Sprinting with SELOC
Guide to Sprinting
This is a simple guide to going sprinting. It is not meant to be a comprehensive guide but hopefully gives enough information and direction to help SELOC members take their first steps.
Sprinting and Hillclimbing is racing against the clock. You are on the course by yourself, or at least separated from other competitors by at least 0.5Km. You are not allowed to overtake so if you do catch up with the previous competitor for whatever reason you have to slow down or stop and you get the run again.
There are typically three types of venue:
Airfields, e.g. North Weald. Circuits, e.g. Lydden, Goodwood. Hillclimbs, e.g. Gurston. Broadly speaking Airfields have more run off than circuits and circuits are often provided with more run off than Hillclimbs, not always the case but as a general guide a good start point
You can go sprinting on a national speed B licence obtained from the MSA. Go to www.msauk.org for all the details and to download an application form. You don't need to do any test or have a medical, providing you are in good health.
You can compete in just about any car from a standard Elise to a sports racer like a radical or a purpose built race car. There are classes for everyone at most events. You don't need any modifications like extinguishers or cut our switches if you are using a road legal car but you should consider personal safety and think about items such as harnesses. If you compete in road going classes you may be required to show MOT, insurance and road tax but each series has different regulations and you will need to read the regs carefully.
You will need to fit a timing strut, which is simply a piece of material; aluminium is ideal, attached to the front of your vehicle that cuts the timing beam. Section L10.12.1 of the blue book has precise details.
On the personal safety front you will need a Type A/FR helmet or equivalent, see Blue Book Q 10.3.1.The first time you use your helmet you will need to obtain a sticker from the scrutineers that confirms the helmet is approved. This costs £1.
You will also need a set of FIA approved overalls, either Proban or Nomex. Proban is cheaper but does not last as well as Nomex because it gets its fireproof ability by being treated with chemicals that wash out over a period of time. Although not mandated you should also consider flameproof underwear, socks, balaclava and gloves. Flameproof boots are a good idea too and you may want to consider a collar, which will reduce whiplash injuries in the event of an accident.
Approved racesuits and helmets can be bought from AWS Racewear : 25% discount for SELOC Club Supporters on a selected number of AWS Nomex and Proban Race suits - please contact Nick @ AWS direct, tel: +44 (0) 1233 638498
If your car is not road legal, and remember slicks are not road legal, you may need a log book. These can be obtained from the scrutineers at a cost of [£16]. You will need to have the vehicle inspected by the scrutineers and the log book written up describing the vehicle. Any subsequent modifications must be entered into the log book and they will be checked by the scrutineers. All the details are in L 9.1.7
You can get insurance for your car and that is a matter of personal choice. Competition Car Insurance www.competition-car-insurance.co.uk are worth talking to.
You need to read the regulations carefully to make sure you enter the right class. The trickiest area is often tyres. Many competitions insist that road going cars use List 1a tyres (section R 3.1.1 of the blue book). If you are on A038s or similar you may find yourself classified as a race car so read those regs carefully.
So what happens on the day?
You will turn up at the track as advised, usually about 8:00 am ish.
The first job is to sign on. You will need your licence and SELOC Club membership cards and, if required, vehicle documents. Remember to leave your licence if you want it signed.
You will have to sign indemnities etc, just like a track day.
You then need to prepare your car for scrutineering, remember to fix your competitor number to the side of your vehicle and the timing strut to the front, remove all the stuff from the boot and cockpit, check for leaks and make sure everything looks good. In some competitions the scrutineers will come to you and others you go to them. If you are not sure ask one of the other competitors because you will not be allowed on track without a scrutineers sticker and its up to you to get one.
At scrutineering the car will be checked for safety and eligibility. This is where you will get problems if you try and enter road going classes with slicks for example or if your car is not in A1 condition. They will also check your helmet and overalls so make sure that are on show and in good condition.
When you pass you will get a sticker that you put where the marshals at the start line can see it - no sticker - no run.
Many meetings have a drivers briefing, which you must attend.
You must find time to walk the course. Many organising clubs insist that you walk the course if you haven't been there before or there have been changes. Spend as much time as you can doing this. You are only going to get two or three goes at it in practice so you have to get as much of the course imprinted on your mind as possible. Try and get to know someone who has been before and knows the lines and brake points and walk the course with them.
So you have passed scrutineering, been to the briefing, walked the course, the car is warmed up and practice is starting. You will be called up in class batches usually and when its your turn you come to the start line. The start line marshals will line you up and if necessary hold you in position. The start line marshals will point out the start light, which will be red. When the track is clear the light goes green and you go in your own time - this isn't Santa Pod, as soon as you see green you start in your own time - timing starts when your strut breaks the beam not when the lights go green.
And then it's down to you. Drive as fast as you can to the finish, which will be marked with a chequered board or a flag. Quicker than you believed possible, its all over. You will probably be banging the steering wheel in frustration because you made loads of mistakes, your heart rate should be about 180 bpm or you haven't been trying. You will not believe how difficult it is to get the perfect run and when you look at the times you will see that fractions of seconds count and the tiniest mistake costs fractions of seconds. It is the pursuit of the perfect run that is the challenge of sprinting and what makes it so addictive.
The marshals will direct you back to the paddock where you will swap experiences with the others in your class and then go and see what your time was.
Before you know it will be time for second practice then the first timed runs that count. You usually get 2 runs, sometimes 3 and the fastest counts.
It is good manners to stay till the end and be at the prize giving at the end. And don't forget to acknowledge the marshals and officials who have just made your day possible.
And that's it, you are now a sprinter.