I fear I may be opening a floodgate here,b but let me preface:

I know Hi Tens frames aren't exactly super duper awesome. I get it. I'm aware, I don't need to be reminded.

My question is this: A relative knows im into cycling of all sorts (mtb, road, thinking of giving Cyclocross a try), also knows I've been looking at maybe trying out BMX racing, so they bought me a bmx. It's nothing special, believe me. A Framed Impact, Hi Tens, One Piece Crank, etc. I've seen Mongoose with better specs (actually the Mode 900 doesn't look horrible, believe it or not). Regardless, free bike. I'm gonna ride the damned thing till the wheels come off.

Anyhow, point is, at the moment I'm on a pretty tight budget and won't be able to pick up anything really workable until Summer-ish. My question is, would a Hi Tens bike work for some entry level racing? I know it'll take a beating and probably not last a year, and I'm okay with that. I guess what I'm asking is how much wear will I get out of it before the track has an imprint of my face on it?

Thanks guys and gals.