Signing On
To sign on you’ll need to present a valid membership card and pay your entry fee (as detailed on the club web site). The fee helps the club cover the cost of hiring the site. It also covers the MSA permit to run the event with any balance left being a contribution to the club to cover its operating costs.
Passengers are permitted in front seats aged 12 or over in hard tops and 16 or over in soft tops. Passengers (or their parent/guardian) must also sign on.
Scrutineering
Scrutineering takes places before the event (see the specific event page for full details of times). In general if you have a standard vehicle in good road worthy order (with a fitted rear tow hitch) the only the addition piece of kit required to be able to compete would be a front recovery point. The full regulations are available in the MSA Yearbook.
The following items will be checked on the day of the trial:
- Vehicle must have front and rear recovery points
- Suspension (condition and checks for non-compliant parts)
- Chassis condition
- Steering linkages will be checked
- The battery must be secured
- Seat-belts must be fitted and functional
- The hand brake must work
- The foot brake must work
- Any recovery equipment will be checked for damage
- Any load within the vehicle must be securely tied down.
- Tyre pressure (minimum 22psi)
- Fire extinguishers are advised but not essential.
Drivers Brief
The drivers brief will be held just before the event start time (see event specific page for full time details) cover the following items:
- It is the drivers responsibility to assess whether or not to drive a section – there is no pressure to drive a section if you are not comfortable with it.
- Some of our sites contain bridleways/footpaths, please take care crossing
these tracks and give priority to other users. - If you come to an involuntary stop please don’t continue to spin your wheels
and dig holes, please consider vehicles yet to drive that section. - Marshals are to supervise all recoveries.
- Seat belts must be worn correctly whilst on a section. A three-point seat belt
must be fitted across the shoulder as well as the waist. - Drivers are not to start a section until they have been instructed by a
marshal. - No littering, or smoking whilst driving on the course
- Where the spill kits will be located
- Where the fire extinguishers will be located
- Who the clerk of the course is
- The running order
- The speed limit is 10mph, anyone found breaking this limit will be asked to
leave.
Trials:
1 On arrival at the trial section, crews are to report to the Start marshal who will indicate the route, which must be walked prior to driving it.
2. At the end of the section the score card is to be handed to the finish marshal who will record any penalties.
It is the crew’s responsibility to ensure that their card is marked. Failure to do so will result in maximum penalties for that section.
The marshal’s word is final.
Protests may be presented to the Clerk of the Course in accordance with paragraph 16 of Supplementary Regulations.
Our trials are designed specifically to be challenging but non-damaging to the vehicle.
The aim is slow but steady driving, with careful control of the vehicle.
Trial Marking
- Each section is laid out over difficult terrain with 7 pairs of canes, which mark the route and determine a competitor’s score.
- Each “gate” (pair of canes) will be roughly 2.5 metres wide with the start gate being identified by a White cane on the driver’s side and the finish gate having a Black cane on the drivers side
- Occasionally blank crossed canes may be used to restrict the route and hitting these canes incurs a penalty as if the vehicle had stopped at that point on the route.
- The start gate is number 12 down to 1 for the last gate. Dropping by 2 for each gate
- To achieve zero penalties a competitor must successfully negotiate the course without stopping, touching the canes or deviating from the section.
- If any part of the vehicle touches a cane, the competitor’s score for that section is the score for that cane.
- As soon as one cane is touched, the driver ceases to compete on that section and should clear the course by the shortest means to allow the next competitor to proceed.
- If a vehicle stops on a section, the penalty given is that of the next pair of canes it is approaching,
- i.e., if the vehicle stops between canes 8 and 6, the score is 6.
- . If one hub of a vehicle passes the line between a pair of canes, the whole
- vehicle is deemed to have passed it, unless the vehicle actually touches that
- cane.
Shunts
- At no time may a vehicle cross its own tracks, except when shunting.
- Vehicles with a wheelbase of 88” to 100” may be eligible for one shunt and vehicles over 100” may be eligible for 2 shunts per section.
- A vehicle shunts by shouting “shunt” before they come to a halt.
- reversing (once) and then resuming forward motion.
- Any other stop whilst going forwards or backwards incurs the penalty for stopping at that point in the section.
- Vehicles taking a shunt must observe the normal rules about striking a cane.
Walking the course
All drivers must walk the section before driving it; they must start when instructed to do so by a marshal.
Any unnecessary delay can result in maximum penalties for that section. Competitors should avoid unnecessary delays and be prepared to drive the course as soon as possible after walking the course. No blethering!!
Tie Breaker
In the event of a tie in the overall scores,
Furthest cleanest will apply (this does not apply to the amount of mud on the vehicle)
