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How do you get into racing?

I

imurdaddy415

Read Only
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Location
In the twisties
Moto(s)
make me poor
Name
Tk
I have been wondering lately how one goes from street/track riding into trying to make it into a career. I know it's a pretty complex questions as there are a ton of different classes you can get into, but just a main idea on where to start. How much should one be thinking into investing into themselves and how much time, etc. Thank you for any help
 
I started riding trackdays and felt like it would be exciting and challenging to race. I took NRS and started racing. I went from getting my moto license to racing in right around 2 years. I would recommend taking a novice school track day with PTT, Zoom Zoom or K@TT to start and see where it goes. As far as the cost, it adds up quickly...
 
I thought you were going to get an MBA... You want a CAREER out of racing? I can help you out there. The shortest and quickest way is to go to the bank and get a couple grand in 100 dollar bills and take them out in front of your house and throw them into the wind. That will help you feel what starting to race is like. Do that for a year and then your urge may disappear without ever having to race.

Now if you decide to start racing and want to do it as a career, just remember that the percentage of guys who make it to the top levels ( make money at it) is about the same as the percentage of high school football players who end up in the pros... About one out of ten thousand....

Unless you have some vast skillset and potential, you are not going to make a career out of racing. Just a hobby.
 
afm199 said:
The shortest and quickest way is to go to the bank and get a couple grand in 100 dollar bills and take them out in front of your house and throw them into the wind.
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For dramatic effect, douse them in the kerosene you never used to clean your kinked chain first and set 'em ablaze.

That always brings the brolly girls runnin'. :laughing

-jim
 
imurdaddy415 said:
How much should one be thinking into investing into themselves and how much time, etc. Thank you for any help
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The best way to make a small fortune racing is to start with a large one
 
If you have to ask how much it costs . . .

Like mentioned above, track days, track only bike, more track days, meet and have other friends that do track days, have fun, New Racer School, then race for the fun of it or till it hurts, because you like to and not have to make a living at it.

These are just my suggestions.

Q. What's the difference between a racer and a pizza?
A. A pizza will feed a family of four.

:rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl :rofl
 
After you've done a couple trackdays - which as others have said is a very good idea - come back, reread this thread, and reflect on this:

The difference between trackdays and roadracing is about the same as the difference between deer hunting and combat.
 
How old are you. How long have you been race anything? Do you have heath insurances? Years ago I had a conversation with Steve Rapp. This is when Steve was parking cars for a living. Told him his changes where pretty slim on ever making it in racing. I told him have a back up plan. Well he sure made me look silly. This is a hard game, it doesn’t not suffer fools and idiots well. If you have talent it will show quickly. But after that it’s just a lot of hard work. LOTS OF HARD work. More then most people will deal with.
Good luck
 
imurdaddy415 said:
I have been wondering lately how one goes from street/track riding into trying to make it into a career. I know it's a pretty complex questions as there are a ton of different classes you can get into, but just a main idea on where to start. How much should one be thinking into investing into themselves and how much time, etc. Thank you for any help
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Step one:

Win.

Step 2:

Race with someone else's bike and money.

There, you've made a career in racing! :laughing

It's just like going fast: More throttle, less brake, more cornerspeed. Any idiot could do it. :rofl
 
The fact that your post uses complete sentences and words longer than 5 letters indicates you're probably too old to make a career out of being a rider. Most pro's have been riding / racing since before they can walk.

You can be a racer though, and it's a lot of fun as long as you know what you're getting into. The AFM is a great place to race, lots of classes, lots of great riders, and a great family of friends. You can make a 'career' out of racing with the AFM and have a blast. I did it for 7 years and wouldn't trade that time for anything.

The costs can be substantial and are more than just financial. If you want to do well it is a lot of time and effort, and this can put stress on family and other relationships. You'll use up vacation time, etc.

There are potential physical costs as well. I'm an extreme example but you need to go into it knowing you may get hurt, and you may get hurt more than your planned. Really think about that first, esp. if you have a family. Make sure you are fully insured.

If you're ok with all that then do lots of trackdays, learn as much as you can for a year. Once you can run consistently at a pace that puts you midpack with the classes you want to run in then have at it.

Enjoy!
 
lokisdog said:
If you're ok with all that then do lots of trackdays, learn as much as you can for a year. Once you can run consistently at a pace that puts you midpack with the classes you want to run in then have at it.

Enjoy!
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This is very good advice, and what I did. Unfortunantly, I didn't budget for trackdays for practice AND for racing. Whoops.

I mean, it was all the money I had anyways. So now I've cut the season short so next year I can have enough money to both race and practice. :thumbup
 
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