How Much Does Club100 Karting Cost? 

Thanks a lot, hopefully it's still useful even though it's a bit out of date by this point. If I had the means and time to store and prep my own kart, the GX UK series looks to be going well and I've enjoyed seeing the content that you and the others have been putting up. The club and national karting scene looks to be getting more and more expensive, to the point that all but only the most affluent families will be able to participate (and compete) which is a real shame. That's not to say that your classic 'Dad and Lad' set ups wouldn't be able to turn up and have some great weekends, but I think series like Club100, Tillotson and GX UK are well placed to offer something for those that don't want to turn up already knowing that they are at a disadvantage to those that have the means to procure 2 monster engines and a new chassis whenever they please.

Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it.

Understandable 😂. And yet again I didn’t get to chat with you properly at Shenny. I will have to collar you at Whilton in a couple weeks.

@@DownToRace yes spk then 🙂

It might be worth watching the Club100 space, the cadet and juniors have a northern and southern championship and this may be something that finds its way to some senior racing in the future.

It's something that I've become more aware of recently. I would be ineterested in looking into it at some point. I do however like the no kart prep needed aspect of Club100 - this isn't to say that other series don't off this benefit. With my job, I simply can't commit the time to racing and mechanicing Like I used to many years ago for owner/driver racing.

@Down To Race there is options to arrive and driver at BPEC too, I personally love the tinkering side but completely understand its not something everyone wants to do or even like you mentioned have to time to do

I know a handful of guys that participate in the DMAX racing and it looks liek a good bit of fun. At the end of the day, that's what motorsport is about at its heart: like minded people chucking a motor vehicle around a road in the hopes of a good bit of fun. Even if people budgets don't extend as far as they would like them to, there is always a good option in karting for them.

It is an excellent point. For the video, I was wanting to look primarily at what Club100 costs but then also at the two approaches to racing from the perspective of someone who is new to karting and what they could spend in comparison. Bryn, earlier in the comments, also pointed out that there would be resale value for the equipment in owner/driver racing which would be important to factor in for multiple seasons of O/D. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment 🙂

Part of me was thinking 'Is that actually what it is?' when i was doing my maths 😂. How do you find running an EV? My better half is considering an EV at some point in the future so we were going to go and test some; I'm quite happy continuing to mod my 86 though.

@@DownToRace I was skeptical about the EV but three months in I’ll never go back. The cost efficiency is insane and the performance is mind blowing. It’s ugly as hell to look at but 0-60 in 3.5 secs is insanity, especially with all my race gear for a weekend on board. I’ve got the Tesla Y Performance and couldn’t recommend it enough!

Good to know, I think the KIA EV6 is up high on the list at the moment.

Excellent points. Of course the cost of used equipment will bring down the cost of owner/driver racing too (praise eBay!), and I wouldn't ever want to put people off going that way if they wanted to, it is a great way to learn basic mechanic and engineering principles. I was lucky to have my dad, who is a true engineer at heart, as my mechanic and I learnt so much about maintaining, tuning and appreciating motor vehicles in our years of racing - something I don't think you would get from Club100, to the same degree at least. I would still maintain that, with the enjoyment of racing as the primary goal, Club100 is the best value; it is most certainly a great place for young drivers to cut their teeth before possibly progressing to running their own kart. Then, as an old man (karting-wise) who has the joys of a time consuming job, I love the fact I can just turn up and enjoy the racing. No worrying about weekends of preparing the kart before hand, loading up the van, staying on top of spares bills etc. When all is said and done, the more people we can get into motorsport the better - whether that's at a local indoor track, corporate kart league races at a larger outdoor circuits, Club100 or full-fat owner/driver karting.

@@DownToRace For sure, I mean I picked up my complete kart for £2000 and that's enough to be competitive at a club level. My gear I already had from a year of rentals driving, and to go out practicing or racing tends to work out cheaper than Club 100 (for me, at least).

That's awesome. For anyone who may be looking at entering owner/driver at club level, how much time do you find you need to put into prep ahead of race meetings? I remember spending a weekend before doing so, but that was more down to personal circumstance and I'm sure others would do less, or possibly more. I would assume that it also depends on the class you are racing in.

Sorry! 😂

Much appreciated! I couldn't believe what some of consumables for owner/driver racing cost these days when I was looking them up for the video. Tyres alone have have basically doubled in price from when I used to do it.

So, after a pretty reasonable hiatus, I signed up for the Experience championship and found it to be a great way to get back into racing and get used to the Club100 nuances and format. There are multiple categories within the Experience championship, so as a novice you will be able to decide which best suits your level of experience, or I'm sure the very help guys and girls in the office will be happy to help you if you gave them a call. Baring any changes to the format for next year, you get a practice/qualifying session followed by two 20 minute races. It works out to be a bit like a shortened SP60 event; it differs slightly however, in that your race 2 grid is based on your fastest lap time in race 1, not your finishing position. The length of the races also provides good opportunity to develop your racecraft. Sprint races, which are between 8 and 12 minutes, can be quite unforgiving if you're still honing your skill and getting used to how the Club100 karts handle. I found that doing the Experience championship helped be hit the ground running when I entered the SP60 and Sprints the following year. I had the benefit of being able to draw on 10ish years of previous karting experience (which hadn't completely been forgotten, thankfully), but even for those who may have only had limited previous experiences in karts, I would happily suggest the Experience championship as a place to get your feet wet in the Club100 series.

@@DownToRace thanks so much for the detailed response, I appreciate it. I think I’ll definitely sign up to the Experience championship next year then. But given this year’s championship was only 7 rounds (and presuming it’ll be the same next year), I’m considering signing up to Experience and then one other. I feel like seat time will be critical and the more time I can spend in the kart the better. Plus it’ll make the long trips worth it more!

@@hall717 Seat time certainly is important, for which reason, it is unfortunate that there aren't more rounds for the Experience championship. You could potentially look to enter rounds of the SP60 or Sprints in the months that do not have Experience rounds in them as a way to continue gaining seat time. If you happen to be close enough to a Daytona karting venue, you could also investigate their D-Max series as a way to keep gtetting behind the wheel. I haven't driven these myself, so I can't comment as to their similarity to Club100 karts, nor the running of their championships, but I know that some of the huys on the grid do this or something similar between meetings.

@@DownToRace Some good tips there, thank you! I was already wondering what people do to try and get more seat time outside of the championship weekends, so that's good to know, thanks!

I know a bunch of people from above the M62 do compete, but I agree it must be frustrating if accommodation and travel isn’t easy. There is a northern and southern Cadet championship, so it may be that there are plans to develop a similar system for the senior championships (assuming that you are looking at that category) but this is purely conjecture on my part.

I've heard rumblings that something like a North/South championship could be on the cards at some point. It is what the cadets and juniors do currently, I believe, so it's not so far fetched. Would be good to race at some of the tracks further North

@DownToRace let's see what the North has to offer, as I will be 100% invested in anything north. I can't justify driving down south unfortunately for the meets. Although, iam down at shennington for testing and racing on the Sunday for a bit of fun to close the year out with some club 100 experience. ✌️

Thanks, very kind of you to say and thanks for the feedback 🙂.

I disagree. Rule of thirds.

@@Lxium For videos like this where someone is talking directly to the audience, it's better to be centred. It's his channel though, so he can do whatever he wants

Have you looked into whether your uni has a team in the BUKC? The karts for the championship are provided by Club100 and it would be a good way to cut your teeth before hopefully joining the Club100 grid in the not too distant future. There are plenty of live streams available to watch on RU-vid of the BUKC on the Alpha Live channel.

I take part in the BUKC and it’s the most fun i’ve had in ages. If your uni has a good motorsport society then they might also help fund race entries. that’s how I got into karting and I’ve loved every second of it. driving standards are questionable, but is incredibly good fun and get to travel all across the UK. They livestream their races on youtube as well, take a look at the 4th and final round 👍

The karts are very close. Occasionally you might pull a rocket or a dog, but this is rare and if given to the Club100 team they will send their test drivers out in it in due course to assess it and make changes if needed. You also tend to find that the best drivers will be at the front no matter what they end up in. Weight-wise, there are 3 senior categories: lightweights who have a minimum kitted driver weight of 78kg (for sprints), heavyweights at 90kg and super-heavyweights at 98kg. For the heavyweights and super-heavyweights the driver has to also achieve a minimum weight without lead to avoid people carrying excessive ballast to meat the weight. The SP60 and endurance championships have slightly different minimum weight limits, but these are all detailed in the rules and regs which can be found on the Club100 site. Hope that helps.

I think there are elements of value in both types of racing. I’ve always enjoyed the visceral nature of 2-stroke engines and the challenge of keeping the revs as high as possible. I would like to try 4-stroke though too, having lots of low grunt would likely require a different approach to the racing. The Tillotson series seems to be continuing to grow in this part of the world and I’ve heard that many people who racing in it find it to be very enjoyable and good value. As always, I’d always be one for participating in any series that offers fun, respectful racing which is as accessible as possible financially; it is a shame that motorsports will always be a pursuit that has naturally higher costs, however one could argue that higher levels of the sport are over inflated due to the socioeconomic background of many of those participating.

Good tip!

Glad you enjoyed it

There may be something similar, but Club100 is a UK series. I do know that there have been people fly in to compete on the past! My best advice would be to check your country’s motorsports association website for information on karting or starting karting. Alternatively you could always contact your local track to find out about the events they host.

At the start of each season you may find that some motorsports stores advertise sponsorship schemes; such as the Demon Tweeks sponsorship scheme that I am part of. These however don’t necessarily equate to sponsorship by way of payment, but rather discounts for the store etc. If it is monetary sponsorship that you are after, you will need to sell it to any potential sponsors as to why they should give you their money. Is the series your in streamed or televised? Do you have a social media following? How many people are likely to view any sponsorship and who are they? What would you use the sponsorship money for? The list goes on, and there are many more people better than I to talk about them. I would maybe start by sending out some exploratory emails asking potential sponsors what they look for when deciding upon who to sponsor and then adapt your pitch to them. Sorry I can’t be of more help.

Hi There 🙂, I don't recall stating a figure of £290 every weekend. Which figure are you refering to and perhaps I can expand or explain.

@@DownToRace u Said its 290 every race weekend

So, the costs for this season were: £280 for SP60; £219 for Sprints; and I budget £200 for a hotel. So, without fuel and other variable costs it comes to £699 a round for me. But again, keep in mind that this is competing in two championships.

ADX looks like a great way to experience a ‘full fat’ Rotax kart at a reasonable price. From what I can gather however, you wouldn’t get the racing aspect that Club100 provides as what they advertise are track day experiences. That isn’t to say that they don’t also provide race prep/rentals, but this cost isn’t advertised on their website. If people haven’t experienced a full on race kart, this would certainly be a good option though. It’s something I can recommend as the raw feeling of speed and agility you get it great. If racing at a reasonable cost (and without the looming costs of spares and repairs) is the goal however, I can still recommend Club100.

⁠​⁠@@DownToRace £150 to rent motor, £150 for chassis for a weekend. Now if you race every weekend it’ll cost you about the same excluding travel costs. Renting all this allows for you to actually enter in club rotax events or even british rotax. The only way I found out this was possible was by getting into contact with them through tiktok of all places 😂

@@4EVRL1T that certainly is reasonably priced and will for sure be the right option for some people. Are you aware of any location limitations? From what I’ve seen on their website they operate principally at Rye House. There are benefits to club racing for sure; I quite like touring the different circuits with Club100, but for some they may find racing at the same club is better for them in regards to travel and limiting costs that way.

@@DownToRaceWith a disregard to our previous conversation, I am definitely interested in doing an SP60 season for senior. Have you got a video like an “everything you need to know” before joining club100 and a few how too’s ?

I don't have a video for quite that question, perhaps I will make one in the future, but I'd be happy to try and provide answers for you. In the first instance, I would register your interest with Club100 for next year; the grids fill quickly. There's also a fair bit of info on their website which helps to give you a general idea of what to expect. You could also look for the Club100 facebook group that has pretty much all of the drivers in it and ask questions there, indicating that you're interested in joining the grid. As I said, I'm happy to answer questions where I can if you can't find what you're after online.