How to Start Rallying
How to Start Rallying
The RAF Rally Championship enters its second year in 2012 and if you ever wanted to get involved but weren’t sure of how to get started then this article is for you.
There are several different strands of rallying but by the far the most prolific and spectacular is special stage rallying. While the World Rally Championship grabs all the headlines, you don’t need a £500,000 car to get amongst it and enjoy one of the best sports on the planet. If you are in the RAF you are in luck as rallying is one of several disciplines under the RAF Motorsports Association banner, which means you can join and participate at a considerable advantage in comparison the general public. The RAFMSA has seen a recent surge of competitors particularly in the rally discipline and last year the RAF Championship achieved accreditation by the sports UK Governing Body the MSA. There has never been a better time to take the plunge and stop reading about it and actually start doing it!
So what is rallying and how can I get involved?
Rallying is man and machine pitched against both the clock and the elements be it on forest tracks or on asphalt stages – possibly on closed public roads. There are no gravel traps, safety cars, or run off areas here. Just a crew of 2 (driver and co-driver) in normal looking everyday cars trying to get from one point to another in the shortest possible time. I say ordinary cars but the sport has made household names of cars like the Ford Escort Mk II, Audi Quattro, Subaru Impreza and Escort Cosworth.
If you want to get involved there are several different avenues you can take but the first thing is to get in touch with the RAFMSA Competition Secretary for Rallying. Currently Squadron Leader Craig Teasdale. He explains his role:
“My job is to represent Rallying within the RAF, to promote it, encourage it and support those who partake in it. We are always on the look out for new members and I would urge anyone who has an interest to contact me if they want to get more involved. We all had to start somewhere and once you take the plunge I guarantee you will never look back…”
Squadron Leader Teasdale can be contacted on rafrally@spookworks.co.uk
How to get started?
Firstly you need to decide what is it that I want to do. You don’t have to be the one behind the wheel to enjoy this sport. You can get plenty of enjoyment as a co-driver, service crew, marshal or even as a spectator. All options vary in terms of cost, commitment and risk.
Spectating.
Picture: No grandstands here – rally spectating is up close and personal.
Rally spectating is unlike most other motorsports. You don’t just park in a car park and sit in a windy grandstand miles from the action looking through a wire fence at one corner. Rallying offers so much more than that. You get the chance to get up close and personal and just getting to an event can be half the fun. For example just getting to a stage deep in the Welsh forest requires the planning and expertise of an Antarctic Polar Expedition. But it is worth it; you can stand next to the road and see the cars blast by at full speed and then walk up and down the side of the stage to your heart’s content until you find that perfect spot. Then once the cars have been through, it’s off to the next stage, often using the same map as the crews to navigate between the stages. It’s the next best thing to being in the car!
Marshalling
Picture: Marshals play a vital role in all forms of motorsport. You not only ensure the safety and success of the event you get to be as close to the action as you dare.
If you want to take your rallying that bit further, why not train to be a marshal. You get all the fun and excitement of spectating but you are part of the event, making sure that your part of the stage is run safely and efficiently. The RAFMSA have an extremely active team of marshals who come to competitors’ aid whenever they push the boundaries too far and run out of talent. You also learn valuable radio and first aid skills and have the chance for some real hands on as part of a recovery team. Our marshals are highly respected and sought after and always seem to have better anecdotes that the crews. You get 99% of the fun with virtually none of the costs.
Service Crew
Picture: Being part of the service crew makes you a key part of the team. It’s a great way to get close to the action, get involved with the event and if you are not sure which end of a spanner is which you will quickly learn.
The rally cars need constant attention and if you have skill in mechanics or a desire to learn why not come along as part of the service crew. Even if you do not know one end of a ring spanner from another you can learn pretty quick as when the car comes off from stage with various bits hanging off from all sorts of off road excursions. You have got 20 mins to get the car repaired and back into the event often using only cable ties and gaffa tape. The RAF crews are always looking for people to help out and even if it’s cleaning the dirty windscreen of a turbo charged rally impreza, the smallest things can make a real difference, perhaps between winning an event or being stranded by the side of the road 2kms into a 14 km stage. It also give you a unique insight into the effort required to run a rally car and you share the ups and downs of all the action on an event.
Co-driving (also called navigating).
If you want to get right into the thick of it but don’t necessarily have the budget to commit to your own car why not try co-driving.
Picture: The Co-driver checks his notes carefully before the stage starts.
Rally crews are made up of 2 people each as vital as the other. You’re the mastermind behind the driver. It’s your job to plot the course, talk the driver through the stage using pacenotes and be an equal partner in whatever adventures lie in store throughout the rally. It’s intense, hard work and terrifying but is just as satisfying when you finish an event or get a good result. Just remember that you will need to get an MSA licence to compete as well as have your own your safety equipment such as helmet, overalls. Most co-drivers split the entry fee with the drivers meaning approx. £100 for a single venue and £200 for a multi venue event on top of your other costs. It’s more expensive than marshalling, servicing and spectating but then you are right there in the car.
Driving
Picture: Small front wheel drive cars can offer good performance at a sustainable cost. How competitive you are depends on how well you get it round the stage.
If you fancy being behind the wheel and emulating your heroes such as Colin McRae or Sebastian Leob then the first thing you are going to have to appreciate is that Rallying costs a bit more than some of your other sports. For starters you will have to get a Rally Drivers Licence. To do this you will need to apply through the MSA and have a medical and sit a BARS course. You will need to buy your protective equipment such as rally overalls, helmet and boots. All this can set you back several hundred pounds. You will also need to buy, maintain and repair a rally car. In this the possibilities are endless. You can spend as much as you want; most modern competitive rally cars cost hundreds of thousands of pounds and even more to run and maintain. If you want to reach the highest echelons of world rallying that’s one thing but aren’t looking for a career in rallying you can still get all the thrills and spills with a used rally car for between £2000 - £3000 pounds. Don’t forget to factor in extra costs such as tyres ( which get replaced regularly throughout the year depending on the surface and bhp of you car – 1 set per 2 events is a rule of thumb), fuel (at least a tank per event) you will need to change oil, brakes and many other parts more regularly as well.
Alternatively you could build your own if you were so inclined but be very careful – it could end up costing you a lot more for a lot less. Sadly, there are plenty of half built rally car projects started with the best of intentions that now sit in driveways up and down the country which never quite made it to the rally stages. There is a third way, where you can rent a rally car. It will usually come prepared as an ‘arrive and drive’, with a full support crew and spares behind it. Depending on the event you do, this can cost anywhere from £800 - £1000 for a single venue event to double/triple that for a large national event and that’s for a fairly basic car. But if you are unsure if rallying is for you then this could represent good value for money but always look into the fine print especially the “what ifs”. There also may be extra charges for tyres and fuel so look out for this. Whichever way you go don’t forget the RAFMSA is here to guide and help you along the way and there are vast amount of experience and free advice from people that have competed at all levels and have made the costly mistakes that you don’t have to. Motorsport is expensive, but everyone who competes will tell you the fun and enjoyment is well worth the effort and once the smell, atmosphere and excitement of rallying gets under your skin you will wonder why you never took the plunge earlier.
Picture: The mighty Subaru Impreza. An iconic rally car. Awesome power, leech like grip and supreme handling. This performance comes at a quite a cost.
If you want to know more contact the RAFMSA Comp Sec Sqn Ldr Craig Teasdale at rafrally@spookworks.co.uk , speak to your PEd staff or check out some of the websites below.
http://www.itsmymotorsport.co.uk/