the weekly hand out sounds good until the racers want to practice (day of race or otherwise). what are you going to do, cut every motor each week so they're "equal"? you're right back where you started. what about a second set of practice motors?.. wait that's more money out the door again. its just not feasable or reasonable for everyone involved.
The only thing that can really cut the cost of the hobby are the racers themselves. they must come to realise that they drive the "necessity to win" with their competitive nature.
breakout classes can be fun if people realise the objective is to learn how to set up the car, how to pace yourself.. i think that might be something to look at locally. thanks for the reminder.