Preparing for your first event

Once you have joined a club you will have no difficulty finding out about local events coming up, by chatting to the Competitions Secretary or other members at Club Night, or by reading the club magazine or website. Alternatively you can register for one of the South-West regional championships in any of the branches of motor sport we’ve discussed. You will then automatically be sent the Regs for all the qualifying events in whichever championship you choose.

Regs is short for Regulations, or more correctly Supplementary Regulations (SRs), and refers to a document that is issued prior to any motor sport event. Taking as an example a Sprint or Hillclimb, the Regs will give such information as:

The invited clubs;
Who the event is open to;
What round of the championship it is;
The class structure;
The awards structure;
Cost of entry;
Officials’ names;
Schedule for the day, i.e. times for scrutineering, practice runs, lunch, etc;
Any additional regulations for the car
The closing date for entries

You should familiarise yourself with the sections in the ‘Blue Book’ that apply to you and your car, and the particular type of event in which you have chosen to compete. It is particularly important to observe the technical and safety criteria.

With the Regs you will receive an application form, which will need details of you, your licence, your club, your car and the class you are eligible for. Send it off as early as you can, some events are heavily over-subscribed and if you delay you may not get an entry. Don’t forget the all-important cheque – as already mentioned, costs will be in the range £5 - £15 for 12-Car Rallies, PCTs and Autotests; £15 - £35 for Sporting and Classic Trials; £50 - £100 for Sprints & Hillclimbs.

There are several things you can do while you’re waiting for your acceptance and Final Instructions to arrive. You’ll need a timing strut to activate the timing beam; the dimensions are in the Blue Book and you should be able to make this yourself. You will also need some numbers to stick on both sides of the car. You can buy these from specialist motor sport suppliers (e.g. Merlin Motorsport at Castle Combe), or make your own out of vinyl tape.

For speed events you will need a helmet and overalls. The Blue Book contains the full details, but a helmet should conform to the standard BS6658 Type A/FR minimum, or Snell SA2005.

Flame-retardant overalls may be manufactured from Nomex III, Proban, or equivalent materials. They must conform to one of the British, European or International standards. Again, check with the current Blue Book.