2023 UK Targa/Road Rallying Thread
Discussion
Happy New Year everyone!
What are you plans for 2023? Good luck with whatever you do....
I'll be carrying on with the Weald MC 12 Car Rally Championship, but also some selected events nearby. This weekend is Southsea Motor Club's first 12 Car of the year, the "Meon Monte". I'll be out in the Mini Cooper again, which has had some absolutely essential mods recently
A proper seat for the navigator, which came out of my stage rally car having done only one rally. No harnesses as yet, anchoring the shoulder straps at the correct angle without a cage, whilst retaining rear seat capability is a bit of a challenge. The Driver's side seat will get fitted over the summer, I'll need more time to make it properly adjustable.
An LED reversing light - the correct "E-marked" version from Halfords, which is permitted in the regs:
And a sticker representing my heritage (which also seems to be an Australian slang term for weed!).
What are you plans for 2023? Good luck with whatever you do....
I'll be carrying on with the Weald MC 12 Car Rally Championship, but also some selected events nearby. This weekend is Southsea Motor Club's first 12 Car of the year, the "Meon Monte". I'll be out in the Mini Cooper again, which has had some absolutely essential mods recently
A proper seat for the navigator, which came out of my stage rally car having done only one rally. No harnesses as yet, anchoring the shoulder straps at the correct angle without a cage, whilst retaining rear seat capability is a bit of a challenge. The Driver's side seat will get fitted over the summer, I'll need more time to make it properly adjustable.
An LED reversing light - the correct "E-marked" version from Halfords, which is permitted in the regs:
And a sticker representing my heritage (which also seems to be an Australian slang term for weed!).
Did a 12 car right at the end of 2022, was planning on using Juniors car but a new acquisition was employed. Juniors first attempt at a night time 12 car on OS maps although he has plenty of experience and a some success navigating on Targas in daylight, usually with a road book. It went OK, the first half went well, the second half not so well, but finished and didn't finish last.
The car a road rally prepped Clio 182 was bought as I didn't want to downgrade some aspects, especially the handbrake, of the road legal, driven to and from autotests citroen AX GTi and the bellowing Tr7 V8 is still "resting" in need of some attention.
Entered the targa section of the local HRCR round and plan a few more targas in 2023, will also take the Clio down to east anglia for junior to drive as there are some good targa events in that part of the country.
Still doing an autotest once a month as well, for £16 entry it's good cheap fun.
The car a road rally prepped Clio 182 was bought as I didn't want to downgrade some aspects, especially the handbrake, of the road legal, driven to and from autotests citroen AX GTi and the bellowing Tr7 V8 is still "resting" in need of some attention.
Entered the targa section of the local HRCR round and plan a few more targas in 2023, will also take the Clio down to east anglia for junior to drive as there are some good targa events in that part of the country.
Still doing an autotest once a month as well, for £16 entry it's good cheap fun.
ecsrobin said:
These have always interested me as I feel my strength is navigation. What’s the best way to give it a go?
Hi,You are in luck! In many ways....
Firstly, navigators are always in demand - at all levels from Beginner to Novice up to Expert.
Secondly, assuming you are in Hampshire as per profile, there are three fantastic clubs which organise 12 Car Rallies in the area:
Southsea Motor Club
Basingstoke Motor Club
Farnborough & District Motor Club
Good news is that you only have to join one club as each of these invite members of the others to their events.
The rallies take place on Friday evenings, and the area covered is roughly bounded by the A24 in the East, the M4 in the North and the A338 in the West. Suggest you have a look on their websites, Facebook pages and Facebook groups for details of upcoming events.
Thirdly, this is a great time of year for rallying, it's high season due to the long nights.
Southsea have a rally on tomorrow:
http://www.southseamotorclub.co.uk/?page_id=79
Farnborough have one on in 2 weeks:
https://fdmc.org.uk/harlequin23
And Basingstoke the week after that:
https://basingstokemotorclub.weebly.com/wosson.htm...
Fourth - it's a very friendly sport!
My suggested first step would be to come along and marshal, to get the feel of the event. If you want to do that, make contact with the Chief Marshal or Clerk of the Course for each rally and ask to buddy-up with someone experienced. They'll be glad to explain things to you.
Then, when you are ready to compete - you need to join a club and also get a competition licence from Motorsport UK. The grade you need is called "RS Clubman" which can be applied for on-line, and is free.
https://www.motorsportuk.org/competitors/rs-clubma...
If you want to navigate, you'd generally start in "Beginners" class - the organisers will give you a marked-up map for you to follow, and your job is to direct the driver along that route, while trying to keep to a 30mph average speed, and write down the route checks as you pass them.
After a year or so of Beginners, you would generally move up to "Novice" class - the organisers will give you written route instructions which you then have to interpret, then mark the route on a map. In Novice class, these instructions are generally quite easy and there are lots of online resources with hints and tips. Some organisers give the Novice instructions out 30 -60 mins ahead of the start time, which takes the pressure off a bit.
Once you are very proficient at Novice class, you move up to Expert, and the instructions get cryptic, But let's not get ahead of ourselves!
Once you've been to an event or two and are ready to navigate, either bring along your own car and driver (there a a couple of other minor things to sort out) or offer your services on the various Facebook groups.
My only other piece of advice is - don't get despondent if you miss a junction and have to double back, or are a bit slower than the 30mph average, or can't understand the instructions, or miss a route check - EVERYONE does it, at all levels. It's very rare for crews to completely "clean" a rally (i.e. follow the perfect route, stay on time all the way, get all the route checks).
Feel free to PM if you like,
good luck!
New year new thread... good stuff.
Last year was in many ways a bit of damp squib for me, didn’t do as many Historics as I would have liked and didn’t get the results I would have liked either. High point was a win on the Historic section of the Hexham Jistoric/John Robson Rally and some good results on the DeLacy 12 Cars, two wins and some other good places got me and my brother the championship.
This year we will be back to see if we can keep that title and ive got an entry in with the same driver on the Hexham to see if we can crack that again ( competition is better this year though)
My own Car ( Alfa 2000GTV ) is nearing completion and is already entered on the North Yorkshire Classic, I’m Nav, my brother driving, his first proper regularity event, so it will interesting to see how it pans out.
My mate with the Mk1 Astra has sold his car and is going Targa this year, ( with a Mk3 Astra) so I don’t think he will be doing any Historics, so I expect I will become a bit of a freelancer on the HRCR events.
Got a provisional seat on LeJog too, so that will be good if it comes to pass.
Last year was in many ways a bit of damp squib for me, didn’t do as many Historics as I would have liked and didn’t get the results I would have liked either. High point was a win on the Historic section of the Hexham Jistoric/John Robson Rally and some good results on the DeLacy 12 Cars, two wins and some other good places got me and my brother the championship.
This year we will be back to see if we can keep that title and ive got an entry in with the same driver on the Hexham to see if we can crack that again ( competition is better this year though)
My own Car ( Alfa 2000GTV ) is nearing completion and is already entered on the North Yorkshire Classic, I’m Nav, my brother driving, his first proper regularity event, so it will interesting to see how it pans out.
My mate with the Mk1 Astra has sold his car and is going Targa this year, ( with a Mk3 Astra) so I don’t think he will be doing any Historics, so I expect I will become a bit of a freelancer on the HRCR events.
Got a provisional seat on LeJog too, so that will be good if it comes to pass.
Autotest/PCA on a venue near York that is used for targas and classic tally events this weekend.
We've had a few practicing their targa navigating test skills or introducing youngsters (age 12 upwards) to targa test navigation in recent months., not to mention that youngsters can drive on PCAs from 14 years old.
Might be wheeling the Road rally/targa car out if the usual autotest steed continues to be grumpy about running properly.
Local 12 car on Monday night (Malton MC) but not entered it..............still trying to persuade a former 12 car nav who is also an HRCR round winner as a driver to reform a 12 car championship winning team.
We've had a few practicing their targa navigating test skills or introducing youngsters (age 12 upwards) to targa test navigation in recent months., not to mention that youngsters can drive on PCAs from 14 years old.
Might be wheeling the Road rally/targa car out if the usual autotest steed continues to be grumpy about running properly.
Local 12 car on Monday night (Malton MC) but not entered it..............still trying to persuade a former 12 car nav who is also an HRCR round winner as a driver to reform a 12 car championship winning team.
Wingo said:
Autotest/PCA on a venue near York that is used for targas and classic tally events this weekend.
We've had a few practicing their targa navigating test skills or introducing youngsters (age 12 upwards) to targa test navigation in recent months., not to mention that youngsters can drive on PCAs from 14 years old.
Might be wheeling the Road rally/targa car out if the usual autotest steed continues to be grumpy about running properly.
Local 12 car on Monday night (Malton MC) but not entered it..............still trying to persuade a former 12 car nav who is also an HRCR round winner as a driver to reform a 12 car championship winning team.
I’m giving the Malton 12 Car a whirl too, fairly local one for me. Malton tend to run them slightly different to Ilkley and DeLacy, bit more hard core on the timing. We've had a few practicing their targa navigating test skills or introducing youngsters (age 12 upwards) to targa test navigation in recent months., not to mention that youngsters can drive on PCAs from 14 years old.
Might be wheeling the Road rally/targa car out if the usual autotest steed continues to be grumpy about running properly.
Local 12 car on Monday night (Malton MC) but not entered it..............still trying to persuade a former 12 car nav who is also an HRCR round winner as a driver to reform a 12 car championship winning team.
Just won a MG ZR on ebay Targa rally car.... Picking it up on Sunday......
Was cheap with a 12 month MOT, Needs a good clean up but seriously can't wait to start out. I've done navigating, Marshaling, Timing and organiser but have never been in the position to either afford a rally car or space for one.
I'm not great with the spanners or have a good drive/garage to work on a car. Happy to do the basics tho. How do you find a local friendly garage who would be happy with a rally car showing up?
Was cheap with a 12 month MOT, Needs a good clean up but seriously can't wait to start out. I've done navigating, Marshaling, Timing and organiser but have never been in the position to either afford a rally car or space for one.
I'm not great with the spanners or have a good drive/garage to work on a car. Happy to do the basics tho. How do you find a local friendly garage who would be happy with a rally car showing up?
pacenotes said:
Just won a MG ZR on ebay Targa rally car.... Picking it up on Sunday......
Was cheap with a 12 month MOT, Needs a good clean up but seriously can't wait to start out. I've done navigating, Marshaling, Timing and organiser but have never been in the position to either afford a rally car or space for one.
I'm not great with the spanners or have a good drive/garage to work on a car. Happy to do the basics tho. How do you find a local friendly garage who would be happy with a rally car showing up?
Excellent stuff - well done and good luck!Was cheap with a 12 month MOT, Needs a good clean up but seriously can't wait to start out. I've done navigating, Marshaling, Timing and organiser but have never been in the position to either afford a rally car or space for one.
I'm not great with the spanners or have a good drive/garage to work on a car. Happy to do the basics tho. How do you find a local friendly garage who would be happy with a rally car showing up?
Whereabouts are you based? There's a lot of good advice on here and from motor club members.
A short video of Bath Motor Club's Festival Targa Rally 2023 https://youtu.be/Dp9XheYHYwU
So, the 12 Car Rallying season progresses (slowly).
We were supposed to compete on Maidstone & Mid Kent MC's 12-Car on 27 Jan, but it was oversubscribed and we ended up marshalling.
We were supposed to compete on Guildford MC's 12-Car on 10 Feb,, but I had a family emergency and had to miss it. My navigator Chas got a run with someone else tho.
So tonight, 3rd time lucky hopefully! It' Eastbourne & DMCs 12 car somewhere in deepest darkest Kent. Then I'm off to Korea for work, then straight back into Bexley Light Car Club's 12 Car on 10th March. It's all go!
We were supposed to compete on Maidstone & Mid Kent MC's 12-Car on 27 Jan, but it was oversubscribed and we ended up marshalling.
We were supposed to compete on Guildford MC's 12-Car on 10 Feb,, but I had a family emergency and had to miss it. My navigator Chas got a run with someone else tho.
So tonight, 3rd time lucky hopefully! It' Eastbourne & DMCs 12 car somewhere in deepest darkest Kent. Then I'm off to Korea for work, then straight back into Bexley Light Car Club's 12 Car on 10th March. It's all go!
The Malton 12 Car we did went OK ish, very very slippy came mid field which fair enough.
The latest DeLacy Oe was a barrel of laughs, they managed to forget to give the marshal at the second control any route instructions, so the five experts were all milling around trying to figure out what to do! Happened again later too. When we finally got some instructions I got it half plotted, and the piece of paper blew out of the window! Had to take an educated guess where we were going, got it right too! Ended up third and first expert so not too bad really.
The latest DeLacy Oe was a barrel of laughs, they managed to forget to give the marshal at the second control any route instructions, so the five experts were all milling around trying to figure out what to do! Happened again later too. When we finally got some instructions I got it half plotted, and the piece of paper blew out of the window! Had to take an educated guess where we were going, got it right too! Ended up third and first expert so not too bad really.
Good to see there's some busy clubs and competitors out.
Some great things happening in the South West (from treasure hunts to scatters, 12 cars and some mega road rallies) thanks to some old hands in active clubs and some keen younger event and championship organisers. Bodes well for the future.
Started the year with the notorious Bagger. Had a few years of class results as a driver and as a navigator but this year was a bad do. Had to call it a day at first petrol as I got hit with a dose of travel sickness. First time in my life. Was very wet and rough, so much so we ruined four wheels on the 80 miles we did. Partly down to a dodgy Chinese tyre pressure gauge as well as the pot holes.
Decided to give the maps another chance on the last weekends Primrose. Map 202 and 201. Such busy maps, always challenging. A crisp dry night and we were going really well. We'd finally found some flow and weren't dropping too much time, correcting wrong slots quickly, finding controls and boards, nailing the not as map triangles etc. Such a good feeling.
Then the brand new alternator decided to s
t itself. We limped to TC27, still a bit away from petrol, with a worsening misfire and rapidly dimming lights, and handed in the time cards. Sods law it was the one event we didn't trailer the car to! AND the breakfast promised to be pretty good at the farm shop finish venue!
Got the recently revived Taunton Rally in a few weeks, as local as it gets for me so hoping for a decent run out. It's across four maps though!
Some great things happening in the South West (from treasure hunts to scatters, 12 cars and some mega road rallies) thanks to some old hands in active clubs and some keen younger event and championship organisers. Bodes well for the future.
Started the year with the notorious Bagger. Had a few years of class results as a driver and as a navigator but this year was a bad do. Had to call it a day at first petrol as I got hit with a dose of travel sickness. First time in my life. Was very wet and rough, so much so we ruined four wheels on the 80 miles we did. Partly down to a dodgy Chinese tyre pressure gauge as well as the pot holes.
Decided to give the maps another chance on the last weekends Primrose. Map 202 and 201. Such busy maps, always challenging. A crisp dry night and we were going really well. We'd finally found some flow and weren't dropping too much time, correcting wrong slots quickly, finding controls and boards, nailing the not as map triangles etc. Such a good feeling.
Then the brand new alternator decided to s
t itself. We limped to TC27, still a bit away from petrol, with a worsening misfire and rapidly dimming lights, and handed in the time cards. Sods law it was the one event we didn't trailer the car to! AND the breakfast promised to be pretty good at the farm shop finish venue!Got the recently revived Taunton Rally in a few weeks, as local as it gets for me so hoping for a decent run out. It's across four maps though!
Unlucky start to the year that.
Funnily enough I had a similar issue on the Hexham Historic/John Robson Road Rally In Northumberland.
Was out in the Triumph 2000 again after winning the Historic last year. We doing OK, but after the first time card about 40 miles in, the lights started getting darker and darker! Overdrive stopped working and eventually it started misfiring.
We thought it was the alternator, so retired and handed in the time cards. Turned out to be a broken wire! Fixed it up and drove home. At least I got some sleep!
I’m deep into a rebuild of my own Rally car at the moment, an Alfa 2000GTV, in the final throws of a complete ground up resto, completion is set for the North Yorkshire Classic on the 2nd April.
Funnily enough I had a similar issue on the Hexham Historic/John Robson Road Rally In Northumberland.
Was out in the Triumph 2000 again after winning the Historic last year. We doing OK, but after the first time card about 40 miles in, the lights started getting darker and darker! Overdrive stopped working and eventually it started misfiring.
We thought it was the alternator, so retired and handed in the time cards. Turned out to be a broken wire! Fixed it up and drove home. At least I got some sleep!
I’m deep into a rebuild of my own Rally car at the moment, an Alfa 2000GTV, in the final throws of a complete ground up resto, completion is set for the North Yorkshire Classic on the 2nd April.
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