look for the businesses that are sponsoring your local circle track stock cars. Put together a proposal package -- professional, remember! -- with real numbers, budget, a proposed schedule of showing the car and a schedule of rally events, put your team letterhead on everything, etc., etc., etc. If you don't have a lot of driving experience, do some co-driving while you're working on a sponsorship package, anything on your "resume" will help. Convince him that his advertising dollars are well spent. Do all his work for him so he just has to sign on the dotted line!

Here's something also that a most other rallyist don't do: get more exposure (and sponsor interest) by running some local non-rally events in the car. Do some drag racing at the Friday night shoot-outs. Check and see if there's a class for you to do some local road racing (even if it's just roundy-round stuff.) If there's nothing for you, then create your own event! Contact the organizer of a tractor pull or monster truck show or even a county fair and arrange an exhibition RallyCross. Be creative, don't just invite rally guys, also create classes for Sprint cars, stock cars, Monster trucks ;) and contact the local champions PERSONALLY to invite them. Remember, you've got to prove to a sponsor that you'll get the car in front of lots of potential customers. And make sure you've always got your booth set up, handing out fan cards, posters, signing autographs, selling team merchandise (http://www.cafepress.com), etc., along with business cards and flyer ads for your sponsor.

Hire a photography student from a local college to take publicity shots, they'll work cheap and the shots will be much better than asking your 17-year-old "crew chief" to do it. Sponsor a graphic design project to design your "image" (logo, letterhead, etc.) and market it to students at local colleges, pay cash awards and make sure you include second and third place in the payoff to make it legit and promote more participation.

One sponsor will probably be enough, as then you will be able to give them more space on the car for ads, more time to show the car, etc. But leave a spot on the car for one-event sponsorships, where they might pay event costs in exchange for you having their ad on the car for at least one or two car showings plus the rally itself. Also, don't forget contingency awards from car part manufacturers.

I say you don't even need a car yet. Have a detailed plan and budget, including the car you plan on racing, the prep shop that will be building the car (here's a hint, if you and your buddy are building your own car, you just hired "Odd Couple Rally Prep" :) ), etc. Explain why the car will be competitive in its class. If you end up buying a car instead (my recommendation, as you get more for your money), give it to a reputable shop for a once-over -- guess what, it's just been "prepared" by that shop.

For your first season, as Dennis suggested, run a regional championship and run EVERY event, plus at least 2 out-of-division events, keep it on the road, and you'll probably win the championship. Invest in a 3-day school at Team O'Neil to make it more likely. Read the rule book so you understand the points system, don't worry about winning individual rallies. I suggest running Prod or Prod GT instead of G2, as G2 is more competitive and you have to know where to spend your money on the car to make it fast. You can put something like "2005 SCCA Central Division Production Championship" on the side of your truck and on all publicity materials (after all, it doesn't say you WON the championship.) You could even go so far as to consider any podium class finish (2nd or 3rd) as technically being "champions" (though some will take issue with me on this point.) Every year, set your sights higher, by your third or even second year you should be looking to win a national championship in some class (and you'll need a sponsor that can front some national bucks, too!) Don't stop there, if you're serious, there's no reason you shouldn't be running international events at that point. In conjunction with bid to defend your national championship, run a European one-make series. That's a little tougher, you might have to either find a European sponsor or front the money yourself -- hey, you've proven you've got what it takes, consider it an investment in the future. The most important thing is to RUN EVERY EVENT YOU CAN GET YOUR HANDS ON. By this time in your rally career, you should be running a rally at least every other week. And my advice ends here, by this time, you won't need any advice from SpecialStage...

Not to say that you can rally for free, though I think it's quite possible...But let's say you have $5,000 to spend on a car. Do you want to rally a $5,000 car, or raise $30,000 in sponsorship and drive a $25,000 car with a $10,000 season budget?

It's all just marketing. The money's out there, you just have to swallow your pride and put on your salesman's hat. Your product is the best place for a potential sponsor to put their money, and you have to convince them.

If you think of yourself as a club rallyist, you're dooming yourself to stay there. For better or worse---after all, there's a lot to be said for not having any obligations to a sponsor. But only rich guys can do that and still drive the car they really want.

I admit this is all just theory :p but I'm going to be volunteering with a couple teams to see if I can help improve their image. Then I'll be putting my money where my mouth is (or rather, someone else's money) and hopefully do the same for myself next year.

--
JP Rowland jeremyrowland -at- mac.com
http://homepage.mac.com/jeremyrowland
 
#11 ·
Kid,

Think school, school, school. Its already too late to even consider Rally as a career. You should be a karting champ as well as a moto-x champ already. Even if you have the funding to buy rides your chances of making a living by driving are almost zero.

Sorry to be a buzz kill but planning your future on a "professional" driving career is like going out and starting to shoot hoops so you can make it to the NBA. The only difference is that they have 15+ teams with 10 players each and there are exaclty no professional Rally drivers in the US. BTW, most of the European import players that you see come from basketball camps that get kids at a very early age and practice fundamentals everyday for 10 years in exchange for a partuse of the salary. Think how many kids don't make it and end up as pretty damn good basketbal players with no other life skills.

School, school, school, career, career, career. It's great to dream but reality sucks. Investigate careers that are more likely to provide you a decent income without forcing you to sit at a desk. Find a Rally/Race prep shop in your area to volunteer at. You'll start out sweeping floors. If you show up everyday, are honest and hard working, you might progress up the ladder to start learning how to do other things and to receive a small salary. Other possible careers that do not involve much desk work are sales, any type of physical work, etc.

Sorry to burst your bubble but it won't happen. The "best" you can hope for trying to make a career from Rally is to end up running a Rally prep shop because you got really good at fixing your car after it broke. Use this money to fund your own occasional driving. Occasional, because fixing other people's cars is tiring and the last thing you want to do is fix your own car because you don't get paid to do that and the mortgage needs to be paid, not to mention the credit cards bills, .....
 
#12 ·
Think what the world would be like if every entrepreneur had given up on an idea because there was no market for it. How many success stories are out there from folk who went on to create their own industry?

The ranks of middle class America are full of people who work at jobs they hate because they are too timid to do what they want. And yet, just look at the "dot-com bubble," that shows just how much the concept of "job security" is really worth.

Let the kid have his chance without shooting down his hopes. Put a little more "yes!" into this world. He's young, he's got plenty of time to dust himself off, learn from his mistakes, and start over. And even if he does fall down, he'll know more about the way the world works than most others who go to school, expect others to teach them, and then graduate and spend their life working for someone else in a career that no one will ever remember.

He's 15, and certified in CPR and first aid. How many others can say that? That tells me he's got some initiative. That's the main ingredient he needs for success. The opportunities are there for anyone who takes them. Look at Pat R, he didn't wait around for someone to give him a ride in the WRC, he went out and made it happen.

Remember, no one ever said on their death bed, "I wish I'd spent more time at the office!"

Jeremy,

who is quitting his high-paying, dull engineering job in 2 months to follow his lifelong dream to pursue an uncertain career in animation and illustration

--
JP Rowland jeremyrowland -at- mac.com
http://homepage.mac.com/jeremyrowland
 
#13 ·
Well I'd rather chase an "unreachable" goal then to quit and regret it.

To quote Lance Armstrong from the movie Dodgeball: "Quit? You know, once I was thinking of quitting when I was diagnosed with brain, lung and testicular cancer all at the same time. But with the love and support of my friends and family, I got back on the bike and won the Tour de France 5 times in a row. But I'm sure you have a good reason to quit. I guess if a person never quit when the going got tough, they wouldn't have anything to regret for the rest of their life. Well good luck to you Peter. I'm sure this decision won't haunt you forever."
 
#14 ·
You have the right attitude in my opinion. Listen to everyone's opinion, take them for what they are worth and make the best decision you can. Remember to learn from other peoples mistakes as you will not live long enough to make them all yourself. Learn everything you can about everything to do with rally and car maintenance. Become a skilled mechanic if you can. Marcus Gronholm can fix almost anything that's fixable on a stage. Keep the positive attitude as it will get you much further than the alternative. And remember to have fun. If its not fun, why do it.

Gary
 
#17 ·
>I live in Waukesha, Wisconsin, but I go to the Madison area
>a lot. Heh, I hope I can get some offers, that would be
>great.
>
>As an update to anyone who cares, I am going to Ojibwe where
>I'll probably be volunteering as a road marshal!

No rally cars in Madison any more that I know of, unless Chris Gilligan's car is still there. I think there are one or two in Milwaukee. Mike Merbach has a car in Appleton, and I think a couple more are going together there. I'm in Green Bay with my car. There is a plethora of cars in the Twin Cities area. All of always need help,all of the time.

Dennis Martin
dennis@mamotorsports.com
920-432-4845
 
#19 ·
I'll second that...If you've got the mind for it (and the stomach!) you've got a much better chance of going as far as you want, all the way up to the WRC level. And it won't make nearly the same dent in your wallet on the way up.

Even if you decide it's not for you, a year or two co-driving will show you what rallying is all about, and show you what to do and what not to do as a driver.

In the end, you should do what you want. Don't waste too much time as a co-driver if you really want to drive. But give co-driving a try and see how you like it, and do it as well as you can, not just something to do until you get your own car. There's a tremendous amount of satisfaction in doing your job well and helping a fast driver (maybe faster than you) go even faster.

--
JP Rowland jeremyrowland -at- mac.com
(Ex-)Co-driver, Wazoo Racing Subaru Impreza WRX, Production GT Class
http://homepage.mac.com/jeremyrowland
 
#20 ·
I'll have to say that Alex G is right. It sounds as if you may have more of a co drivers mind set. Organized, Forsight, good head on your shoulders basically.

We drivers are more of the Testosterone overloaded, Neanderthal (sp?) "Ugg, me drive fast... hurt trees with car, huhuhuhu" mentality.

Either way stick to your dreams and don't let anyone sway you differently. YOU must decide how you want YOUR lifes course to run.

Two words for you; John Force

(Read up on his life story sometime.)

Jim
 
#21 ·
Rallying takes $$$$ and if your inventive and find ways to get it you will be sucsessful. TREAT RALLYING LIKE A BUSINESS. Sponsorship is a privilege not a right. I have managed not to pay for any of my races because of being smart and finding sponsors. First you need to get to rally school. See if you have the potiential or even like racing in rally. Second save up some money and get a car. Alot of people say golfs.... but I think a 2.5rs is a perfect starter car. Low 165 HP/ My rs weighs 3100 pounds/ Open front diff and limited in the rear "acts like a rear wheel drive car. It has never had a dnf and has never had a mechanical problem in 7 races. Second make a strategy for the year "plan a budget" and aim high because your going to spend all of it. With my sponsor I have this in the package....... car displayed at store... attend all autox's... attend all major car shows .... Give talks to customers about my sponsors products. Its always how much exposure am I getting for my money? 2 kinds of sponsors ......... 1. Sympathy/tax writeoff sponsor 2. Exposure and Advertising sponsor ...... Your going to have to talk to about 20 companys before you even get 1 interested.

Oh yea if you move to europe your going to have the same problems of not finding any sponsors. It will probally be even harder to attain one.

Well, if I can figure out how to secure sponsors at the age of 22 I am sure you can do it with some hardwork.
 
#22 ·
>Rallying takes $$$$ and if your inventive and find ways to
>get it you will be sucsessful. TREAT RALLYING LIKE A
>BUSINESS. Sponsorship is a privilege not a right. I have
>managed not to pay for any of my races because of being
>smart and finding sponsors. First you need to get to rally
>school. See if you have the potiential or even like racing
>in rally. Second save up some money and get a car. Alot of
>people say golfs.... but I think a 2.5rs is a perfect
>starter car. Low 165 HP/ My rs weighs 3100 pounds/ Open
>front diff and limited in the rear "acts like a rear wheel
>drive car. It has never had a dnf and has never had a
>mechanical problem in 7 races. Second make a strategy for
>the year "plan a budget" and aim high because your going to
>spend all of it. With my sponsor I have this in the
>package....... car displayed at store... attend all
>autox's... attend all major car shows .... Give talks to
>customers about my sponsors products. Its always how much
>exposure am I getting for my money? 2 kinds of sponsors
>......... 1. Sympathy/tax writeoff sponsor 2. Exposure and
>Advertising sponsor ...... Your going to have to talk to
>about 20 companys before you even get 1 interested.
>
>Oh yea if you move to europe your going to have the same
>problems of not finding any sponsors. It will probally be
>even harder to attain one.
>
>Well, if I can figure out how to secure sponsors at the age
>of 22 I am sure you can do it with some hardwork.


All these responses are great!

Anyways, I'm still leaning for a GTI (though those 70's Colt/Lancers are appealing) purely because of cost. for my first year ity'll be hard to get sponsorship because I won't have proven myself, so my budget will be pretty low.
 
#23 ·
I'm kind of in the same boat as slickdizzy... except I am 28 and located in eastern canada. I got the education/career (i.e., has some money) but now I need to find a lot more money. I have some ideas for sponsors and have enough knowhow to approach them in a professional manner. I have begun by trying to get out to rallies and helping out on a team (i.e., Valley Tire). I also have a stock WRX that I plan to convert for P4 in a few years time. I'll see where that takes me. I did pretty good at the last few years' rallycrosses so I think I can drive, I'm just not sure how well yet or how competitive I will be. If I suck or if I can't afford to race indefinitely then I will just sell the car and move on. Thing is, at least I will have tried and will have no regrets. J.C.
 
#25 ·
well seeing as how this is my first year racing I have a few observations.

1. you can never have too much money
2. find local resources and ask lots of questions. mark utecht, graham evans, scott putnam, the RA guys (especially mike hurst) and a few others have been a very valuable tool in getting us off up and running
3. read the rulebook. read it again
4. don't cut corners (at least not where it counts. you don't need top of the line equipment but you need something reliable that you can trust. for example, my terratrip is no coralba but it works for us).
5. set realistic goals. for us it started with getting the car together by a certain race. our race goals for this season are to not DNF or DNS and to get all our coefficients to go to an Open car next year. So far we've entered and finished 3 races.
6. put together a solid crew. our crew works great together and makes our trips fun and enjoyable and when work needs to be done, it gets done
7. buy used equipment when appropriate. i've saved a lot of money picking up second hand bits for our car
8. don't forget your tow rig. you can't race if you don't get there - remember to maintain the trailer and truck
9. drive responsibly. you get fast with experience. you can't get experience if you car is a little metal ball wedged against an elm tree
10. have fun! what's the point if you're not having fun?

so those are 10 things i've learned while getting started this year

press on,
carl
#171
 
#26 ·
You've been given plenty of good advice so I won't repeat any of it here, but if you'd like to see an actual rally this weekend we are going to Nemadji Trail 3 and would be glad to bring you along. We are traveling from Milw. to Duquette, Mn. on Fri. evening and will come back on Sun. afternoon. Contact me at dparps@wi.rr.com if you're interested.

We organize a rally, rallycrosses and Ice Trials in the S.E. Wi. area- the next rallycross is Sept. 20 at Gravity Park in Chilton, Wi. For more info check our website at: www.w-a-g.org .

Hope to hear from you soon- we've mentored several rallyists and would be glad to help you any way we can.
Dave Parps
Co-Driver, Car# 562 & 323.
Co-Chair, GPTPR.
 
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