Historic Sports Car Club
HSCC Historic Racing
Saloon Register
HRSR
750 Motor Club
750MC
British Automobile Racing Club
BARC British Racing
Drivers Club
BRDC in
which Imps can and from time to time do enter. There are also many categories
in which Imp engines are used to propel single seater racing cars.
Sprints & HillclimbsBack to Sprints
and Hillclimbs, if you decide circuit racing is the thing for you then this is
the best place to start.
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What is Sprinting? Well put simply it is a
timed lap around a race circuit, the idea being to try and get your car round
the circuit faster than anybody else
Racingimps shows some
good sprint pics. |
Cars are set off one at a time against the
clock, getting several runs each to try and achieve a fastest time. Now
obviously this is a little unfair as different vehicles have different
performance abilities so the field is therefore split up in to classes of
vehicles of similar abilities. The basic class splits are; production cars,
kitcars, racing cars and single seaters. With further splits within the classes
for standard or modified cars and by engine size all dependant on the number of
entries.
Some championships also include special classes for makes or models
of vehicle the most common including Westfield, Bugatti and TVR. This is a good
point to introduce the
Hillclimb &
Sprint Association ( H.S.A.) who run the
Aldon
Automotive/H.S.A. speed championship and through the efforts of
The Imp Club and Ben
Boult have included 4 classes for Imps. So come on lets get out there and
support them!
So what are the classes?
Class (M) Standard Hillman
Imps; this includes any model in the Imp range
The best cars in this class
will be those fitted with the sport engine ie. Stiletto and Imp or Singer
Sports, however this should not stop other models having a go as there is still
a lot of fun to be had in any car. This class is for un-modified cars, which
still comply to the manufacturers spec for the model.
Class (N) Modified
roadgoing Imps;
this class caters for any modified imps up to 1040cc which
can still be used on the road. So anybody out there with a 998 or 1040 Imp here
is your chance. These cars must still be steel shell imps with and engine based
on the imps engine block, but 1040cc on twin 40s and front rad, with rollcage,
fibreglass doors and plastic windows would be an acceptable sort of
spec.
Class (O) Imp Powered specialist cars,
this class is for imp
engined road going vehicles. Usually contested by Ginettas Clans and Davrins,
the cars have to be to a similar spec to the modified imps.
Class (P) Imp
Engined Vehicles,
This class caters for any special built imp engined racing
Cars, spaceframes and single seaters.
What
else do I need? Extra to the car you will need a set of overalls, boots, gloves
and a helmet, I would recommend fitting a fire extinguisher to the car and a
roll over bar is a good idea if you come across a cheap one but not compulsory
for the road going classes. You will also need a competition licence and your
vehicle documents (tax & test) for the road going classes, and also for 2
day events accommodation, be it a tent/caravan or B&B.
How much does it
cost? The big question. Lets start with you already having an Imp, and I will
price the other items to give you an idea of the basic costs; Safety equipment
see links to suppliers at end of article Competition licence £40. Events
cost about £60 each plus there is an annual fee of £20 to register
with the H.S.A for the Imp championship
For details of clubs, circuits and
driving schools see section on track days later in the article
TrialsOne of the few motor sport
disciplines that does not involve going as fast as you can, the idea behind
trialing is to drive as far up a hill as possible, via a defined route, usually
marked out by numbered wooden poles.
The hills or sections as they are known
are laid out on the banks of a grassy field, and competitors will attempt each
of the 10 hills 4 times during the day, after the competitors have attempted
the hills once it is usual for the organisers to alter the hills before the
next round. The hills usually include a few trees or other natural obstacles in
order to allow several lines to be available within the section in an attempt
to vary the scores of the different drivers and cars.
The numbering system
on the hill is in reverse order to indicate the penalty points awarded to the
competitor at the point at which they fail, or stop on the section. The scores
are then added up for each competitor and the winner is the one with the lowest
score having completed all the sections.
Types of trials
PCT'sProduction Car Trials
PCT's as they are known are the gentlest form of trials for
people competing in ordinary road cars, and the best place to start whether in
an imp or something else (never!). Imps are becoming less common on trials as
people move on to more modern front wheel drive cars, but there are still about
5 competing at national championship level and you will usually see one at most
local club events.
The Classes in PCT’s are 1. un-modified front wheel
drive, 2. Modified front wheel drive, 3. Rear wheel drive, 4. Kitcars and
others. Within each of the classes cars are further subdivided by use of
different tyre pressures dependant on engine size.
Class 1 Is for very
STD Fwd cars, you are allowed an extra set of new tyres to change on arrival at
the event and the car may be fitted with a sump-guard. Cars in this class must
be taxed and tested for the road.
Class 2 Is for other Fwd cars in this
class you are allowed to carry Ballast, usually lead in the front bumper or
valance to help increase grip over the driven wheels, you may also change
suspension, blue print, lighten and balance the engine, modify the intake and
exhaust systems and change the cam.
Class 3 Is the Rwd equivalent of class
2, and the home of most of the Imps. Due to the age of cars in this class the
engine may also be re-bored to ‘60 thou’ for the purpose of
reconditioning.
Class 4 Is for anything else, Kitcars, Imps with big engines
or LSD’s fitted etc.
On the social side of trials you
need a passenger in the car with you on the sections and as they are not scary
this could be wife, kids or friends, although there is a minimum age limit of
14 for passengers and 16 for drivers, due to the event being held in one field
it is allowed for 2 people to enter in one car, so it can make an interesting
family outing. Especially if the kids start beating dad in his car!
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A note about driving on grass, as many of you
may know putting your foot down and spinning the wheels does not help, trials
is all about the skill of gaining as much speed as possible on a slippery
surface, even if this means backing off the throttle while climbing a hill to
maintain traction. The tricky bit is getting enough power down to complete the
hill without spinning the wheels and just digging a hole. |
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Classic
TrialsClassic Trials no not specially for Imps, but of the format
which, trials first started where you drive your car down the road between
sections which are usually up old cart tracks, therefore often rough and muddy.
This type of trial would need a bit more work on the car, you need a minimum of
a sumpguard some HD springs and a couple of spare tyres. You will also need a
footpump and some leg muscles as the tyres will have to be let down and pumped
up for every section. The scoring is very similar to PCT’s but some
sections will include stop-starts halfway up or split routes for different
classes.
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Famous events include The Edinburgh and The
Lands End trials. Some recent entries from The Imp Club include Bob Blackman in
the Llama, Dick Tompkins and Ed Nickel from Northampton in Imps. |
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Classic trials were also featured on Top Gear
some years ago when Tony Mason followed the MCC’s lands end trial showing
you could compete in any thing from a 2CV to a Dellow.
Classes are available
for almost any car or bike and are split as, 1&2 are motorcycles and M/C
& sidecars, 3 is Fwd production cars, 4&5 is Rwd production cars
under/over 1300cc, 6 is modified cars from classes 3-5, 7 is kitcars and 8 is
special trials cars such as Dellows. So an imp would run in class 4 as 875cc
and 6 with 998+cc engines.
Sporting
TrialsSporting
Trials, not really for Imps but some of the special vehicles used in these
events do use Imp engines.
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For those who haven’t seen a sporting
trials car before, think of a bath tub with a rollover hoop and front engine,
held up on a pair of bike front wheels and beetle rear wheels. These cars have
some interesting handling characteristics as they have independent rear disc
brakes known as ‘fiddle brakes’ allowing the car to be turned round
on the spot by locking one wheel. |
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Some of you may remember seeing these cars on
things like ‘Young Driver of the Year Award’ a few years back where
the contestants were challenged to drive these cars through sections a good
trials driver would take an Imp. On events these cars are driven up banks which
seem to resemble the side of building and the drivers have no difficulty
weaving between trees while they are at it to get a better line up the
section.
As for getting involved, it is scary what one of these vehicles
will go up, so your introduction to trials may be better if started somewhere
else! But there great fun to go and watch or marshal for.
Finally how
much does it cost? Well not much, as you can turn up in a std car and have a go
at local club events, the entry fee is usually around £5 for a PCT while
at national level you will get charged nearer £23 and need a £10
competition licence for PCT’s and sporting trials, while classic trials
usually cost nearer £40 due to the added organisation of an event which
travels around between the sections. The best way to get involved is again to
go through a local motorsports club see index of motorsport
clubs.
RalliesSo you’ve
all seen Colin, Alistair and Richard chasing through the forests or across the
deserts, but lets get real there isn’t an Imp WRC and most of us could not
afford the multi-million pound budget that
WRC requires if there was!
Trust me I know what it costs as I work for MSD, the people in charge of the
Hyundai Accent WRC. So what can we do in an Imp? Well there are several types
of rallies you could get involved in. They are basically divided between road
events and stage events and within each type of event there are championships
organised for all sorts of different groups. From single makes or models ie.
The Ford Ka Rally series and Vauxhall 1600’s series to championships for
Historic Vehicles or Regional Areas competing between motor clubs.
The main
difference between road and stage events is the navigational instructions. For
stage events you are competing on private land with no other vehicles to worry
about, therefore the navigators job is to read the pace notes to warn the
driver of forth coming obstacles and turns so he can drive as fast as possible.
While on road events the navigation is given in such a way that the challenge
is to follow the given route in order to find the next control point.
Stage Ralling
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Stage Events, If this what you fancy, then
you are most likely to start with single venue stage rallies, this is where a
motor club will set up only one stage and run the rally over the stage several
time. This allows plenty of time in the pits between runs to try different
setups, repair any damage and so on, as you are not driving from one stage to
the next to complete the event. |
This type of event allows you to try out your
skills as a driver or co driver and check over or set up the car without the
difficulty of running out of time on the road section because you were trying
to fix something. The venues for these events vary depending on what is
available to the local motor club, some run through forest tracks others on old
airfields these being most common as they give a mixture of tarmac and loose
surfaces to run on different events, and although not allowed in the UK many
countries can run them on closed roads. Club members can see letters from Ian
Fisher who regularly competes in France and Belgium, Impressions List at bottom
of this section. The other type of stage rally is the multi venue event, these
can range from 2 or 3 stages for a local club event to the full world rally
championship round, And we all know how to make ourselves famous in an Imp,
I’m sure you remember Nigel Barnet from the 1999 RAC
Historic Rally when Tommi
Makinen’s WRC rally ended at Millbrook due to an oil slick left by a
competitor from the mornings historic event. In fairness to Nigel he was not
the last car through before Tommi and there would have been several hours
between the classic event and the RAC which should have been plenty of time for
the marshals to have cleared it up.
Road
Rallies
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Road Events, these unlike the stage events
are run on open roads so the speed has to be kept down for legal reasons, and
this is done in several ways, the first being to pick tight twisty country
lanes, the second is to make the navigation between check points difficult in
order to keep the average speeds well within the legal limit in order to keep
the police happy when they check the route plans before the event can run. |
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There are several different ways of running
these events, they can be either in scatter format where you are given a list
of points to find your own best route, or of regularity type where the route
for the next section is only given to you as your leave the check point.
Scatter rallies are usually run by local motor clubs on
evenings or weekends for the members to have a bit of fun & hone there
skills practising for the championships they compete in. The format of these
events is usually that you are given a list of points, as grid refs. from an OS
map and a set of treasure hunt style questions to answer at each point as proof
of having visit. You are usually given 3hrs to plot the points choose a route
and visit as many points as possible. The points and questions usually refer to
Phone Boxes, Post Boxes and Pubs, the questions asking you to provide the tel.
number, a posting time or the name of the land lord as proof of visiting the
point. As and extra twist the organisers will usually give the different clues
points values in accordance to their distance/difficulty from the start/finish
venue, usually a local pub. The usual way of dealing with this event is to sit
down and plot about ½ of the clues, the ones with higher points, before
set off leaving the poor navigator to not only direct the driver but also fill
in the other clues and incorporate then into the route as you go. These events
are usually laid out so that even the best teams can only visit about ¾
of the clues to give a difference in scores.
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Regularity rallies, which includes most of
the historic road rallies in Britain, are run over a fixed route given to you
in the form of navigation clues along the route at check points. The route for
historic’s will usually include a series of special tests along the way,
run off the public roads, as a mixture of simple autotests trials and shorts
sprints depending on locations available such as grassy fields, car parks and
private access roads. |
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So how does the navigation work, at the start
you will be given a road book this will include details of some of the major
check points, locations of the special tests and usually a drawing of the test
route and details of any other special info ie. Prohibited roads. You now have
a series of points on your map to help guide your navigating and also points to
rejoin the event if you get lost or stuck with any of the clues. Also in the
road book you will get details of scrutineering, your meal tickets if they are
included as part of the event, you time card and details of the measured mile,
this is usually marked on the road side near the start so you can check that
your speedo reads the same as that of the organiser for when the navigation is
given in distances. Ok ready to start, usually there will be a special test at
the start so you will queue up in entry number order to have ago at the test.
From here you will then get your time card signed with your test time and start
time and be set off , the last thing you get is the first piece of navigation.
‘Right.’ ‘No left.’ So you are sitting 10 yards past the
start waiting for the navigator to work out the clues, actually if he’s
any good he will have watched some of the earlier cars set off and be able to
set you off in the correct direction while he does that.
So how do the clues
work, try
Historic Road Rally, the site gives in depth description of
road rally navigation. There are many other ways of giving out the navigation
all of which are designed to be challenging to the navigator so that there is
less time left to complete the stage. In order for these events to be run on
open roads they must as there name suggests be run at a regulated speed, which
is usually set between 23-37 mph average which may not sound like much but by
the time you have plotted the route and driven along narrow & twisty lanes
its not as easy as it sounds.
As for the timing/scores they are done as a
result of your time at each control, the controls can vary between passage
controls where a board will be places at the side of the road for you to
collect a number/letter or word as proof of visiting and manned check points
where your time is recorded to check your speed and penalties are given for
being both early and late. The results for the event are then calculated from a
combination of penalties usually 10 for failing to get a passage control, 1 per
minute late and 2 per minute early at manned controls plus the results in
minutes & seconds for the special tests to avoid getting ties in the top
competitors scores.
’12 car rallies as the name suggests they are
limited to twelve entrants, but allow small numbers of modern cars to have a go
at historic style regularity rallies, and by restricting the numbers of
entrants per events the governing body have reduced the chance of complaints
caused by streams of WRX’s & EVO6’s causing a nuisance. As a
result of the restrictions you don’t actually need these types of cars and
events are often won by a good driver and navigator in a 1.0L Nova or
similar.
Cost & Requirements, you can start rallying for as little as
£5 for a scatter rally plus about another £5 for a copy of the
local
OS map which you
will be able to use again provided you only use pencils to write on them.
Historic rallies start from about £80 and you will need several OS maps,
a stopwatch, several tanks of petrol and a Competition Licence worth £27.
Stage rallies, single venue events usually start from £150 and go up to
£2700 for a round of the FIA world championship, for any of the stage
events the car will need a rollcage and other safety kit such as fire
extinguishers (see safety equipment and suppliers), it also needs to be built
to comply to homologation regulations
HRCT or
Historic Road
Rally also the homologation papers produced by the FiA (international
events) MSA (uk events). As a driver you will also need the appropriate level
of competition licence and also overalls, helmet, gloves and boots etc. see
safety equipment and suppliers for prices of these items. The only expensive
bit is buying a good navigator as they are a sort after commodity, a cheaper
option is to find a like minded friend from the club to train up as you go
along
‘a few good kicking’s and they soon learn’ for
anybody thinking of navigating remember
‘no matter how far from the
mark he was, the driver will always have been right!’ drivers only
take the credit for winning while navigators get blamed for
loosing!
Club members can also see previous articles in the club
magazing Impressions for more views and ideas on competing in Imps;
| Ian Fisher, Aug01 |
Brod Purdy, June01 |
| Nigel Davis, June01 |
Ian Fisher, Dec00 |
| Ted Pool, Sept00 |
Neil Gurner, LeJog, Aug00 |
| Nigel Barnet, RAC, June00 |
Alain Barbou, France, Jan99 |
AutotestsAutotests are a test of driving skills which involve
competitors carrying out a sequence of vehicle manoeuvres, around a test
usually laid out with cones. These manoeuvres include circling of cones,
handbrake turns, crossing and stopping at lines and driving through slaloms,
both forwards and backwards, in either first or reverse gears. Each driver is
timed on each test and times are totalled to give results in each event.
Whoever is quickest through the tests of the day is the winner, well
you’ve all seen it at Imp Nationals and you fancy a go.
Types of
vehicles, because the tests involve manoeuvring cars against the stopwatch,
smaller cars are more suitable than large ones, although there are normally
five different classes for various types for car.
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Minis and Specials based on Minis are the
most popular, sorry guy’s but I’m afraid that Imps loose out here as
the front wheel drive Mini is much easer to get round tight turns and most
vehicles used at autotests are either front wheel drive or specials built for
the job, but don’t be put off you can still have a lot of fun at local
events. The Imp is also a lot more competitive on grass events than the tarmac
events as rear wheel drive gives that extra grip needed for slippery surfaces.
|
There is no need to have highly modified cars
but there are certain basic things that should be done to make sure that a car
will perform properly. Including pumping up the tyres disabling the handbrake
button and fitting a knob on the steering wheel this enables you to operate the
gears and handbrake whilst steering and makes the car to slide more, on tarmac,
which is essential for some of the manoeuvres required. (See report / picture
by Nick Pullan in Oct 2001 Impressions)
Having a go, Club events can be done
on a club membership cards and national championship events licence like in
trials only costs from £10. A Road Traffic Act driving licence is not
needed, and the minimum age is 16 years to have a go. Events will cost around
£5 for a club event upto £30 for a national round.
Autograss RacingAutorass is the sport of racing specially prepared Saloon
cars and single seat racing cars on circuits laid out on grass or similar
natural surfaces. The course is usually an oval track of around one quarter of
a mile, and up to ten cars race together from a "straight line start" or up to
twenty cars from a "grid" type start. The sport has developed from the various
forms of "Grasstrack" racing taking place around the United Kingdom, but now
under the control of the national governing body, NASA (National Autograss
Sports Association).
Autograss racing has developed into a highly
sophisticated and competitive form of motor racing, while remaining affordable
for the ordinary enthusiast. Strictly a non contact sport... although a little
rubbing is inevitable, cars race in ten national classes, catering for
everything from a "Class one" standard 1000cc Mini to the most sophisticated
"Class seven" supersaloons and "Class ten" specials. Their are also well
supported classes for lady and junior drivers, twelve to sixteen year old
drivers are allowed to drive "Class one" Mini's in a Junior championship. It is
not uncommon to see a Father, Mother, son or Daughter all sharing the driving
of one Mini at a race meeting.
The Autograss Classes
CLASS 1 -
Standard production front-wheel drive saloons upto 1000cc . This class is
restricted to BMC/Leyland/Austin Rover Mini's and no modifications whatsoever
are allowed apart from those required by NASA safety regulations. It's a very
well supported and competitive and the standard cars are surprisingly quick.
This is the only class of car which Junior drivers are permitted to
race.
CLASS 2 - Production Saloons up to 1300cc. Limited engine and
suspension modifications are allowed in this class, but equality is ensured by
stipulating that all engines must breathe through a 32mm intake restrictor.
Class 2 enterd a new era in 1998 with front-wheel-drive cars such as the
Vauxhall Nova now elibeable to challenge the established front-running Ford
Escorts and Toyota Starlets, while rear engined Imps, NSU's and Suzukis are
highly competitive.
Class 3 - front-engined rear-wheel-drive Saloons
over 1420cc
| Class 4 - Modified saloons up to 1130cc. This
is the smallest of the "fully modified" classes with the only restriction being
that the engine must be of a type originally sold in that make of car. The
class sees close battles at National level between the screaming Mini's and
Imps. |
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See article in dec99 impressions detailing
Roger Gill’s class 4 national championship win in his 1120cc blue &
yellow Stiletto |
Class 5 - Modified Saloons 1131 to
1420cc.
Class 6 - Modified front wheel drive Saloons over
1420cc.
| Class 7 - Modified rear wheel drive Saloons
over 1420cc . (PHOTO12) Probably the greatest crowd pleaser at National level,
these are the ultimate "Supersaloons". The idea is to cram the biggest , most
powerful engine you can find into the smallest, lightest bodyshell. You'll see
Fiesta's, Escorts, Metro's, Mini pickups and imps like you've never seen
before, with V8 or V6 engines, often supercharged or turbocharged, or with twin
motorbike engines, sitting where the rear seat should be. |
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Class 8 - Specials up to 1420cc. usually
bikes and some small car engines such as imps
Class 9 - Specials 1421 -
2065cc. . No bike or twin engines allowed in this class.
Class 10 -
Specials over 2065cc. mixture of V6 & V8 plus some 2 bike engine designs
You'll rarely see two Autograss specials alike as the ingenuity of the home
designers/builders shows through in some superbly engineered cars.
autograss.com |
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As for cost of these events they are nearly
the cheapest to enter motorsport event going as a tenner will get you a licence
and an entry to a national round, the cars however are something else and will
need hours of skilled time to create the rollcage / chassis and build a full
race spec engine to propel it over these short but very fast grass
tracks.
Ice Racing
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This is not something that I have ever been
involved in as it normally takes place in Finland, therefore I only know what I
have read in the club magazine so will have to recommend that if you are
interested you will have to get in touch with some of the Finnish members who
run a fleet of wild and wonderful ice racing Imps. |
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Drag
RacingIn purely practical terms, drag racing is the art of covering a
quarter mile (440 yards) as fast as possible from a standing start. Here's a
nice little drag racing game link
Gates.com-drag race As well as highly specialised drag
racing machines, there are a wide variety of classes for other vehicles,
including roadgoing saloons and sports cars. The most expensive cars are
capable of covering the quarter mile in under six seconds. Heavy American
influence has resulted in some colourful terms for the various classes: Funny
Car, Top Alcohol and Top Fuel are all well known to the enthusiastic drag
racing fraternity. The easiest way to get involved is to turn up at one of the
RWYB (run what you brung) days held at the major venues during the year.
Santa Pod RacewayAvon Park
RacewayYork DragwayTrack
DaysA cheap way of getting your car out on the race circuit is to
attend one of these days where a club or group will hire a track and and charge
people a small fee to have a drive round the circuit depending on the
organisers and circuit, cars may be run one at a time or in a group.
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The Imp Club usually attends Castle Combe as
part of the Classic and Sportscar Action Day featured in Dec01 Impressions, as
one of those there I can say all involved had a good time (sorry to everybody I
scared when the imp backfired in the paddock during lunch it had been well
thrashed eairler, I wonder who would a thing like that. |
Details of track days are usually listed in the
classic and performance car mags as well as on the circuits websites and
literature, details of your local circuits will be available from
Telephone directories or
Directory of circuits For
those members in Holland I know that John, Jaap, Rob and Murray have been to
some timed track events at the Lelystad circuit and had a lot of
fun.
Driving SchoolsThere are
also many race, rally and sprint schools usually associated with names of
famous drivers ie. Mansell, Brooks, McRae, etc which offer drive days or
instruction in each of the different disciplines, so you could go along and
have a go that way before spending any money on your car. It is worth making
sure the schools are recognised by ‘ARDS assocation of race drivers
schools’ or ‘BARS British association of rally schools’, so that
any tuition given can count towards competition licence applications if you
start to get serious. The sprint schools which are certainly run at Prescott
and Curbrough venues allow you to have a go in your own road or sprint car and
instruct you on the different aspects of sprint/hillclimbing, lines, braking
points, starts, etc. Look them up on the Ukmotorsport website listed at the top
of the article.
Marshalling &
OrganisingFor those wishing to become involved with motor sport - but
not as a competitor, there can be no better introduction than as a marshal or
official. You will get the best view of the action, free entry and be able to
give something back to the sport. Marshals are needed at almost all events and
you can do almost anything from marking the score cards at trials and autotests
to fire or flag marshal at major race and rally events.
To organise any
event requires a small army of volunteers, usually many more than the number of
competitors. These volunteers carry out a wide range of duties, all of which
contribute to the overall efficiency and success of the event.
The largest
single motor sport event during the year is the Network Q Rally, which needs
almost 6,000 marshals and officials alongside its one million
spectators.
Again the best way to get involved is through a local motor club
who will always be grateful of anybody offering to help out or you could get
involved through one of the national registers for marshals listed below. While
you can just turn up and offer your services as a marshal at most events I
would recommend joining a club as this way you will get known / respected and
are likely to be invited to help in the more interesting positions and
events.
Marshals Clubs:
Other
Eventsthings to try as an Area Centre group for fun if not in an Imp
Karting or Quad Racing, if you can raise about 10 members from the local area
centre interested then why not organise a hospitality style day or evening for
the group for about £30 each you can have a great day out racing each
other.
Stock Cars or motocross use special vehicles car/bikes designed for
the oval events but they make a great night out for a group of club members
with nothing else to do (all imps running well !!! that must be a
first.)
Details of local Grand Prix Karting and Stock Car centers are
usually listed in
yellow
pages etc.
Spectating and Marshalling for any of the events covered over
the last few months, going to events is more fun if there is a group so why not
get out to some of the events covered by this page.
Or there is always a
series of intermational sporting events going on, such as
F1-ITV or
F1-LIVE,
Indy500 and
Lemans 24hr etc, so join
in, details of Imp Club group trips are listed in Impressions, so don’t
forget to check the
Imp Club
events calendar for ‘go’ events which are motorsport
orientated.
Having a go
People often ask ‘what is the best
way to get involved ?’ well it depends a bit on what you have and want to
do. There are 2 ways of looking at it.
A. what type of event from the
previous articles interests you?
B. what can you do with the car you already
have?
So go along to a few events and have a look and talk to some
competitors, bearing in mind that if you already have an Imp you want to use,
then you need to look for an event where the regulations will not exclude you
and any modifications made will not hinder the performance, ie. Monties and
13” alloys would not be ideal for going trialing, while a late model Imp
may exclude you from some historic events etc.
How to decide what to do,
bearing in mind what I have just said the best way to find out about motorsport
is to go along and see what happens. Find out about a local event and go along,
watch what happens and talk to some of the people competing as you know from
being part of the Imp Club most people are more than happy to tell you about
them and their car provided you don’t get in the way when they are busy.
David Llewellen and Simon Benoy, from the Imp Club Committee are amongst the
crowd of people competing in the imp sprint championship.
To find events
either look them up in a copy of something like ‘Motorsport News’ or
‘Autosport’ and go to a local club event near you, or contact a local
motor club they will be listed in the Club Locators at the top of this article
either of the publications just mentioned and get involved through them maybe
even as a marshal.
Track days or racing, rally and sprint schools mentioned
above are also a good way of getting started and having ago before spending any
money on your car.
If you are basing you choice on the car you have then
a simple guide would be that a Std Imp would be best used for Trials, Autotests
or Historic rallies, while a modified sporty Imp would have more success in the
classes on sprint and hillclimbs.
Homologation and rules, the exact
rules/spec of cars for each event varies depending on who organises the event
and which championship it is included in, But as the MSA (see contacts above)
control most events in the UK and the FiA control most international events,
there rule books are a good start. The MSA rule book known as the Bluebook
costs £20 but is also available free with all competition licences the
cheapest of which ‘The Clubmans’ is £10 and will let you
compete in most club and regional ‘non race’ events without having to
join the local club each time to be covered by there insurance.
Anyway,
a rough guide as to the level of modification for events would
be,
Trials – Std wheels and road pattern tyres must be used,
sumpguard and HD springs may be fitted, std engine size, big engines run in a
class for specials, Mot needed.
Autotests – as trials but tyres are not
limited
Scatter rallies – any road going car
Historic rallies –
Std cars or any modifications originally Homologated by Routes, before the
class cut off date, but be careful it is limited to the exact components
originally used. So you will need to check any modifications against the
original homologation papers which are also available from the FiA and
MSA.
Sprints & Hillclimbs – classes vary between championships but
the HSA Imp Championship classes are STD imps, Road Going Imps up to 1040cc,
Road going kitcars with Imp engines up to 1040cc, and Others. So modify
accordingly, roadgoing cars do not have to have roll cages but will need tax
& test
If in doubt about a mod ask the event scrutineer prior to the
start, however for your first few club events they will probably let you run
anyway as they are always willing to encourage new competitors
Licences,
what level of competition licence is needed for competing?
Events run by a
local motor club for their own members only, can be done without a competition
licence such as the autotests run at National, this covers Trials, Autotests
and some road rallies.
A £10 clubmans licence will let you do these
events at national championship level.
For Sprints Hillclimbs and Historic
Road Rallies you will need a National Level B competition licence which will
cost around £40
For Stage rallies and circuit racing you will need
higher grades of licences from either MSA or FiA, many of which need
applications backed up with proof of experience such as courses or signatures
from organisers of events at which you have previously competed in, so I wont
even to try to list these, as by the time you get to this level you’ll
know what’s going on without my help
People are often worried about
damaging the car, there is a small chance that in competing in motorsport you
may damage your car and I would not suggest that you do so in a concourse car,
but most of the damage caused is done so by choice of the driver trying too
hard to win and going off under braking or hitting big bumps to try and gain
that extra little bit. All of which can be avoided at club events if you are
just having a go for fun. I would not expect a club event to cause any more
damage to your car than you would do yourself when out for a thrash and get a
bit close to the hedgerow avoiding an oncoming milk tanker (or similar) leaving
a few scraches down the side of the car from the passing branches. That said
the car should be in good working order, as competing on events should be
considered similar to driving fast on the road and will soon show up any worn
out components.
Safety Equipment,
Suppliers & CostsItems for competition are available from many
different retailers but 2 of the main ones are
Demon Tweeks and
Need for Speed
whos prices are used here to give a guide to the minimum cost of getting
started in race and rally type events.
Overalls £55
Boots
£35
Gloves £20
Helmet Open face £50, Visor type
£70
Fire extinguisher £30
For around £200 you should be
ready to start competing so get your entries in.
Finally motorsport is
never cheap, travelling round the country for fun never is, but for those of
you who fancy having a go I hope have shown you some of the cheaper and most
fun ways of doing so, now lets hope we see you out on some events in the new
season.
