Huge Disclaimer – This budget projection is based on my personal experience as a racer and also as someone familiar with running race teams. This budget will only focus on a local club series of 6-8 race events for the year.
This annual budget for a single club series assumes you already own your karting equipment. With the Briggs and Stratton LO206 division, you could spend as little as $1000.00 for a used turn key kart that may need some updates to compete and up to $6000.00 for a new current technology chassis and engine package. Once you purchase the kart, you can amortize your expenses or costs based on your preference.
I’m not here to sell you on how cheap racing is, I’m here to give you information so you can make that decision. If there is a range of cost, I will use the higher cost for this article.
Most local Norcal kart clubs charge 45-65 dollars for an entry fee. Some of the clubs include the transponder for timing, some charge an additional fee of up to $20.00. This would give a non-club member a entry fee cost of 85.00 per event. Many clubs offer a discount for multiple entered classes by the same driver.
When I participate in the local club series, this is the only money out of my pocket directly to the club. Our local club also uses www.motorsportsreg.com for event registration. I personally like this feature because I can sign up in advance, put it on my credit card, and show up to the track and just grab my tech sheet and wristband. I’ve been to national karting events and had to stand in line for hours.
The next biggest weekend expense that I have as a club racer is tires. For the club series, I try to go 4-6 races on 1 set of tires. If the class has a low turn out for the day, I will put my old practice tires on the kart, which typically has 6-10 weekends of use on them. So to maximize my tires, I will rotate my old race tires into a practice set, then for the races with large turn out, use the race tires that have less time on them. From my experience with the Briggs 206 package, new tires will not put a back marker on the front row. On our local track of 40 seconds per lap, I’ve found that a new set of tires, when compared to a season old set was worth 0.30 – .50 tenths of a second. So for this article, lets say our set of tires will last us 3 race weekends. At a cost of $220.00, the amortized cost is $73.35 per weekend based on three weekends worth of use.
The next item that is the most initial cost for the weekend is my gas for my transport vehicle and the cost for my kart fuel. Being it is a Briggs, I fill up my truck and kart jug at the same time. During a practice day and a club race, I usually burn between 2-3 gallons of fuel. Being in California, we bend over with no lube for our gas cost, even though we are less than 60 miles from major gasoline refineries. I’m going to use a price tag of $3.50 per gallon at this time. That gives me a cost of $10.50 to fill up my Briggs, you can calculate your transportation cost.
Working my way down the list, the next item is chassis and engine maintenance. For engine maintenance, I serviced my own engine during the past few years. I drain my gearbox oil every weekend at a cost of $10.00. I perform my own valve jobs every 4 race weekends at an approximate cost of $50.00. Chemicals such as cleaners and solvents are also an additional cost which can add up to $10.00-$15.00 per race weekend.
I like to run fresh chains and gears on my kart, so I usually like to change every 3-4 race weekends at a cost of $50.00. For the chassis portion, I usually do an annual tear down after each season. I will replace parts as needed, which does not include crash damage. This annual clean up usually costs me around $100.00.
There are many incidentals that are not included such as batteries for the Mychron, wear and tear on driving equipment and safety gear, food and liquids for the race weekend, amortized transport costs for trailer and / or tow vehicles, track memberships, tools, and other items.
I hope you found this article helpful. Feel free to join in the discussion at KartPulse on this page, Briggs 206 Budget
Recap of the budget per event
– Entry Fee – $85.00
– Tires – $73.35
– Race Fuel – $10.50
– Engine Maintenance – $37.50
– Chain and Gears – $12.50
Annual Cost
– Chassis Tear Down – $100.00
Total Annual Costs for 8 Races – $1850.80
