Go Rallying For £20!!

If you're reading this you are probably an enthusiastic driver.  And you would probably also like to have a go at rallying but reckon that you couldn't afford it.  It is true that preparing a car for a forest rally can be expensive.  And when you add on the costs of safety equipment, entry fees, petrol and tyres, and running a service crew you will need deep pockets or generous sponsors.                                                 

But not all rallying is like that.  You can go rallying for as little as £20, and your existing car is probably all you'll need. 

Highland Car Club runs a series of navigational car rallies throughout the year.  These events take place at night on public roads.  The route is anything from 50 to 150 miles, and the emphasis is on navigation.  The route is split into sections of between 2 and 15 or so miles.  The route instruction you're given at the start only takes you to the first control, and you get the instruction for the next section when you arrive at that control. 

There is a time schedule for completion of each section, and you get penalties for failing to keep to that schedule, or not following the correct route.  There will be times when you will have to drive enthusiastically to keep to the schedule! 

HCC members Alan Radin and Graham Watson have been Scottish Navigational Rally Champions in the past . They competed in a 12 Year old Astra and Alan explains: "Anything compact and with reasonable performance is ideal for these events, but really anything goes and there are other crews who compete in cars as varied as an Audi 100 or a VW Lupo. 

"If the navigation is difficult it can be necessary to hurry along to avoid picking up penalties for being late.  But the roads are still open to the public, and the Highway Code has to be followed at all times.  In fact, the competition rules are sometimes more strict than the Highway Code, such as having to stop and not just give way at a Give Way junction." 

The navigation is a very important aspect of this type of event, and crews are divided into classes based on their navigation skills and experience, rather than the performance of the car.  Graham Watson explains: "The navigators use Ordnance Survey Landranger  maps and the route instructions can refer to any detail or information shown on the map.  In the beginners class the instructions will be relatively straightforward so that the navigator can concentrate on getting his lefts and rights the correct way round! 

"But as the crews gain experience and progress up the classes, the route instructions will become more difficult to work out, and both the driver and navigator will have to be on top form to keep to the correct route within the time allowed.  Of course the organisers will chose the narrowest and twistiest roads they can find for the route!" 

The club runs pre-rally training nights during the week before rallies for new competitiors to give drivers and navigators an idea of what to expect on the event. 

" This is an excellent first step towards getting into forest rallying.  If you have mastered the details of a road rally timecard, it is only a small step to understand the timing requirements and procedures on stage rallies.  Many of the world's top rally co-drivers took their first motorsport steps in road rallies. 

If you think this may be for you but are not sure, there's no better way to get a feel for these events than helping an experienced marshal on one of the time controls.  You can contact any committee member or come along to the pre-rally night and offer your services as a marshal.  But don't expect to be able to resist the driver's seat for long after that!