Cages are a very good idea but not mandatory. Seats can (sensibly) be upgraded for cars running in either class, no problem.

A cheap runabout is definitely the way to get started, then you don't get too distraught when you knock the corners off it. Initially I'd leave the engine and running gear reasonably standard, and concentrate on...

Seats and harnesses,
Cage if poss
Fire Extinguisher(s)
Pair of decent spots (eg Super Oscar) properly mounted and wired up.
Uprated struts, but DON'T go mad lowering it.
Sump Guard. Nothing special to start with - if and when you get serious you can think about skidded exhausts, tank guards and lines inside for those infamous Derbyshire whites!

Oh and remember you have to leave in the rear seats and carpets. Cars are supposed to look standard, and must be a single colour (unless multi-coloured originally) and must not carry advertising.

HTH

 

you have to leave the rear seats in? why? you cant have decals either? again why? there was a white ax gt, on saturday, did anyone else see it? that was stripped right out, just two bucket seats harness' and cage, then bare metal.

jamo

 

The idea is that this is NOT stage rallying on the public highway, so the rules have evolved to give a reasonable compromise between competitors requirements and keeping a "low key" image. for PR reasons "decalled up" cars are a no-no!

Some of the regs seem a bit daft, but you need to study the history of the sport. In the seventies there was a major national road rally championship with sponsorship involved and everything. This got a bit barmy, and the restrictions we still have in place are to keep the whole thing in check, such that it doesn't wind the natives up, not attract too many spectators.

Naughty! I hear that some competitors interpret the rules to say that having the carpets rolled up and stuffed behind the seats is ok, as is stretching a piece of cloth over the back as a rear "seat". It's all a matter of interpretation, not least by the scrutineer on the night!

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of motor sport! The next step is a GpN Impreza and stage rallying!

 

wots this about gpa and stage rallying and impreza's, tell me more dont keep me in the dark! allways interested to know more about rallying.

 

Basically Group N is for standard production cars fitted with the correct safety equipment to allow them to enter stage rallies, while Group A is for modified cars.

In Group A you are allowed to remove trim, modify the engine in various ways and generally go for it so long as the car is still in homologation. Once homologation has expired (usually 6 years after the model goes out of production) you can't enter international events any more and you have to move over to the clubmans classes. The Escort Cosworth fell foul of this - it was homologated as a Sierra so had to get an extention once the six years were up even though you could still buy Escorts at that point. Not a lot of people know that.....

In Group N you have to stay more or less standard and you have to retain interior trim, even to the point of bagging up all the bits of plastic you cut out to make the cage fit.

The reason for these classes is to keep costs down. A WRC car is a lot of money (millionaire league), a Group A car will be very expensive and a Group N car will be more affordable. The idea is to give crews on lower budgets a chance to be competitive in their own class even if they can't afford to compete directly with the top boys.

The important thing here is that you can build a Group N car and use it on road rallies as well if you like, or more typically build a road rally car and do the odd stage event too.

Not kidding about the Escort Cosworths either - they really are a shortend 4x4 Sierra floorpan with an Escort body stuck on top - look at the welds in the floorpan of one of the rally cars and you can see the joins!

 

Not kidding about the Escort Cosworths either - they really are a shortend 4x4 Sierra floorpan with an Escort body stuck on top - look at the welds in the floorpan of one of the rally cars and you can see the joins![/QUOTE]just as well i can only afford group n then because that is the sort of trick i would fall for but thanks for your info again im hoping to get into the rally scene before the end of the year, with the help of www.matlockmotorclub.co.uk

david