8. And so it starts

Ok so the time is getting near to when I have to go and pick the car up..just over a week now so I have to admit in getting a little bit excited I have got to work it so my son Steve and my brother can come with me, Steve wants to pick Ian's brain over how the engine is set up and how etc. So first thing on the agenda for tomorrow is getting the truck insured.

Santa Pod has published its race dates for next year so only waiting for Shakey to release theirs then it will be a case of going over them and see which events I can do or not do, then I suppose I will have to part with some more money to join the SPRC (Santa Pod Racers Club) and Shakespeare County s equivalent, then and I am probably going to join the Wild Bunch too.

Then it will be time to sort out my licence that means a medical and buy a fire suit...fingers crossed that will be it then we can go racing.

In the meant time my aborted attempt at getting fit and losing weight starts again on Monday, i have found my gym membership card and my ankle and back seem to be a lot better now, so with a bit of luck and a following wind we can get everything back on track.

7. Learn as you go

Here we we are in October only 4 weeks..ish till I pick the truck and car up from Bloodlines Racing in good old Nottinghamshire. we are just about at the end of the racing season now this is the time of year where racers take stock and sort out their cars and get everything ready for the next racing season, I am so lucky that I an has done so much already this makes my task a lot easier  I have still got to track down a few tools but nothing major to get.

I have also been informed by the font of all drag racing knowledge that is Ian Turburville that even the race fire suits are "Dated" so best of getting that in the new year as well. So you live and learn thank god the drag racing community are so helpful and friendly, Talking of which I found this piccie on face book of the car, one of the nicest ones I have seen yet........

I do love the look of this car the proportions are just spot on, but it is a bit of a squeeze to get in and out........

Here's Ian helping me in and yes I can get in and out LOL

I would like to THANK my brother for taking this picture of me LOL now you can see why I want to call the car..Tight Fit.

6. Getting things done in the right order.

I wanted to make sure that I was aware of everything I needed to go racing so I spent yesterday going through al the various racing sites.....first one I tried was the Santa Pod Racers Club they have a section on starting racing, now I also believe that if you want to race at he Pod you have to be member of this club the first problem is this web site is way out of date they really need to update it,...so I read the first few chapters and the first thing that hit me was this........

"Next, regardless of whether you are running a block stock Lada or a Top Fuel dragster you need a licence,
so send off to the Motor Sports Association (MSA) for a licence form. At this point it is a good idea to 
join our drag racing club and register your vehicle. Once you become a member, part of your membership will
include a drag racing rulebook, which then it is a good idea to read about your class regulations
(firesuit, helmet requirements etc) and the basics of race craft."

So off I surfed to the MSA website, tte MSA are the governing body of Motorsport I went to the downloads page and downloaded the form for the licence application the only problem is it is still for 2013 so I will will have to wait for that to change to 2014, god knows when that will be but that was only the start of it, this licence thing is not cheap especially if  you want to race in Europe god knows why this costs more for this licence, and if you over 45 you have to have a medical , probably have to pay for that as well,so you pay all this money for a licence send off you medical records you have bought a car purchased a fire suit and then they refuse you a licence......that's an awful lot of money wasted and it looks like this is an annual thing as well which suddenly makes what Ian Turboville said ring true "Getting the car is the easy and cheapest bit" and wouldn't it be a good idea to have a rule book before you start spending all this money????
Then if you are successful then you have to pay to race at organised meetings and they are not cheap either...strewth how much money do these people think us poor amateur racers have.

I am dam sure they these sporting bodies could get together and simplify all this paperwork and make it dam cheaper, don't they know there is a recession on, I understand now why you see so many fantastic cars at "Run what you brung" events and not at organised championship meetings....far too much money and far too complicated.

The problem is what came first the chicken or the egg, I bought a car to go racing then found out what else was required, perhaps I should have had a medical first then applied for a licence but, the application is only valid for up to three months before you race so if you don't find a car in time then you have to go through it all again...hmmmm something really wrong with all this. It does all smack of " lets see how much money we can get out of all these racers" as if racing isn't expensive enough as it is. I can see why so many racers are taking "Time out" for a year etc.

So to go racing is not as simple as I thought it would be, there are different organisations waiting in a queue with their hands out waiting for your hard earned money on an annual basis then you and your car have to conform to certain standards and once you have done all this you can actually get onto the track, I am sure there are valid reasons for all of this but it does seem over the top a bit.

I may have done things in the wrong order so now it's time to get everything sorted so first I need the various web sites to update for next years racing then I will apply for the licence and get a medical done, then I will get a fire suit, gloves, helmet etc. a bit pointless in getting these if I don't get a licence.

I would like to point out that these are just the views of myself looking to getting into racing for the first time and finding out what is required etc and how complicated it seems and in some parts irrelevant...why do I need a licence? why do I have to pay to enter meetings?? etc and how expensive and time consuming it all is.

Maybe all this will change in the future but in the meantime it looks as if I have no choice if I want to experience the amazing thrill of travelling down the quarter mile..........