Hello

I'm new here!

I live in Hamilton, Ontario
I'm in the process of buying a car that I will be able to setup for this sport, and I'm not 100% sure where to begin.

First off, I d/l what seems to be a rulebook, but id love to get one in paper form!
What are the best places to go for information?
Where should I start? who can I talk to!

I just want to race!

Please go easy on me!

Chris Steed

Come out to a few navigational rallys and mini-rallys and meet people. You can do this with any street legal car. Once you understand the basic rules etc. you can try more advanced 'navigational' rallys like the Subaru Winter Rally and the Snowy Safari. Then if you want to go further put a roll cage in and enter performance rallys.

Rule number one, get a rulebook.

http://www.carsrally.ca

office@carsrally.ca

Once you have that, read it, multiple times, and then read it again. Once you've done that, go to some rallies and look at what other people have done, up close. Once you've done that, talk to a scrutineer, and discuss your specific plans. They can point out any potential problems you may have.

Oh yeah, and if you want a taste without having to have a cage, etc, come on out to the next rallycross and have a little fun.

Hi Chris,

Chris_Steed wrote on 08/26/4 at 20:30:45:

Like Ryan said, get a CARS rulebook from Linda and memorize it.  FIA cages are legal but there are a bunch of hoops you have to jump through in order to get your cage FIA approved.  Best to start with a CARS cage.


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Yes.  A car with a CARS logbook is legal across the country.  You can also run in US events but I don't think you can score points in the USA in a car with a CARS logbook (not 100% sure about this).


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No money to be made, but if you want a cost-effective way to get into it, check out our rallycross series.

http://www.mlrc.ca/rallycross


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Any rally experience - even if it's just going to a club meeting and shooting the breeze with the veterans - is great experience and usually entertaining.  Road rallying, like our club mini rally series, will teach you timing and instructions, so it is valuable experience even if your ultimate goal is stage rallying.  Rallycross can give you a taste of performance rallying on a budget.  All-night drivexes like the Ontario Winter Rally send you on a real rally adventure.

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I was 18 when I ran my first performance rally.  You're never too young, or too old!

Please volunteer at rallies, of any type.  

This is good, cheap, useful use of your time.  Not only will you learn a lot of competition and safety rules, which you need to know as a competitor, you will meet a lot of people that know a lot more than you, and that's a good thing.  You will see a lot of 'incidents' and their aftermath.  These are things you might want to see from the outside so that you can avoid those things (as much as possible) when you are a competitor.  You will learn what different people do to build their car.  You will learn what car/class is competitive, and what it not.  You will learn TONS of stuff, and this is not even to mention the social aspects of the sport.  

Don't be fooled that road rally is stage rally's poor cousin.  Talk a bout quality and cheap seat time, this is it.  Try a few winter events, or my gravel Lanark Highlands and have your eyes opened.  In fact, they're hardly suitable for beginners.

Some people just like to show up, pay the entry fees, and rally, rarely contribute anything towards marshalling, you see them once a year, and it's really the wrong attitude in my view.

So, I'm just saying this stuff because it's great to be keen, it's exciting you want to join in, with so much enthusiasm, we need more of it, but there's a whole other side to being a well rounded rallyist than driving/co-driving.  So, when the car isn't ready for an event, marshal it.  When your navigator gets the flu, and you're stuck, marshal.

Now that the volunteering rant/sermon is over....

The direction of money flow in motorsports is strictly UNIDIRECTIONAL, from your wallet!

Join a club, asap!

Do any driver ed you can find.  Including tarmac solo-type stuff.

Participate Participate Participate in every thing you can in any capacity.

umm, that's it, yeah.

You need a club membership in order to get a CARS licence, and both the driver and co-driver must hold CARS licences.  Joining MLRC will fulfill the club membership requirement.

ORRC events do not require roll cages, and I would advise against installing a roll cage in a street car because of the risk of your head hitting the cage.  Roll cages, however, are required in all performance rallies, including the OPRC.  Your car would either be in P2 or P3 depending on the engine size.  The automatic tranny, however, will put you at a big disadvantage.  Before starting work on building a rally car, though, you might want to have a look at prebuilt cars that are out there.  It will likely save you money in the long run if you buy a used car.

If you build your own car, do NOT skimp on the roll cage.  It only gets one chance to save your life.  One of the more popular shops is Four Star Motorsports at http://www.fourstarmotorsports.com

Our club memberships and CARS licences all run from January to December so it would be sensible to join in January.  Club membership forms for 2005 will be available in December (or maybe even November).

All you need for the mini rally is a calculator, some pens, a watch, and a clipboard.

Welcome aboard!

I would say just go road rallying for year (cheap/fun), volunteer at performance events and help out other performance rally teams, and see if you're still really into it after that.  You'll pick up a lot of info in that first year, for little to no cost (compared to preparing a real rally car).

I only say this because as a local rally director, Ottawa, I have seen MANY very excited people say to me "I really want to go rallying, I have a three year plan, etc etc".  I say, "that's fantastic, gee you really have a good plan, welcome to rallying."  So, next thing they do one road rally, do poorly, and you never see them again.  Even if you call them up, and offer to help them out and see where they went wrong.  So, sometimes the REAL committment just isn't there.  If only they were more patient, and learned from their road rally experience that to get good at rallying takes some time, and a REAL committment.  Not saying you're not committed, but there is no magic bullet entry into rallying (unless you're rich).

Good luck. Hope to see you out there somewhere.

Craig's advice is spot-on.  Try some minis and road rallies and get yourself a CARS rulebook before starting to build a performance rally car.  This will give you an idea of what is involved - it's a substantial time and dollar investment.

One option would be to try our next rallycross event.  This will give you a taste of rally driving.

http://www.mlrc.ca/rallycross

Every spring there is a road rally school organised by RallySport Ontario.  It usually runs over three consecutive Mondays and will teach you all you need to know about road rallying.  Very useful even if your ultimate goal is stage rallying.  Keep an eye on http://www.rallysport.on.ca as we get closer to March.