Radical Sportscars

by Michael Satterfield

The cost to be a Gentleman Racer has always been high, but racing is a unique sport because with enough money anyone can become a "professional racing driver." Recent high profile stories like Lance Stroll who joined the Williams Formula 1 team, a seat that according to Auto Motor und Sport, cost his family $80 million dollars. Then there was Vadim Kogay, the Russian Businessman who drew a lot of grief for ruining a perfectly good Ferrari during his performance in the Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am Cup.

While few of us will ever have millions of dollars to buy our way onto a Formula 1 team, or even the $50,000+ per race budget (plus the car) to run in the Ferrari Challenge, a large number of automotive enthusiasts are finding their home in the world of Radical Sportscar Racing.

The small British Sportscar maker was founded in 1997 with the goal of bringing sports car racing down to a far more attainable level. Their formula work as racers from around the world embraced the purpose-built GT cars making Radical today one of the largest producers of racing cars in the world, selling over 2,000 cars globally in the past two decades. The cars are powered by derivatives of Suzuki Hayabusa engine and range from the 175hp SR1 all the way up to the 650hp RXC 600R and are eligable for a number of classes depending on the region.

To facilitate competitive racing, Radical created racing series like the SR1 Cup, Radical Challenge, Radical Masters, and several regional series around the world. The SR1 Cup has been the starting point for many racers who are focused climbing the ladder in GT racing. From Radicals drivers have moved up into the world of GTLM and LeMans Protoype racing.

Radical doesn't simply sell you a car and hope for the best. When purchasing a Radical, owners are taken through an extensive training program, including FIA licensed racing school, and then offered several levels of track support throughout the year. Their engines and their rebuilt replacement engines even come with a warranty, something most race manufacturers would never consider.

The Radical was also designed to be user-friendly, simple enough for most owners to work on themselves, without the need for a full specialty race shop. However, if you don't want to work on your own car, Radical offers arrive and drive programs where your car is maintained by the regional Radical dealer including trackside support and hospitality. You simply fly to the track, suit up, and race your car, allowing the Radical techs to take care of the details.

I tagged along with the team from Radical as they and Gulf Racing Fuels held an event at Circuit of the Americas an event which brought out over 40 Radical owners to compete in the SR1 Cup and Radical Masters North America Cup. The racing was intence and some of the best racing from the weekend.

Pricing can vary, but I was told that an SR1 car, with licensing school and basic support comes in at just over $100,000, while a good used Radical can be found for less than $30,000. While that is still a lot of money a Ferrari Challenge car can set you back around $350,000 and cost between $25,000-$50,000 to run per-race weekend. Radical also helps keeps the cost of racing down by piggy-backing on larger series like the Pirelli World Challenge, which gives drivers access to world-class tracks like Laguna Seca, Circuit of the Americas, and Watkin's Glen.