CMGC Autocross & Rally Rules
from Wade Keene <5KEENE@stu.jmls.edu>
Assistant to the Driving Events Coordinator
On Saturday, March 16 we had a rallymaster’s meeting and settled on a few rules for the upcoming seasons’ rallies and autocrosses, among other matters. One of the biggies was a uniform set of guidelines for autocross car classes. We’ll be dividing not only by type of car - MGB, Midget/Sprite, MGA, etc. - but also by degree of modification, and there will be a novice class. So what puts a car into one of these classes?
Novice class = The driver has autocrossed less than four times. If the driver places 1st in an event, they get bumped up a class to Stock at the next autocross. How the car is set up and what kind of car it is is irrelevant as long as the driver is inexperienced. This is the only class where driver experience or lack thereof matters.
Stock Class = Pretty much what it sounds like, but you are allowed a few modifications - this is explained below. Within stock, there will be a class for MGBs and MGCs, Midgets and Sprites, and MGAs and MG T series cars. That comes out to three Stock car classes.
Modified Class = To get into the modified class, the car needs four or more points. Modified class is not broken down into classes for different types of cars - for example, a modified MGA competes against a modified MGC for the same award. Points are “earned” as follows:
Engine modifications:
Cam - hotter cam gets 1 point
Carbs - a carb swap (ie. a Weber) or larger than stock carbs (ie. 1 ¾” instead of 1 ½”) gets 1 point. You can get away with having 1 ½” SUs on a rubber bumper car, though.
Big Bore - Any overbore more than .040" over stock size gets a point (ie. a 2 liter set-up)
Engine swap - If the car has a different type of engine than what the factory put into it (ie. a V-8 instead of an 1800 or an 1800 ‘B instead of a 1500 ‘A engine) you get 4 points - an automatic bump into modified class.
Suspension and wheels:
Lowered suspension - if the car’s lowered below stock, you get 1 point.
Springs - Different from stock springs (ie. lowered or extra stiff) or modified stock springs (ie. cut down) gets you 1 point.
Tube shocks - gets you 1 point.
Sway bars - If you have added a rear sway bar, that earns you a point. Front sway bars are free - we don’t want to be crawling under cars measuring things.
Other suspension modifications - Any other suspension modifications not mentioned here, except for bushing changes, earn one point.
Wheels - If the wheels are wider than stock (ie. 6" minilites), that earns 1 point.
Tyres - If your tires are sold as competition tyres, that gets 4 points (an automatic bump up to modified).
The event master, as before, will be the final judge as to what class your car is put into. What we hoped to accomplish is to allow someone to make an improvement or two to their car without necessarily being placed in the same class as a lowered V-8 with extra sticky tires.
There are also a few requirements to run any of our autocrosses for club trophy points, they are:
The car must be street legal and registered. If you want to drive your race car, you’re welcome to, you just can’t get any points or trophies.
The car must be driven by a licensed driver. If someone is under 18, they must have a parent sign a waiver at the event.
The car must satisfy autocross safety requirements. These requirements include but are not limited to:
- Nothing loose in the car’s passenger/driver area and the trunk must be empty.
- Battery must be firmly clamped in place.
- There must be seatbelts and a helmet worn. (the club has loaner helmets)
- All wheel studs and lug nuts must be in place and secure,
- Knockoffs must be tight, and we would hope on the correct side of the car.
- Spokes in wire wheels must be in good condition. One missing wheel nut or more than one loose or missing spoke is grounds for tech failure.
- The engine compartment will be inspected for safety items. Of primary concern are operational throttle return springs, proper fluid level in the brake reservoir, nothing loose on or around the engine that might fall off, and no excessive fluid leaks. This last item is largely a matter of common judgement, but if you don’t like stepping in it, then we probably won’t like it either.
A few other things, the fee for an autocross will be $15 per DRIVER, the fee for rallies will be $15 per CAR. For rallies, both the driver and the navigator will get trophies. For special events such as the Land’s End Rally, the fees may be higher.
See our events schedule for upcoming autocross and rally events.
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