So you want to try Rallycross?

The good news is that getting started in this extreme motor sport has never been easier. We'll assume that, having got this far, you know the basics of Rallycross and will focus here on taking the step from spectator-land to race track. The following sets out pretty much everything you need to know, but we can’t emphasise enough how much you will learn and understand by spectating at an MSA British Rallycross Championship event and by talking to the teams or drivers – remember all MSA BRC events have an open paddock which is a friendly place, where all are welcome. They may be the stars of the show today, but every driver knows how it feels trying to get started; they are an approachable group and will answer your questions before, during or after events!

Budget - An obvious point really, not everyone in life has the luxury of an unlimited budget and the amount of money you have to spend will determine which class you can compete in competitively. You can go racing in Rallycross for as little as £1000 and it is possible to get out there and pay for everything yourself. However, generally speaking competitors will arrange some kind of sponsorship; to start with this is likely to be small amounts from friends, family or local businesses and employers. This could be something as small as helping towards the cost of the entry fee or supplying fuel to get to the events.

Licence - To compete in Rallycross you will need to obtain a competition licence from the MSA, the governing body of motor sport in the UK. There is no requirement to complete a race or rally school course before gaining a competition licence for Rallycross, although for those who want training or to try it before they buy, Lydden Hill Motorsport Club runs 'Masterclass' events offering tuition for newcomers or those wanting to improve their technique.

A National B competition licence is the minimum requirement to compete in Rallycross – the 'Non-race' option currently costs just £37, and is free to under 16s.

The MSA website will give you all the inforamtion you need regarding licenses.
If you have not competed before, you will need to start off by racing in a National B graded series such as the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship (see below). By completing six events successfully you will then be eligible to have your licence upgraded* to National A, with which you can compete in the MSA British championship.

National B or National A licences taken out for rallying, racing, etc. are eligible for Rallycross.

Which Club? It is necessary to join a recognised club to compete in your chosen championship. The BTRDA (British Trials and Rally Drivers Association) runs a Clubmans Rallycross Championship open to National B licence holders and catering for SuperModified, Stock Hatch and Junior classes. Membership and registration costs £30.

If you are aiming at the MSA British Rallycross Championship you'll need to join LHMC (Lydden Hill Motorsport Club - MSA BRC Organisers) The £20 fee also gives you membership status with the championship organiser who often host additional events such as Winterseries Rallycross. Your LHMC membership will allow you to compete in the Suzuki Swift, RX150 or Junior Rallycross categories as well as the Supercar or SuperModified classes. It is generally accepted that the additional television coverage and promotion by the championship organisers means that competing in either the MSA British Rallycross Championship or one of its support classes can make it easier to gain recognition with potential sponsors and acquire additional kudos with spectators, fans and the rest of the paddock.

Which Category? Rallycross offers many different ways in which to go racing; from 'off-the-shelf' racecars to the chance to design, build and race your own car as well as a Junior class that is a proven star maker.

Suzuki Swift
The new Suzuki Swift one-make saloon class runs alongside the MSA British Rallycross Championship and is pitched between the traditional DIY entry-level classes and the British championship categories, offering a stepping stone for club level racers, graduating Juniors or an easy option for newcomers. Based on the three-door Suzuki Swift, cars in the new series use a 160bhp, 1600cc/16v engine that has tightly controlled regulations so that the cars are equal and it is driver ability that shows through.

An off-the-shelf, ready to race car costs £20,000, but you can also buy a £5000 kit of parts and convert a donor car yourself. For those who don't want anything to do with the car, there are also arrive and drive options – just pay to race the car and leave the spanner work to someone else.

RX150
If the idea of a controlled formula floats your boat but small front-drive saloons are not quite what you were looking for, the British championship package also includes the RX150 'off-road buggies'. With 150bhp and weighing less than 600kg, these 1000cc Honda-engined rear-wheel drive racers are fast. Introduced for the 2009 season, the RX150s are built on a durable tubular steel 'spaceframe' and, like the Suzuki Swift, are performance equalised to ensure that driver ability is the key factor. Ready to go racing, an RX150 costs £20,000, there is no self-build option here, but you can get arrive and drive deals for anything from a single event to a full season.

Junior
Interviewed immediately after his World Rally Championship victory, Petter Solberg attributed his winning driving style to the skills he'd learned when he started his career in Rallycross. Solberg had to wait until he was 16 to start racing, today your budding superstar can get some gravel under his or her wheels at 14-years-old. Junior Rallycross has been a part of the British championship scene since 2003 and, as befits this multi-discipline sport has produced drivers that have gone on to professional careers in racing and rallying as well as Rallycross. Touring Car star Andrew Jordan started in Junior Rallycross, winning the championship in 2005 while one of Britain's brightest young rally drivers, Adam Gould was runner up in the 2003 series and has since become one of the MSA's Team UK drivers. Choosing to stay in Rallycross another Junior graduate, Liam Doran will race with KHM Citroën – the most successful team in Rallycross – in the 2010 European championship.

Junior Rallycross is based around a controlled specification 1000cc Mini or 1300cc Ford Ka, so once again it is driver ability that comes to the fore.

Stock Hatch
The competent home mechanic can easily tackle the Stock Hatch class in the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship, a series that supports the British championship events. This has been the traditional route into Rallycross; build your own car to race in the Clubmans series and move up to the British championship if it suits. Stock Hatch is for 1600cc 'GTi-type' cars with safety modifications and limited tuning. The Peugeot 205 GTi remains the favourite choice, challenged now by the newer Citroën Saxo and C2 models. Used cars trade for upwards of £1000 or, if you can do the work yourself, a new one could be built for £5-6000 depending on the cost of the base car. With cars available to rent for around £700 an event, you could be on track for less than a grand!

SuperModified
Moving up the ladder in terms of performance, sophistication and cost from Stock Hatch, SuperModified and Supercar are the two classes eligible for the British championship.
SuperModified is for two-wheel drive cars, but there are few restrictions to how far these cars can be modified and tuned. There is a minimum weight limit of 800kg (including driver) and the engine must have the same number cylinders as the original car and remain in the original position. Within those parameters, and taking some safety prescriptions into account, you can do what you like in what is one of the few remaining free engineering classes in British motor sport.
SuperModified is also the cross-over class between the Clubmans series and the MSA British championship; you can race a SuperModified in the Clubmans on a National B licence and use the same car in British championship events once you have a National A licence. For those aiming to compete at British championship level, it is a great option.

Supercar
Supercar is the top level of the sport and is where you will find the four-wheel drive cars for which Rallycross is best known. These are serious racecars; faster than a F1 to 60mph, the general rule of thumb is that, if you need to ask how much it costs, you probably can't afford it. That said, it's proven a popular diversion from national level rallying, being both cheaper and less time consuming and also contains a growing number of drivers who have found ways to get into the top class on a limited budget by making clever use of low-cost base cars like the Subaru Impreza and the ready market in competition components that exists for these cars.

MDA Minicross - Effectively a one-make class for controlled specification 1275cc Minis, Minicross runs alongside the BTRDA Clubmans championship. The long-established formula offer both a cost-effective way to start racing and a specialised arena for those who want to race the iconic classic Mini. In addition to a nine-round championship, Minicross drivers can take part in two non-championship events at Maasmechelen (Belgium) and Valkenswaard (Holland) during the summer. www.mini-cross.co.uk

All technical regulations, entry forms and other competitor information can be found on the website of Lydden Hill Motorsport Club, the organiser of the Quaife MSA British Rallycross Championship.