Firstly, receiving regs. There are usually several ways of doing this. You either contact the organising club by phone, details of which you’ll find in the white booklet that accompanied your competition licence. You may be passed from pillar to post before speaking to the relevant person in the club who can post you regs. These days, another way is to visit the organising club’s website where it may be possible to download regs and entry forms. Not every club provides this facility but it could be worth looking. Perhaps what most people will do is to register with one or more championships which generally means that you will receive regs for all the events included in the particular championship as they become available. It cannot always be guaranteed that regs will arrive so a phone call may still be necessary. It’s then simply a case of completing the entry form and sending it off. You should within a couple of weeks of posting your entry, receive confirmation that it has been received. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it has been accepted however but it should say on the acknowledgement what the situation is. Nearer the event, you’ll receive final instructions and an entry list which will indicate your competition number.

As far as car preparation is concerned, the MSA Blue Book is a valuable, albeit complex source of information. Other competitors and championship scrutineers are also good people to talk to. If you intend to compete in just the one discipline then it is slightly easier to find out what you can and can’t do to your car. However, if you intend to mix rallying with sprinting for instance, then you have to look carefully at both sections of the blue book. Generally speaking, rally cars are prepared to a higher standard, safety wise at least (there are some sheds out there!) than sprint cars. A road going sprint car doesn’t need a fire extinguisher or an MSA log book where the rally car does. So read carefully, perhaps go to an event without actually entering and speak directly to competitors. Scrutineers can be contacted away from actual meetings and they’re usually happy to give your car the once over and point out problem areas. If you get really desperate you can always phone me! I have sprinted a fair bit, been involved slightly in stage rallying and done bugger all racing but if I don’t know the answer, I ought to be able to put you onto someone who can help.

It was good to see so many at the last month’s Awards Dinner at the Hadlow Manor Hotel. It was oversubscribed in fact, lets hope that’s a sign for future events. Both of 2004’s speed championship sponsors, Rik Lee and Jon Miles were with us with Rik doing his customary late arrival routine! Jon’s entry didn’t go unnoticed, he and Christine came along as 3^rd and 4^th reserve, well if you will go off gallivanting in other countries over Christmas! Karen Webber announced that there will be £700 in the 2004 speed championship kitty so make sure you fill in your registration form now and don’t forget the requirement to marshal.

The January 12 car went well, hardly surprising with Chin in charge, he’s been around long enough now to know what he’s doing. A full entry and challenging road conditions along with tighter than usual timing meant that keeping a clean sheet was going to be very hard. Only one crew managed that, seasoned road rally competitors, Doug Kingsley and Ben Greenfield both from Borough 18. They were followed home by the Croydon crew of Ian Rumbold and Neil Ayling who arrived 13 minutes late, shortly ahead of myself and Daren, one minute further behind. We’d made a mistake plotting on the first section which cost 5 minutes but even without that, there was no way we could have matched the pace of Doug and Ben. Apparently it was quite an eventful night for others running further down the field with members of the public overturning their cars in country lanes without any help from us I hasten to add and certain householders giving abuse to competitors, accusations were even levelled at our very lady like editor. Even so, everyone arrived at the finish safely and the usual enthusiastic chat about the route prevailed. The February 12 car will have happened by now, so the next one is on March 5^th, with Chris Scudder in charge. It will be starting from the M23 Pease Pottage Services at 8pm using map 198 which should be interesting (Oh blooming ‘eck…better go and buy one of those then…The “ladylike” Ed!). Then on April 9^th, Borough 18 will be running the last 12 car of this season from the M20 services at junction 8 using map 188. Contact Dave Clark to enter this one on 01474 833496 or 07967 627833.

There are also 2 more scatter rallies to run, the first of which is Ian Crocker’s on February 20^th starting from the Fox and Hounds at Toys Hill, 188/471520. Then on March 26^th, Liz and Mike Jordan of Maidstone &MKMC close the season with their event starting from The Wild Duck, Marden Thorn, 188/765½431, map 188 is needed.

As you should by now know and it’s too late if you don’t, it was decided at a meeting of representatives of the Weald motor clubs, to run the scatters on a Friday night instead of us doing ours on Wednesdays’ and Maidstone doing their’s on a Thursday and Croydon on some other day. I know that the Friday night hasn’t suited everyone, one of our regulars, Andy Watkins can’t make the Friday nights and others are probably in the same boat. Also scatters, unlike 12cars, involve 30 minutes or so of plotting at the start and some competitors do this inside the start venue. This can be more difficult when the pubs that are invariably the starts, are that much more crowded on a Friday, which in turn has the knock on effect of making the lanes slightly busier. I would very much like to hear your views on these scatters as it will help in planning for the next season. Bear in mind that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday’s are used for one or other club’s social night, which really only leaves Monday nights as an alternative to Friday. Would Monday be better? I want to hear from you.

Work on The Rally of Kent on March 14^th is moving along nicely. If you’re looking to enter then regs are available from www.rallyofkent.co.uk or phone Sue Sansom on 020 8300 7725. If not entering, then please offer to marshal to Chris Scudder. Remember you speed competitors that it is a regulation that you marshal at any 7oaks event during the year. Not doing so means that come the end of the season, all your year’s efforts may have been in vain. The year runs from the October 19^th, 2003 through to October 17^th, 2004.

Another chance to qualify through marshalling will be on the Kent Road Rally on February 14^th/15^th. Not to be confused with the above this takes place when the sky is dark and on tarmac …… mostly! Chris Scudder is again the man to offer yourselves to, the more the merrier. Contact Chin for an entry, although it may be too late for that now!

Then in April, the 7oaks Speed League kicks off with our co-pro’d event with Maidstone at Lydden on the 10^th. If your car isn’t quite ready for the off, then earn yourself a bonus 7 points by marshalling at this event. Phone Chris Scudder ….. he gets about, doesn’t he?