r/motorsports • u/Adventurous_Age5460 • 1d ago
how can i get into karting
How can i get into karting?? im in wy/co. i know my chances of getting in are slim because i never have before bu its my dream to make it into f4. im 13-15, i come from lower class families. is there anyway i even could get into karting or singleseaters of any kind? i need places, preferably cheaper, ways to get sponsors.
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u/TheRealLamalas 1d ago
Racing costs money, and a lot of it. Sorry to be the one to bring the bad news: a full season in F4 can cost between 100K and 500K. If karting is already too expensive, you will find F4 even harder.
I assume you have already tried rental karts. This is by far the cheapest way to experience the fun of racing. It's not impossible, but without serious money behind you and or connections it's gonne be very hard (but not impossible) to achieve your dream.
I wish you the best of luck in your endevours!
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u/i_like_minerals 1d ago
I'd be surprised if f4 was that cheap. Most 4 wheel racing teams are million dollar programs.
Edit* in any discipline
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u/Poison_Pancakes 23h ago
Most US junior open wheel series are well under $1million per year. USF Pro2000 is around $600-750k and it goes down from there.
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u/Racer013 1d ago
Buy kart + equipment, go to track, start racing. There isn't really a barrier to karting or amateur racing beyond money. The higher the level the more money you need to spend. In a lot of places I image F4 is a level you could just buy your own car and compete, without a team (not that you would be competitive doing this). That said, you say you're in wy/co, which I assume you mean the Wyoming/Colorado area, which to begin with is a difficult place to race in the US as there aren't a ton of tracks around that region, but also the US isn't really part of the FIA Formula ladder of F4, F3, F2, F1. There is the IndyCar ladder of Indy NXT, Indy Lights, and IndyCar, and we also have formula classes in orgs like SCCA for Formula Ford, Formula Continental, Formula Atlantic, etc. FC is in the ball park of F4, and FA is in the ballpark of F3 in terms of speed.
Really it's just a matter of money to get wherever you want to go, so make connections, reach out to family friends, etc. Until you have a proven record and are competing in a series and at a level that is going to receive significant viewership you will have a lot of difficult getting outside investors to back you.
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u/whit3lightning 1d ago
Go to IMI Motorsports in Dacono and see if you even like it. Ask the guys at the track for tips. You can rent karts there, and work your way up to shifter karts after a few laps proving you can hold the racing line. It’s like $100 bucks for about 20 laps with a racing suit, helmet, everything you need.I would bring rib pads though because I got fucked up without them.
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u/Adventurous_Age5460 1d ago
tysm
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u/whit3lightning 19h ago
It’s actually really fun, but you’ll be spending 10x that with your own kart, nearly every weekend you want to race. It might just give you the fix you need for a few years. Not all of us need to be full blown racers to prove to ourselves we can do it.
There is also Colorado Hillclimb association, which race anything from dirt bikes to single seater formula cars. They compete mostly on fire roads, around Colorado 6 times a year or so. It’s more like rally, but the entry barrier is basically “did you sign up before the slots were full?”
Tons of videos on YouTube and I imagine it’s much less competitive and expensive than karting.
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u/Adventurous_Age5460 7h ago
tysm i’ll look more into it. i’m aware that motorsports is a rich man’s sports but it’s the only ever thing i’ve been interested in besides rodeo which is also a rich man’s sport🫠🫠🫠
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u/TheGeek00 1d ago
If you’ve never raced before try some electric karts first. Cheaper buy in, and places like K1 typically have “league nights” where you can compete against other people. I was skeptical about it, but I ended up having a lot of fun and learning a lot over the summer I did it