www.endurance-rallying.co.uk

TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

The Rover Centre Endurance Road Rally Championship, promoted by the Central Sussex Motor Club will run throughout 2008 on designated Championship events. The Championship will cater for individual drivers and navigators competing in cars complying with the MSA Technical Regulations for Endurance Road Rally Cars.

 

MSA Championship Permit No: TBA

 

COMPETITORS

1.1.Competitors must be fully paid-up members of the Central Sussex Motor Club to be eligible for the Championship and must sign that they have read and agree to the rules and regulations of the Championship. Acceptance of an entry to the Championship is at the discretion of the Championship Committee.

1.2. Registration for the Championship includes Competitor Membership of Central Sussex Motor Club. A Club Membership Card will be issued, which must be produced at each Championship Round.

1.3. Competitors will require a Competition Licence issued by the MSA – National “B” or higher.

REGISTRATION

2.1. Completed registration forms must be returned to the Championship Coordinator who will issue a Championship registration number to each contender. The registration fee for the Championship will be £12 per individually.

2.2. Contenders who register as a crew may also compete on events with another driver/navigator, who may or may not be registered for the Championship, although they may be reclassified into a higher experience class for that event. The crew will take the experience classification of the higher experienced crew member.

2.3. Registrations will be accepted either through the post or at Championship events. All registration forms must be accompanied by the correct fee.

2.4. In order to be eligible for points, competitors must register prior to the start of the first event on which they intend to claim points.

2.5. Competitors must ‘sign on’ for Championship purposes at each event. Club membership cards and Championship registration cards will be checked and a declaration of crew and vehicle eligibility signed. Also, the competitor must declare whether claiming points as a driver or navigator and enter their registration number on the event registration sheet.

ELIGIBLE CARS

3.1. Only cars complying fully with the MSA Technical Regulations will be acceptable for use in the Championship. Cars must comply with the specific MSA Technical Regulations for Endurance rallying, section H129 and appendix A of these regulations. These Regulations specify certain items that may be modified or substituted. Components/parts not listed may not be modified or changed without the written permission of the Championship Eligibility Scrutineer.

3.2. Competitors will be required to vouch that the vehicle entered complies with the Regulations in all respects. This declaration will be on the Championship registration form and on the registration form at each event. All vehicles must display a valid tax disc, have a current MOT certificate (if required by Law) and valid insurance for the event, either through their own insurers or an MSA-approved insurance scheme.

3.3. The Eligibility Scrutineer for the Championship is Paul Loveridge. There may be an Assistant to the Eligibility Scrutineer whose decisions will have the same force as the Eligibility Scrutineer. Any vehicle that has been/is being used in the Championship could at any time, for reasons of eligibility, be stripped or sealed for examination. All costs of stripping and rebuilding are to be borne by the competitor. Failure to agree to stripping/sealing or breaking of a seal will result in the loss of points throughout the year, and/or a penalty decided by the Stewards of the Championship. Any competitor seeking clarification on the technical application of these Regulations is advised to contact the Eligibility Scrutineer as early as possible and, whenever possible, before carrying out modifications. Contact details: -

Paul Loveridge, tel (work) – 01594 824747 or e-mail paul.pj@btconnect.com .

DRIVER/NAVIGATOR

4.1. The entered driver must drive both the road sections and, where applicable, the special tests of a qualifying event to score points. Navigators must not drive on any competitive sections. No points will be allocated to any contenders who share competitive driving duties on a Championship event.

CLASSES

5.1. These are the Championship classes. Individual event classes may vary from event to event. Points will be allocated based on modified Final Results where necessary.

5.2. Drivers :

Expert - A driver that has finished in the top 5 of an endurance rally or considers themselves an expert in another motorsport discipline ie a regular top driver in autotests/ sprinting/road rallying etc. Please be honest, as we don’t want experienced drivers in the same class as genuine novices

Semi Expert - A driver that does not qualify for expert or novice status

Novice - A driver that has finished no more than two endurance rallies or road rallies.

5.3. Navigators :

Experts – A navigator that has finished in the top 5 of an Endurance rally or the top 5 of a Navigational rally or the top 10 of a Road rally.

Semi Experts - A navigator that does not qualify for expert or novice status.

Novice – A navigator that has finished no more than two rallies.

5.4.the Previous experience will be counted up to the date of registration for the Championship. Experience is counted in role (driver or navigator) in which currently competing.

5.5. For the championship awards only, contenders will retain their experience status applicable at the time of registration. If the regulations of a qualifying round place them in a different experience class, they must enter that event in accordance with the event regulations.

5.6. The Championship Committee reserves the right to reclassify any crew/vehicle that they believe is unfairly classified by the classes listed above

 

POINTS

6.1. Points will be allocated on an individual basis to Driver or Navigator based on overall finishing positions on each event. Note that these will be based on “overall” position and will include all finishers.

6.2.Overall

1st – 50 points

2nd – 45 points

3rd – 42 points

4th – 40 points

5th – 39 points

43rd and lower – 1 point

6.3. Capacity classes (upto 1litre and upto 1.3)

1st in class – 10 points

2nd in class – 8 points

3rd in class – 6 points

4th in class – 5 points

8th and lower – 1 point

6.4.Ties will be resolved by taking the highest overall result in the earliest round in which both tied competitors competed.

6.5. Should only one crew member be registered, for the purposes of points allocation it will be assumed that both are registered, and thus individual members of the same crew will always be awarded equal points for each event.

6.6. Points and positions will be displayed on the Championship Internet website after each round and at signing on for each round. Any queries regarding the allocation of points should be made to the Championship Coordinator within seven days of the date of publication

AWARDS

7.1. The following Championship awards will be made.

Overall Awards:

1st Overall Driver – The Torqbar Trophy* and replica

1st Overall Navigator – The Restore Nutrition Trophy* and replica

2nd Overall Driver and Navigator

3rd Overall Driver and Navigator

Class Awards:

1st in each class Driver and Navigator

2nd in each class Driver and Navigator (subject to 5 registered contenders)

3rd in each class Driver and Navigator (subject to 8 registered contenders)

Contenders may not win more than one of the above awards except where they have won class awards in two separate categories or in separate roles.

The following additional trophies may be won by any “qualifying” competitor: -

Best Lady Driver – The Jean Appleton Trophy* + replica

* Named trophies remain the property of the Championship and are held for a maximum period of 11 months.

7.2. The Championship Committee reserves the right to amalgamate classes for Championship awards in the event of there being too few contenders in a particular class. Additional awards may be presented at the discretion of the Championship Committee.

7.3. In order to be eligible for overall or class awards a contender must have started at least 3 Championship events in the role appropriate for that award.

CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS

8.1. The 2008 Championship will consist of a maximum of 6 Endurance Road Rallies. Should any event be cancelled, at least six weeks’ notice will be given of a replacement event. Wherever possible the replacement event will be of a similar type to that cancelled. Should it not be possible to find a suitable alternative event, the Championship will continue with fewer rounds.

8.2. The winners of the Overall Championship will gain the titles ‘2008 Endurance Road Rally Champion Driver and Navigator’.

8.3. For overall Championship and class awards, each contender’s best 4 scores from all Championship rounds will be counted. In the event of cancellation of Championship rounds without replacements being found, the number of best scores to be counted will be reduced if necessary, such that the number of scores to count is three less than the number of qualifying rounds. If there are 5 rounds then the number of counting scores will be 3. If there are 4 or fewer events then the number of counting scores will be 1 less than the number of events.

ENTRIES

9.2. It is the competitor’s responsibility to obtain entry forms in adequate time, although regulations will normally be sent directly to the nominated member of the crew or individual contenders by the organising club. Where a club normally publishes regulations on a website, the Championship Coordinator will ensure that hard-copy is sent to registered contenders who have requested this on their Championship registration form.

CHAMPIONSHIP COMMITTEE

10.1. A committee, comprising the Championship Coordinator, and a minimum of two other persons will be responsible for the administration of the Championship. The committee members may change during the course of the year but initially they are: -

Championship co-ordinator – Owen Turner

Championship entries secretary – Andrew Dadswell

Championship treasurer – Karen Turner

Central Sussex MC Rep – Matthew Fowle

Assistant to the Eligibility Scrutineer – Dave Smith

10.2. Any dispute concerning these Regulations or the running of the Championship will be adjudicated by a panel of 3 Championship Stewards, selected from the overall team of Stewards. These are currently: - Stan Appleton, Ian Mills, Rod Parkin and Rick Smith. Further Championship Stewards may be appointed during the year.

JUDICIAL

11.1. Any written reported breach of either these Championship Regulations or the MSA Competitors’ Yearbook by a Championship competitor, whether of a sporting, technical or financial nature, will be considered by the Championship Stewards who, after giving all parties concerned the opportunity to be heard, will take appropriate action in accordance with either C(d)3-32 or C(d)33-43 of the MSA Competitors’ Yearbook. The Stewards of the Championship may also report the matter to the MSA who may take further action including increasing any penalties previously applied.

PROHIBITED EQUIPMENT

12.1. Mobile telephones may only be carried in accordance with individual event regulations, i.e. for safety purposes only. Any competitor found using a mobile telephone, in voice or text mode, for relaying or receiving route information will be EXCLUDED from the Championship.

SERVICING

13.1 Irrespective of individual event regulations pre-arranged servicing, support, tyre dumps or “chase cars” are all expressly prohibited for Championship entrants. Competitors may work on their own vehicle using tools and parts carried in the competing vehicle throughout the event, or borrowed from fellow competitors and also carried in their competing vehicle. They may also take advantage of any nominated support crews arranged by the organisers of the event. In emergency, tyres may be repaired and/or replaced at any commercial premises en route – PROVIDED this is not pre-arranged. Any competitor not complying with this clause (or the spirit of it) will forfeit points for that event and be reported to the Championship Stewards. Further penalties may then be imposed.

 

 

Appendix A

TECHNICAL REGULATIONS

A.1 DEFINITIONS
The term 'car' will mean a unitary construction motor vehicle designed to carry four or more persons. The term 'model' refers to all the variants of the same family of cars. The terms 'standard' and 'original' will mean conforming to the showroom specification of the actual model of car entered as it was produced and sold to the general public through the manufacturer's usual dealer outlets. The Organisers will have absolute discretion in identifying separate models.

 

A.2 CAR SPECIFICATION

An endurance rally car is a fundamentally standard car under 1400cc.
All cars and their components, e.g. engine numbers, must conform to their vehicle registration document and the statutory vehicle regulations. Cars must be in completely standard condition except for the specified modifications detailed in these regulations. All other modifications are prohibited and will be penalised up to exclusion from the event. All components and equipment, and every measurement and dimension must conform precisely to the manufacturer's published standard specification for the particular model of car entered. Entrants must supply the Organisers with any vehicle documentation as required.

 

A.3 COMPONENT PARTS
Every part or component of the car must be a standard production item identifiable as the manufacturer's listed and numbered part, except where alternative components are specifically permitted by these Regulations. No standard part may be machined, lightened or polished unless specifically permitted within these Regulations.

 

A.4 SAFETY EQUIPMENT
It is mandatory that all cars be equipped with:
An AFFF fire extinguisher of at least 1.75 litres. This must be within easy reach of both occupants inside the car and be securely mounted in quick release brackets bolted to the car. If a plumbed-in system is fitted, an additional hand-held AFFF extinguisher, as above, must also be fitted. Seat belts to at least MSA Blue Book C(c) 44 and C(c) 45 specification (full harness, 4 point fixing). Rollover protection to at least MSA Blue Book C(c) Appendix 2 drawing no. 1 specification (single hoop and 2 back stays).
Front windscreen of laminated glass. Mud flaps for all four wheels.
First aid kit, warning triangle, tow rope and SOS/OK Board.

 

A.5 BODY (exterior)
Cars must have bodywork that represents the manufacturer's original profile, as in standard or manufacturer's optional extra form. All bodywork panels must be of the material provided as standard by the car manufacturer. Front and rear bumpers must be retained and be of the same material and dimensions as those fitted by the manufacturer. The fitting of additional wheel arch extensions is prohibited. Cars may not be lightened from the manufacturer's standard production weight. Strengthening of the bodyshell is permitted. De-mountable strut brace(s) may be fitted. Detachable sump guards, transmission, fuel tank and silencing system protection plates may be fitted. Bonnet, door and rear door/hatch locks may be changed and additional catches fitted. In the interests of safety self locking door mechanisms should be disabled. Sunroofs must be taped over to the satisfaction of the Scrutineer. ]

 

A.6 BODY (interior)
All major internal trim must remain as originally supplied by the manufacturer. The exceptions are:- full harness belts must be fitted; a roll cage must be fitted; the steering wheel may be replaced; the front seats may be replaced; rear seats may have their backs folded down and securely fastened (or cut only where necessary to allow the fitting of the roll cage and seat belts); parcel shelves may be removed; trim and carpets behind the rear seats in the boot space may be removed; inside door panels may be reshaped to accommodate roll cage door bars or substituted by an alternative panel from a model variant; safety air bags may be removed or disabled; additional instruments, switches and controls may be fitted providing the layout of the original components is not changed; interior accessories may be added to improve comfort, convenience or safety, provided they do not affect the performance of the car. The glass areas of the car must not be rendered opaque except for the sunstrip area.

 

A.7 ENGINE & TRANSMISSION
The engine must in all respects conform to that originally fitted by the manufacturer for the model of car. No part may be machined, balanced, lightened, polished or otherwise modified in any way except for a service reground crankshaft and/or cylinder re-bore which does not exceed 1.5mm (60 thou) or does not exceed the engine capacity class limits by more than 2.5%. Engine and gearbox mountings may be modified or replaced provided there is no alteration to the engine and gearbox or their position within the car. Additional engine braces are allowed provided they utilise existing attachment points on the engine and a strengthening plate may be attached to the base of the sump pan. Dry-sump lubrication is not permitted. Forced induction is not permitted. Carburettor engines may have only the standard, maximum two carburettor chokes (two single or one double.) Fuel injection engines must retain the standard injection system complete with plenum chamber and throttle body unmodified. Air intake trunking, to the air filter, is free. Air filters and elements are free, but must be fitted to ensure the vehicle complies with MSA noise regulations (see A.8 below).
All component parts of the gearbox and transmission must remain as standard for the model of car entered and be unmodified except the clutch friction material which is free. The use of a limited-slip or torque-biasing differential is prohibited.

 

A.8 EXHAUST SYSTEM
The original exhaust manifold must be retained as standard but the dimensions and routing of the exhaust system after the exit of the manifold may be modified provided any originally fitted catalytic converter is retained. Additional straps and brackets may be fitted to the exhaust system. Noise levels must comply with the MSA noise limits for road rallies which requires the vehicle to produce no more than 98 dB(A) at 2/3 maximum rpm, when measured at an 0.5m distance from the end of the exhaust pipe.

 

A.9 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The wiring loom and ignition and engine management system may be modified. The battery may be changed and its mountings strengthened but its position must remain as standard.

 

A.10 LIGHTING SYSTEM
Vehicles may have a maximum of four forward facing beams, as well as side & indicator lights. A headlamp provides the main beam and dipped functions. An auxiliary lamp provides a beam other than that provided by the headlamp.
A headlamp may consist of a single reflector with a dual filament bulb, or separate reflectors, each with single filament bulbs providing the functions of main beam and dipped beam separately. These will be considered as the equivalent of a single, dual filament headlamp unit and as a single beam.
Lamp units comprising two reflectors, where one reflector is fitted with a dual filament bulb, will be considered to be a combined headlamp and auxiliary lamp. In this instance therefore, additional auxiliary lamps may not be fitted.
Auxiliary lights using gas discharge technology are not permitted. Gas discharge headlamps may not be retrofitted. Light pods are not permitted.
Where more than four beams are fitted as standard only four may be used and the remainder must be rendered unusable for the duration of the event.
No external navigation or marshal lights are permitted. No reversing lights other than those fitted by the manufacturers are permitted.
The following examples of lighting setups have been supplied by the MSA

The above is not exhaustive but covers the most common permutations.
Note any other lamps emitting a forward facing beam, typically bumper or spoiler mounted, may not be operational/used.

 

A.11 FUEL SYSYTEM
Alternative fuel pump(s) may be used. Fuel lines may be changed without restriction but must be protected by a fireproof covering where they pass through the interior. The fuel tank may be changed.

 

A.12 COOLING SYSTEM
The position of the water radiator must remain unchanged but the core construction and mountings may be changed.

 

A.13 BRAKING SYSTEM
All brake components must be as standard except for the friction material of brake pads and linings and the brake fluid. Hydraulically operated parking brakes are not permitted. Anti-lock braking systems may be removed or disabled. Hydraulic brake lines may be changed and stone protection added.

 

A.14 SUSPENSION & STEERING
The type, mounting method and position of all suspension components shall be as specified by the manufacturer. The shock absorbers may be of any make and may be uprated from standard. Adjustable spring platform struts are permitted but remote reservoirs are not. Springs are free but must retain their original location. Bushes may be changed for similar polymer materials but rose-joints or similar metal joints are prohibited. Power assisted steering systems may be removed. Steering and track control arms may be changed or strengthened provided the operating dimensions remain as standard. Wishbone pans may be strengthened but the operating dimensions must remain as original. The geometry of the suspension must not be altered.

 

A.15 WHEELS & TYRES
The only type of tyres to be used throughout the championship is either from the 'Road Plus' range, as supplied by Colway or any tyre from list 1A of the 2008 blue book including any commercial/van tyre derivative form the tyres in this list (i.e. if the tyre has C added to its type). The tread pattern may not be altered. Only in the case of an emergency can another type of tyre be purchased from a retail outlet in order to remain in the event. This action must be reported to the Chief Scrutineer as soon as possible. The competitors choice of tyre must be declared at the start of the year and used for all chosen rounds of the championship. If a competitor in the championship changes to another tyre for any reason a 10 point penalty will be occured, apart from any on event emergency tyre replacement. Should a competitor use more than one vehicle in the championship then they must still use either the Colway or their chosen make of tyre.
Competitors wishing to use up their old Colways can do so without penalty, but must also declare which tyre they intend to use when they run out of Colways. The choice of road wheel is free provided that the wheel-tyre combination fits within the standard unmodified wheel arch. The number of wheels and or tyres carried in the car is free and they must be securely fastened in position. This also applies to any tools and spare parts carried in the car.