Southern Autotest Championships 2001

Southern Autotest Championships 2001:

preview for ACSMC clubs

or 2001, the ACSMC, LCAMC and ASEMC are combining their previous championships to form two new Southern Autotest Championships, one for tarmac events and the other for grass events. This preview gives an outline of what's new, the full regulations being included in the 2001 ACSMC Yearbook.

Both championships incorporate several developments, to encourage more competitors to take part, including younger and/or less experienced drivers, and some of these features were trialled successfully in last year's ACSMC grass series.

Registration is now free, and automatic, at the first round you take part in, provided you enter under a club belonging to one of these 3 Associations, and do so at National B level. This does require an MSA competition licence, but only the £10 Clubmans version.

As well as Novice awards, both championships are also introducing Newcomers awards, for drivers aged less than 20 on 01/Jan 2001. In conjunction with these awards, the scale for scoring points has been extended, so that every class position will make a difference, down to 9th in class. You also have the option to count one score from marshalling, or another organising role such as Clerk of the Course, at a Championship event.

For drivers, the best 6 scores will count, so that you have the opportunity to build up a full score without committing too many weekends, or too much travelling. In the grass series, the Club award, introduced last year, continues, in which a club can count its drivers' best 3 scores from each round.

As our favourite weekly motor sporting publications have long since ceased to cover these regional events or championships, we also hope to make more use of Association Websites, to include some event reports and/or pictures, as well as championship scores and positions.

The mailing list for event Regs, issued to organisers, should include the drivers who registered for an Autotest championship with any of these Associations during 2000. However, if you want to make sure of this, or didn't compete last year, contact Peter Cox.

The first 3 rounds for each series are:

Tarmac Autotest championship:

Bournemouth & DCC, 11/Feb

Farnborough DMC, 11/March

MCAC/Harrow CC, 25/March

Grass Autotest championship:

Farnborough DMC, 13/May

Bognor Regis & DMC, 01/July

MCAC, 15/July

(Issued on behalf of the Southern Autotest Championships, 2001, by Richard Field, Dec 2000).