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NSCC - Beginners Guide To Sprinting
Compiled by Stephen Miles What is Sprinting and Hillclimbing ? An inexpensive form of motorsport, held on racing circuits, special sprint courses, hillclimb tracks or closed public roads. The surface is always tarmac. You are purely ‘on your own’, driving yourself and your car from a standing start to the finish line, timed to the 100th of a second as quick as possible!Depending on how fast you are and the venue, the runs last between 40 and 120 seconds. This may sound short but the concentration and pressure required to drive the circuit perfectly in the quickest time possible is all part of the fun! Cars are divided into classes, so you compete against similar cars to your own and events/classes are won and lost by hundredths of a second! Who can enter? Anyone who is a paid up member of Nottingham Sports Car Club (NSCC), holds a driving license and an MSA competition license. (These are available from The MotorSports Association, tel.: 01753 765000, www.msauk.org)What type of car do I need? The events are open to almost any car. It can be a standard saloon with simple safety modifications such as the ignition cut off point marked (i.e. ‘keys on column’) and a timing strut fitted, through to modified road going cars, kit cars, seriously modified cars, home built specials and single seater racing cars. At one event recently we had what looked like a modified lawn mower through to a Formula 1 car from the late 80’s! All classes have capacity sub classes.The only mandatory safety equipment you are required to wear is an approved crash helmet and fireproof suit to the correct standards. In 2005 the Championship attracted over 70 scoring contenders and was keenly fought out being only decided on the last weekend. The eventual winner, Gary Thomas came from the standard road going class driving a Lotus Elise. However, the competition included drivers of kit cars, a Peugeot, Westfields, various single seater racing cars, Porsches, a Daihatsu, a Mitsubishi Evo 5, Caterhams, Audi, Astras, a ‘Morris Minor’, Van Diemens etc… What is the Nottingham Sports Car Club Speed Championship all about in 2006? Nottingham Sports Car Club organise five of the events and co-ordinate with other clubs to form the NSCC Championship. They are held at venues around Nottingham, Lichfield, Liverpool, Shrewsbury, Lincolnshire, Coventry, Leeds, York and Wigan. More information on each venue can be found on the NSCC website. The points are scored in relation to National record times set by previous cars in your class, this way a standard road saloon can compete on equal terms with a stripped down kit car or single seater racing car. You can enter as many of the rounds as you wish, but only the best 8 scores will count towards the championship. What’s in it if I win? The winner of the overall championship receives the impressive “1 _ Litre Trophy”, for a year, and another crystal trophy to keep with their name engraved alongside the list of winners going back to the 1950’s! Trophies are also presented for second and third, with lead crystal awards down to 10th place. The highest placed novice is rewarded as well as the driver who has improved the most over his / her previous season. Additionally, the “Des Richardson Trophy” is presented to the highest points scorer from 4 of the 5 NSCC events as long as you are not in the top 3. At all events, awards are presented to class winners and highest NSCC scorer. The Harry Driver trophy is won by the fastest NSCC member throughout the season.A recent survey of many contenders of the championship highlighted the excellent, friendly paddock atmosphere and general good nature of the events as one of the main reason why they competed. How much will it cost? If you are new to Motorsport, you will need an MSA Non-Race National ‘B’ licence, for 2006 this costs £33. NSCC membership for the year and championship registration is only £25. Fireproof suits start at around £150 and helmets from £100. Depending on what category you enter, the car can be absolutely standard, so no additional expense may be required.A typical entry fee for an event is between £60 for some NSCC events to £90 odd at Harewood. This entry fee covers payments to the MSA, the doctors, ambulance and paramedic cover, fire extinguisher and equipment hire of various circuit safety items, fees, and event insurance etc. What happens on the day? Two timed practice runs are held in the morning, but before then ’signing on’ involves a few documentation checks and cars need ‘scrutineering’ for basic safety features (as per the MSA rules found in the MSA ‘Blue Book’ which you get with your licence).Times are posted after each run, and the trick is then to see how you can drive a fraction faster to beat your fellow competitors! The post practice times are the ones that count and depending on the venue you will have between 2 and 5 runs. Your fastest run of the day counts, with the class positions and overall winner being sorted on that basis. Never Sprinted Before?We’re a friendly bunch in the NSCC, and sometimes your first event may seem a bit daunting. If you have entered or are thinking of entering your first meeting, give any of us a ring, (perhaps try Steve Miles first) from the list of committee members in the back page of Spinoff magazine or email or from the contacts page, and let us know what car you are entering and class if you know it. We can then arrange for a fellow NSCC class member to give you a call, answer any points and guide you through your first meeting if you wish. Yes, I’d Like to give it a go ! What Do I Do next ?To register and contest the Nottingham Sports Car Club 2006 Speed Championship, you only need to become a member of the NSCC. Championship registration is free and competitive membership of the club is only £25.00. Contact Kim Marvin on 0116 2793645 for an application form if one is not enclosed with this booklet or download one from the club website www.gosprinting.co.uk/docs.html |
If you have any queries please me |
