As 9th March and the Tour of Epynt draw ever closer, we look forward to the start of the 2014 REIS MSA Asphalt Rally Championship and wonder if we can maintain the levels of competitiveness achieved last year when, with only the final round to go, there were still four drivers in contention for the overall title.
We welcome those of you who have already registered for this year’s Championship and, whilst it is possible to sign up prior to the start of the Tour of Epynt, we would recommend that you do it beforehand as, for obvious reasons, it’s always rather hectic! You can do so online at https://www.btrdamembership.com/index.php.
The purpose of this newsletter is to outline some of the Championship’s bits & pieces in advance of the first round as inevitably, on the day, your attention will be focussed on the rally itself. We hope you find the following useful but, if you have any questions, please call us via our contact details below.
On registration you will receive your BTRDA membership card. However, don’t worry if it hasn’t arrived by the Tour of Epynt as I will be on hand to confirm your membership. The card carries both your BTRDA Club membership number and Championship registration number (drivers start with a 9 and codrivers with an 8 – e.g. 9001, 8001).
CHAMPIONSHIP SIGNING-ON
Signing-On before each Championship event is a very important process for us. It is primarily to identify which Class, Category & Group you will be running in on any particular round. These details are then fed into the results system prior to the production of Championship points and, so, we need to get it right. All you have to do is declare your class eligibility and tick a fewboxes – nothing too arduous but, nevertheless, vital to the
correct allocation of championship points.
Of course, the other purpose of signing-on is to meet up, hear how things are going and generally enjoy the Championship year with you. It’s also an opportunity to hand out replacement decals and discuss any issues you may have.
CHAMPIONSHIP SPONSOR
We are very pleased that REIS are continuing in their role as headline sponsor for the seventh consecutive year. With their very valuable support, they have helped to raise the profile of the Championship, particularly in relation to the TV coverage of every round.
REIS are motorsport insurance specialists for car and motoring enthusiasts, as well as the Motorsports Industry. Their friendly personal service provides tailored products for your own individual needs. They don’t just provide insurance for competitor vehicles but probably areas of your motorsport life you have not even considered. So, if you want to know what REIS can do for you, just visit their website at http://www.reis.co.uk or call 0115 965 1020.
DECALS – FIRST ISSUE AND REPLACEMENT
Championship decals have now been posted to all registered drivers as at 19th February. With them is a letter explaining exactly where they must be fitted to comply with the Championship regulations.
The purpose of the decals is two-fold – firstly, to recognise the significant contribution each sponsor puts into the Championship and, secondly, to identify your car to the TV crews when they are filming on events. Without the screen strip, your car will not be considered
for possible inclusion in the programme for that particular round. Decals will be available at the Championship Signing-On desk on each event.
CHAMPIONSHIP ELIGIBILITY AND EVENT SCRUTINEERING
Ensuring that competing cars meet their eligibility requirements as set down in the Championship regulations and the MSA Competitors Yearbook (Blue Book) is an important part of any Championship. To do this, cars may be randomly selected at the end of an event for conformity checks to be carried out by the Championship Eligibility Scrutineer.
No-one should be concerned if they are asked to attend such checks as we would much prefer to confirm your car is correct than find a problem. However, the onus lies with the individual competitor when it comes to eligibility and it is, therefore, important that you know what regulations your car is required to comply with. If you have any doubts, please contact the Championship Eligibility Scrutineer.
One common mistake is the failure by competitors running Group A or N cars to carry an original (not a copy) set of the relevant homologation papers in the car at all times. By not carrying them or having incorrect ones, you risk not scoring any championship
points on that event. A simple job, but often forgotten!
SPECIAL STAGE TV PROGRAMMES
Following on from the successful TV coverage of the Championship over the past couple of seasons, Special Stage will again be providing coverage of all eight rounds of the Championship on Motors TV.
Filmed and produced by the experienced MC-Video company, led by Wayne Goldring, the programmes, running under the title name of ‘Special Stage’, will appear on Motors TV throughout the year, including an end of year review in December. The programmes have been very conveniently scheduled to run on Friday nights and the anticipated schedule is as follows :
Tour of Epynt Friday 21st March – 10pm
Manx National Friday 23rd May – 9pm
Jim Clark National Friday 13th June – 9pm
ALMC Stages Friday 18th July – 9pm
Tyneside Stages Friday 15th August – 9pm
Mewla Rally Friday 5th September – 9pm
Wexford Stages Friday 26th September- 9.30pm
Cheviot Stages Friday 21st November– 9.30pm
Season Review TBA
Any changes will be advised in future editions of ‘Asphalt Asides’.
If, for any reason, you miss the programme, the recordings will be available shortly afterwards on the Championship website: http://asphaltrallying.com/
The programmes will be going out sooner than in previous years, giving the team less time to edit them. Special Stage always want to make them as extensive and entertaining as possible and, in order to achieve this, depend very much on information received from you both during and after each event. Therefore, they would love to hear from you with snippets on how your day went and any particular incidents or dramas. They will also consider taking film coverage taken from your in-car cameras. Contact: mail@specialstage.co.uk and there is a form
to fill in on their website: http://www.specialstage.co.uk
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