Getting Started- Speed Events- Part 1
If
you've ever wondered how you can get to drive competitively at some of
the great motor racing venues around Britain, here is your answer - sprints
and hill climbs. For a comparatively small outlay you can drive as fast
as you like around some great tracks and up famous hills. You don't need
a particularly fancy car and you have easy access to well-organised and
fun Championships like the Northern Speed Championship.
This article aims to de-mystify what you need to do in order to compete. I would strongly recommend that you first attend a couple of events as a spectator or even a marshal. Marshals get to stand near the track and watch up to 400 attempts at a given corner - a great way to learn the quick lines! This will give you a much better idea of the sort of things you need and what you will be asked to do. Nothing beats seeing the action and talking to the drivers.
Firstly, a sprint is a timed run around a track. Only one car starts
at a time (though there may be two or more cars on different parts of
the circuit at once). You compete only against the clock. Competitors
are grouped together in classes and there are prizes for winners of each
class depending on the number of entrants. A hill climb is basically the
same but takes place on a (usually) narrower track and up a hill.