considering supercopa

[TrevS]

Hi there

I have been looking into buying a race car and have decided that a seat cupra championship car offers great value for money. However I am on a shoestring budget and realistically I don't think I could afford to run the car in the cupra championship. Therefore could anyone tell me what other championships/races these cars are eligble for?

Also I have no previous experience with these cars so what are they like to live with, are they fairly easy to work on,setup and run etc? Also are these the sort of race cars that require little man power in the pitlane to prepare etc. So could one man and his dog turn up and run the car or would they require a dedicated team of engineers etc.

As I said I have no experience at running this type of car so any help, advice and rough ideas of prices for running costs both generally and during a typical race weekend would be very welcome.

Many thanks

Trevor

 

[m0rk]

a Mk1 250 bhp Leon or the new Mk2 300bhp one?

 

[TrevS]

Sorry, Mk2

 

[CupraSport]

Ok, I was at Oulton this weekend and if you are considering buying one the chassis number needs to be higher than 100. I was speaking to one of the supercopas spanner men and apparently they changed the weld points etc to bring them in line with the spanish series and the WTCC.. Thus making the cars stiffer and handle better round a track.

 

[TrevS]

So what do you guys think, is this the sort of car someone with little experience could drive/run fairly easily? Also I think if I buy one Ill spend a good chunk of time testing and practicing in the car to get used to it before entering any race series.

 

[IainW]

There are Supercopas in many UK saloon car series. The LMA Saloons, Scottish Saloon and Sportscars, the Northern Sports and Saloons to name a few. They have a lot of toys on them like launch control and the dsg paddle shift gearbox, plus the aerodynamic aids, so would that make driving easier for a newcomer? m0rk's driven one, let him tell you all about it.

 

[TrevS]

Thanks for the info, they do seem to tick all the boxes for what I am looking for. Does anyone know any performance figures on these cars?

 

[CupraSport]

Have a look on racecars direct and speak to a couple of the sellers there is a few for sale at the moment. Also some teams are offering paid drives i.e you pay and they turn up with a crew, car and spares. Might be an idea to see if you could drive one before committing yourself to what is a big purchase. Car is 30k (ish), depending on the chassis number as I stated earlier. You'll also need a spares package and wheels, tyres etc bank on £800 a race / meeting for tyres. If you race in the national UK championship (running as support for the BTCC) they have control tyres which will be a set price..... I do not know about other championships. If you go for it good luck and plenty of support for you on here.
I assume you already know this though if so (apologies for teaching to suck eggs)

 

[TrevS]

Have a look on racecars direct and speak to a couple of the sellers there is a few for sale at the moment. Also some teams are offering paid drives i.e you pay and they turn up with a crew, car and spares. Might be an idea to see if you could drive one before committing yourself to what is a big purchase. Car is 30k (ish), depending on the chassis number as I stated earlier. You'll also need a spares package and wheels, tyres etc bank on £800 a race / meeting for tyres. If you race in the national UK championship (running as support for the BTCC) they have control tyres which will be a set price..... I do not know about other championships. If you go for it good luck and plenty of support for you on here.
I assume you already know this though if so (apologies for teaching to suck eggs)

Thanks for the info. I have just contacted one seller about his car for some additional info on the car itself and racing a championship car. Also I contacted seat sport for a parts price list to get some idea of what it would cost to fix and run.

Trev

 

[CupraSport]

Thanks for the info. I have just contacted one seller about his car for some additional info on the car itself and racing a championship car. Also I contacted seat sport for a parts price list to get some idea of what it would cost to fix and run.

Trev

You could also have a chat to pwmotorsport, was talking to them yesterday and they supply some of the bits for the seat race team.

Url http://www.pwmotorsport.com/

 

[TrevS]

Ok, I was at Oulton this weekend and if you are considering buying one the chassis number needs to be higher than 100. I was speaking to one of the supercopas spanner men and apparently they changed the weld points etc to bring them in line with the spanish series and the WTCC.. Thus making the cars stiffer and handle better round a track.

Just to let everyone know that I spoke to Seat sport and they have told me that the above information about the chassis numbers higher than 100 being stiffer and better handling is unfounded. Seat sport say they investigated this issue and found nothing to substantiate it.

 

[CupraSport]

Just to let everyone know that I spoke to Seat sport and they have told me that the above information about the chassis numbers higher than 100 being stiffer and better handling is unfounded. Seat sport say they investigated this issue and found nothing to substantiate it.

Interesting, I can only go off what some of the mechanics where saying in the pit lane and the paddock.

They maybe saying that to try and maintain the prices of the earlier cars?..

 

[TrevS]

Interesting, I can only go off what some of the mechanics where saying in the pit lane and the paddock.

They maybe saying that to try and maintain the prices of the earlier cars?..

Apparently the guy from seat sport saw your post and investigated the claim with the team who stated this (the team you spoke with) and following an investigation they found that they claimed was unfounded.

Personally that would make sense as if newer cars were better it makes the older cars useless. The championship is designed to give everyone a fair chance at winning rather than those with the larger wallets and who could afford the 'better' cars. As I understand it seat have strict regulations and checks on the cars to ensure that everone on the grid is equally matched in terms of the cars they are driving.

 

[TrevS]

Moving away from the chassis issue I would also advise any who is interested in buying one of these cars to speak to Seat Sport. Jeremy Doncaster the SEAT Cupra Championship Co-ordinator has sent me some extensive information on the cars, the championship and the running costs which has proved very helpful. Its given me a clear idea of the budget I would need to both own one of these cars and compete with it so thanks Jeremy.

Contact details for seat sport can be found on the Cupra championship website here:
http://www.seatsportuk.co.uk/SccNet/default.aspx?Page=ChampionshipInfo

 

[CupraSport]

Interesting as I did not mention a team or teams anyway glad it is sorted out. I agree with what you are saying re the cars they are supposed to be as you say identikit racers with the drivers only able to make a small number of changes, but not engine / performance ones. Good luck on finding one by the way. I am starting to investigate a way into a series but having never raced on a track (only ever done track days) I am going to be asking a few people for advice on the way in and finances required. If you wouldn't mind pm'ing me what you belive the costs to be for a season with the Seats I would be greatful

 

[TrevS]

Interesting as I did not mention a team or teams anyway glad it is sorted out. I agree with what you are saying re the cars they are supposed to be as you say identikit racers with the drivers only able to make a small number of changes, but not engine / performance ones. Good luck on finding one by the way. I am starting to investigate a way into a series but having never raced on a track (only ever done track days) I am going to be asking a few people for advice on the way in and finances required. If you wouldn't mind pm'ing me what you belive the costs to be for a season with the Seats I would be greatful

PM Sent, hope that helps

 

[Tim@Advent]

TrevS - Did you end up buying a car?