There are over 5,000 motor sport events a year
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Club Motorsport
Motorsport is far more diverse than you ever imagined, with hundreds of motor clubs across the country organising around 5,000 events each year.
Many of these events are designed to give you a cost-effective way to get started. For example, popular club events such as AutoSOLOs and navigation rallies are designed for standard, unmodified road cars.
In fact there are many types of motorsport where you can take part without any special preparation or training, and at an affordable cost.
Most of these motorsport ‘disciplines’ are available through local motor clubs. One you have joined your local club you could apply for a competition licence and get stuck in to the many regional and national championships on offer.
If you are happy to invest some money in a helmet and protective clothing then you could also enter a whole range of events such as sprints and hill climbs, which take place anywhere from former airfields to well know racing circuits.
You can find your local club using the club search function.
If you want to compete but don’t want to sit in the driver’s seat, how about the passenger seat instead? And if you want to keep out of the car altogether, why not grab a spanner and muck in with a team?
Co-driving
Rallying and Cross Country require two people in the car: one to drive and the other to co-drive, or navigate. This mainly involves reading notes to the driver to let him know which way to go and what’s coming up in terms of corner severity, crests, jumps and suchlike.
There is more to it than that, though; the co-driver has to look after event paperwork and make sure that the driver checks in and out of time controls and service halts on time so as to avoid any penalties.
Passengering
The Trials disciplines are all about driving as far along a slippery off-road course as possible by searching for grip. To make life easier, drivers use passengers, whose job is to move their weight about the car in order to help find that grip.
Team work
Most motorsport teams would be delighted at the offer of an extra pair of hands, whether they clutching a spanner, a wheel gun or even a tea tray!
Not only is volunteering for a team a great way of joining the competitive world of motorsport, it also presents a chance to pick up new skills and knowledge and may even lead to a full-time role further down the line.