5 Ways to go Historical

Historic rallying is all about recreating the challenge and excitement of competing during the ‘golden age’ of rallying, using cars that were rallied from the 1950’s through to the 1980’s. It is one of the most affordable and friendly forms of motorsport available today.

There are five different types of historic rallying you can take part in. Scenic Tours (which are non-competitive), Road Rallying, Endurance Rallying, Hill Climbing & Sprinting and Stage Rallying (which are competitive). All have many different things to offer depending on how you want to use your car, what kind of driving experience you want, and how competitive you want to be, but all are great fun.

However, if you don’t own a classic car, that doesn’t mean you can’t get involved. Frequently owner/drivers need someone to team up with and navigate for them. Alternatively getting involved with organising events and marshalling on them, is a very enjoyable and sociable way of being part of the action.

Scenic Tours

Scenic Tours give classic car owners the opportunity to use their pride and joy on a ‘rally style’ event, but without the competitive element and the use of overly rough surfaces.

As the title suggests, they use routes mainly on smooth non-damaging roads through outstanding countryside and stop off at interesting places, making them great whether you’re behind the wheel or not.

The routes use simple navigation – usually a roadbook of simple Tulip diagrams which eliminates the need to read a map – on many events code boards or manned passage checks are also included so that you know you’re on the right route.

Timing is only used in order to spread cars out on the road so that crews can enjoy the scenery as the emphasis is on relaxed, social fun in the company of like-minded people.

You don’t require a competition licence or have special insurance. However, your car does need to be safe and road legal i.e. appropriately taxed, insured and MOT’d where required. All classics are welcome and organisers may also accept ‘modern’ classics.

The HRCR in association with KGD Industrial & Monit Tripmeters, operates a Scenic Tour Series of specially selected and highly recommended events that are guaranteed to be great value, good fun and offering a range of great prizes for HRCR members. These are staged all around the country and take place throughout the year.

 

For more information and event details and dates click the button below.

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Historic Road Rallying

If you like the idea of competing in your car then regularity road rallying is a great place to start your motor sport career.

Historic road rallies offer a real test for drivers and navigators alike. International events can take place over a number of days, but typically in the UK they run as single day events around the country.

The events are designed to be enjoyable for both novices and experts, and are made up of a combination of regularity sections on quiet back-roads covering around 130 miles, interspersed with timed special tests at private venues which often include the use of unsurfaced roads. With entry fees usually around £220 per event, including lunch and a meal at the finish, they couldn’t be more affordable.

The basics of navigation and timing are easy to pick up and most events use the excellent Ordnance Survey Landranger maps – so getting to the finish is rarely too difficult. To help members, the HRCR run training days covering all aspects of historic road rallying, and members at local area groups will always give you tips and advice.

For you and your car to compete, you will need to be a member of an Motorsport UK recognised motor club (like the HRCR), hold an appropriate Motorsport UK competition licence for road rallying, and your car will need to comply with the Motorsport UK historic road rally vehicle categories and regulations as well as having event insurance. In addition it will need some basic preparation and some simple navigation equipment, however this is kept to a minimum.

All this sounds a bit complex, but with our help it’s not as bad at it seems. You’ll find more information on these requirements within this section of the website.

The HRCR operates The Clubmans Rally Championship, a series of individual events throughout the year that are selected for their reputation of being the most exciting and best organised events in the country.

In addition the HRCR also operates The Premier Rally Championship in association with Dan Pidgeon of BritishRoadRallying.com, which offers access to a broader range of event types including night time and endurance road rallies.

For more information and event details and dates click the button below.

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Historic Endurance Rallying

If you like the idea of historic road rallying or have done a few single day events, and like the idea of raising the bar a little, then Historic Endurance Rallying may be for you.

Just like single day events, these events operate in a similar way, using common types of navigation and timing, but as the name suggests, this type of event takes place over a number of days – and sometimes, nights!

As a result they naturally involve longer distances and frequently finish some distance from where they start, travelling through geographical regions or even whole countries during the rally.

It is this type of event that is closest to classic events like the Alpine, Liège and Tulip Rallies. Indeed the Monte Carlo Rally is replicated for historic enthusiasts in the form of the Monte Carlo Rallye Historique, which takes place about a week after the modern rally. The toughest events such as ‘The Peking to Paris’ journey through some of the most challenging landscapes in the world and offer the ultimate challenge to both crew and car.

Car preparation and equipment tends to be a little more involved, primarily to ensure reliability – which of course is imperative – and in the case of the longer, tougher events making the car more durable or capable of withstanding extreme conditions. Even so, this still has to be done within historic regulations, which on international events may include additional regulations to those of the Motorsport UK, by FIVA or the FIA.

These events do tend to be a reasonable amount of money, but they do offer challenges and experiences of a lifetime and many competitors view them as an alternative to taking a conventional holiday.

The Endurance Rally Association (ERA) are seen as ‘the’ specialists in organising historic endurance rallies and was set up by one of the founders of the HRCR –the late Phillip Young. For more information, event details and dates click the button below.

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Historic Hill Climbing & Sprinting

Hill climbs and sprints offer an affordable way to enjoy competition. With the courses ranging from the famous, twisty and narrow hill climb courses to some fast, flowing airfield tests and even a chance to compete on well-known racing circuits, there is a venue to suit every skill and aspiration.

Hill climbs and sprints see cars and drivers competing singly against the clock and all types of vehicle are catered for so any rally car can be accommodated – even extending to Group B cars.

Though the mileage on the event is limited when compared to taking part in a rally, the cost of competing is much more affordable and drivers still get to enjoy a day out with cars, and with car people.

Competitors take it in turns (usually running in class order) to drive the course and cars can be shared by two drivers, reducing costs even further. A 16 year old can compete on speed events so this is a good chance to double drive and bring on the next generation of competitors.

Regulations allow for almost all vehicles from standard road cars through to bespoke racing cars and the level of car preparation varies depending on the class car, but for standard or road rally cars the level of preparation is minimal. In addition, the competition licence used for road rallying (National B Rally ) is also suitable for hill climbs and sprint.

Similar to stage rallying, drivers are required to wear homologated overalls, helmet (plus visor / goggles in open cars) and flame resistant gloves whilst taking part.

On most events drivers are invited to take part in a convoy run or two around the course for drivers to familiarise themselves with the track. Practise runs (normally two) are then taken in class order. Timed runs then take place – usually a minimum of two up to a maximum of four or five. This is the time to concentrate and hone your technique to shave off fractions of a second and home in on the perfect run.

 

Historic Stage Rallying

If you want to experience life in the fast lane then welcome to the closed roads and forest tracks of Historic Stage Rallying.

These one or two-day events give you the unique opportunity to challenge yourself on the UK’s most famous rally stages ‘flat out’ in your classic.

Test your skills on a mixture of asphalt and gravel events – all come complete with plenty of high quality stage miles and a mass of spectators and media coverage, too.

But this is not purely a playground for the experts. The sport welcomes novice crews and a lot of support and camaraderie is shared amongst competitors. Within the HRCR there are many who can offer guidance and assistance to be part of this most exciting form of historic rallying.

Run to Motorsport UK regulations to provide a level playing field for all, you will need to be a member of an Motorsport UK recognised motor club (like the HRCR), hold an Motorsport UK National A or higher grade competition licence and your car will need to comply with the Motorsport UK historic stage rally vehicle categories 1, 2, 3 and 4 (including FIA Appendix K cars) and regulations.

Preparation is more comprehensive given the nature of the activity and certainly safety is on par with the standards required for modern stage rallying. This also involves safety clothing and protection for the crew.

The HRCR operate two historic stage rally championships; the Mini Sport Mini Cup Championship – which takes place purely on non-damaging sealed surfaces, and the Stage Masters Challenge – which uses a combination of gravel and asphalt surfaces. Both championships comprise of a number of individual rounds throughout the year, chosen for the quality of their stages, organisation and popularity with crews and spectators too.

For more information, event details and dates click the buttons below.

Mini Sport Cup

Stage Master