This short guide is intended to introduce you to some of the in and outs of road rallying, so that come the day of your first event you will arrive prepared and equipped to do battle. In the main the guide will cover historic road rallying though aspects of ‘modern’ events will also be covered for completeness or interest. As we are dealing mainly with the organisational, navigational and timing aspects of events we are addressing the intelligent half of the team - the navigator. There are also a few hints on car and driver preparation. Yes your driver will need preparing - treat it like the idiot it is and make sure it has packed all the vital bits of paper and widgets required to start and complete the event. However, dear navigator, be warned you WILL get the blame for everything, except where credit is due, so give them as few excuses as possible by making sure you are as well prepared as you can be.

Motorsport in this country is governed by the Royal Automobile Club Motor Sports Association (MSA) based in Colnbrook near Slough. They are responsible for the authorisation of events and licensing of competitors and officials. At the lowest levels competitors must be a card-carrying member of an MSA affiliated motor club. This allows you to compete in ‘closed-to-club events such as 12 car navigational rallies and autotests.

At higher levels both crewmembers require an MSA licence. These are issued at various levels according to the competence of the competitor and according to the motor sport discipline - the basic split is between circuit racing and other ‘Non-Race’ events. Of course the higher the grade the more money they will relieve you of!

The lowest grade licences, which may be obtained without any previous experience, are the ‘Clubmans’ and the ‘National B’. The licence you get depends upon the grade of event you intend to enter. Events are granted permits to run by the MSA in return for a per capita fee. The permits have the same grading as the licences, and therefore to enter a ‘National B ‘ event you will require a National B or higher grade licence. Higher-grade licences require a competitor to show evidence of experience. This is achieved by obtaining the required number of clerk-of-the-course (see later) signatures on your licence indicating that you have successfully completed a number of events.

Competition Licences for both driver and navigator are obtained from the MSA (01753 681736) - a ‘National B’ licence will be required for the HRCR championship rounds. You need to normally allow 1 month if submitting your application at the busy period at the start of the year, but coughing up more money can accelerate this.

Valid event insurance for the driver(s) is required for any event that uses the public highway. This can be either be arranged with your normal car insurance, or you can obtain cover for the duration of the rally on schemes arranged by the rally organisers through Bowring Motorsports or Bradstock Insurance Brokers. Please note that many insurance policies do not cover rallies. Your driver should check to make sure. The Bowring and Bradstock schemes allows you to take out third party cover for the duration of the event. If you want to use the Bradstock scheme, your driver simply has to sign a declaration at each event to the effect that he has not been involved in an accident for the past 3 years etc. A premium is then paid for each event. If you have had an accident, you will have to liase with organisers and Bradstock’s to see if there will be any loading on the premium. You should do this in good time before your first event.

The minimum paperwork you will require for Historic events is a current MOT, tax disc for the car and a V5 logbook, which is required to verify the actual age of the vehicle. This is particularly true if your car is registered at or about the change over point for age categories in the event. Remember also that a manufacturing roll over period applies. This means for example that if your car was registered after 31/12/67 but was manufactured before 31/12/67 you may enter the up to 31/12/67 age category.

However if you have plans to move onto bigger events, the car’s eligibility will be checked. This is to ensure that the car is prepared to a standard consistent with its age and type. The MSA issue identity papers for a car. These identify the specific vehicle with all its major components identified. Before validating the papers the MSA will verify the state of preparation with a marque expert. These papers are only required for larger events but can be a worthwhile investment. You should talk to Neil Eason-Gibson at the MSA if you want to obtain a set of papers.

All events issue a set of documentation, which define the rules and information by which the event is run. The main regulations are contained in the MSA Motorsport Yearbook (see below) but these will be augmented by the Supplementary Regulations (‘the Regs’), Final Instructions (‘finals’), Competitor Bulletins etc. which are issued by the organisers to clarify or refine the normal regulations of the MSA. You should read (several times) and memorise these documents - even the most experienced can be caught out by some wrinkle in the Regs which they have failed to spot.

You will also need the right maps i.e. the maps specified in the regulations at the edition specified - Never use old maps as rally navigation relies on specific details on the maps which may change between editions. Organisers have been known to exploit the differences and together with revised junction layouts and new roads, it is very easy to get lost or confused. All rallies use the Ordnance Survey 1:50000 Landranger series maps in the pink covers.

Average Speed Tables - This is a convenient book of tables detailing times for given distances at different speeds. Invaluable for accurate results on regularity sections but more of this anon. You can either produce your own or buy them from the Championship Organisers.