The Knives are out

Genuine question I have done many hundreds if not thousands of laps at some of the UK best circuits and by my own admission I am pretty comfortable on circuits
Attended SIDC Track day at Brands and took advantage of the free Instruction which is great cause its free but I assume they get paid. The sort of thing they help with I am sure I could do

So what qualification do I need?

stiler83

First you will need to complete an ARDS Training session and obtain your National B licence. You will then need to get some provable racing experience before you can apply to be assessed for an ARDS Instructor Licence. This website should get you started.. http://www.msauk.org/custom/asp/home/default.asp

The Knives are out

Ta

Do I really need to be a race license holder though?

RobinSherwood

Hi there,

We have just been through this process with the 18 year old driver I manage who passed his Instructors Assessment a couple of weeks ago, so will answer your query as best I can.

Yes you do need to be a Race Licence holder and if I remember rightly you need at least a National A Race Licence.

You will ideally need 3 years race experience and they will probably be looking for National level championships not club racing.

You then need to make contact with the Chief Instructor at an ARDS associated race school, (in our case we went through Silverstone) and convince them that you should be considered for a place on a Race Instructors Assessment Day and if accepted you will go through a day of both written and practical tests. Assuming you pass the assessment the race school will 'sponsor' you to ARDS for your Instructors Licence. This all costs money by the way, the Assessment Day cost £350 and once passed it is another £185 to apply for the licence.

Even then it is likely you will not be able to instruct at track days for at least the first year. ARDS Instructors licences are graded D, C, B, A and S, D being the lowest and S the highest. You need to be a Grade B Instructor or above to instruct at a track day........

If you do exceptionally well on your assessment you might be awarded a Grade C Provisional licence which then becomes a full Grade C after 6 days instructing at an ARDS race school. However you can also be awarded a Grade C 'Restricted' or a Grade D. My driver got a Grade C provisional and has been told he can apply to be assessed for an upgrade to Grade B at the end of the year. So the net net is at the very best you will have to work as a race instructor for at least a year after passing before you can gain the necessary Grade to instruct at track days.

On top of the cost already outlined of course you then have to factor in the costs of a couple of years national level racing.......

I know this isn't what you wanted to hear but if you have any further questions feel free to ask.

This is the correct website to be looking at as well for further information

ARDS (Association of Racing Drivers Schools) MSA (Motor Sports Association) Approved Instructors, Track Day Instruction, Performance Driving Tuition, Racing Driver Coaching - ards-instructor.co.uk

Kind regards,

Robin

The Knives are out

Well then I am going to become a brain surgeon

Thanks for the comprehensive answer though