Do you want to compete in Motorsport ?

Motorsport provides competitors with a rewarding challenge, honing driving skills on multiple surfaces, and offering with categories suitable for drivers of age 8 years old and upwards. If you are thinking of competing, the UK Motorsport governing body, the Motor Sports Association offer a basic information and licence application starter pack, details for which can be found at Motor Sport UK MSA UK

A traditional starting point to get into Motorsport is to join your local Motor Club. To find details of those nearest you navigate to MSA UK Club Finder

Local Motor Clubs bring together those people sharing a Motorsport common interest. Most clubs have regular “club nights” which you will be encouraged to attend and welcomed. Clubs arrange a variety of Motorsport and social events on behalf of its own and other clubs members. Members are asked to volunteer marshalling or assist to organise events. These activities are a useful way to experience Motorsport “from the inside” at little or no cost to you.

Many but not all clubs organise “starter class” events and disciplines many of which allow you to compete using little more than your everyday standard road car. My recommendations to someone wishing to start rallying are;

• Follow the links above to find two or three local Motor Clubs. Call the club's membership secretary to establish where and when the membership meets, and if the clubs focus matches your interests. Some clubs might well be circuit racing biased while others may focus more on rallying or promoting “starter events”.
• Next join your choice of Motor Club, this is likely to cost you around £15-25 annually.
• Start by marshalling at a few club events to gain insight into how events are run.
• Compete in your Motor Club auto tests and production car trials. Initially this will enable you to build your basic car Motorsport car control skills, particularly “escape” and precision driving skills in a safe and relatively low speed environment with the added fun of your first taste of competition! These events are inexpensive and can be contested using just your road car, although some consider buying an older road car and a trailer in order to contest these events. Event costs are likely to be little more than an entry fee of a few pounds, fuel and tyres.

Motorsport doesn't have to be an expensive hobby!	Rally schools are great fun and huge learning curves.
Motorsport isn't as difficult to enter as you'd think!	Any vehicle can be used at your local club

To move on a step towards rally driving, enrol at an MSA approved rally school (see the links below) to do a BARS course. The BARS course has been set up to guide and teach those new to rallying the safety and general protocols and basic skills. Having passed the course, you will be eligible to enter and compete on Rally events and obtain your Motorsport driving licence.

Learn basic co-driving skills. Even if you intend driving, this will help you understand as a driver what the co-drivers job involves and how he can help you be competitive.

Team up with an existing Motor Club competitor to be the navigator (or “co-driver” as the passenger in a rally car is more often referred to) on a few “restricted rally” events. Single venue events are the first step before branching out to multiple venue stage events. Each time you finish your first 3 restricted event, you need to collect a signature from event officials in order to upgrade from the Restricted status to a National driving licence. This is a cheap way to experience rallying first hand. Event costs, usual practice is for the driver and co-driver to come to an amicable individual arrangement regarding sharing costs

Finally, you will need to build or purchase a “rally ready” vehicle suitable for the category you wish to compete in, find an experienced co-driver to assist you, and a few assistants to support your event entry. When buying a car, unless you are technically competent, ask experienced competitors for help with identifying and buying the right car for you. Alternatively contact us and we can provide all the support you need.

For information and advice regarding

• Competitive race and rally and kart driving
  
• Motorsport licensing requirements from 8 years old on
  
• Womens motorsport
  
• Marshalling
  
• Motorsport for disabled drivers
  
• Please click here for further details.

Rally Schools

See http://www.rallydriving.co.uk/

Note, not all of the listed schools offer the BARS driving course

Useful Instructional Books and Videos – multiple discipline’s.

Please click here for Co-driver guides.

Historic Rallying Events - good general advice.

Please click here for further details

Event Navigation – good general advice.

Please click here for more information