Rally First

Rally First is a new class introduced by the BTRDA for their Forest Rally Championship in 2008. The cars are up to 1400 c.c., with standard engine and gearbox. Obviously they must have the usual stage-rally safety mods (roll-cage, extinguisher, cut-off switch etc.) and can have uprated suspension, but otherwise have to be kept pretty standard. This means that the preparation and maintenance costs of the car are kept low and the performance of the various cars in the class is pretty equal. Also the cars are really reliable – only 2 retirements in the whole class due to car problems during 2008.

The class runs with the other 1400 c.c. cars at the front of the field, which usually means the stages are super-smooth. Also there’s a £50 discount on all entry fees for Rally First competitors.

The Championship consists of 7 events, with the best 5 scores counting for points. The events are spread over the whole country, in Forest of Dean, Somerset, Nottinghamshire and 4 different areas of Wales.

Last year there were usually around 10 Rally First crews on each event, but for 2009 that looks like increasing to over 20. At the Rally First Open Day in December 16 new competitors signed up, including 8 new drivers under the age of 23. There is a fantastic variety of cars – Lupo, Corsa, Micra, Sunny, 106, ZR, Nova, Sirion, 205, Astra…….

My co-driver Tim and I compete in our Corsa, which was originally built to do the Lombard Revival Rally in 2006. After 2 successful years in Endurance Rallying we moved to the new Rally First series at the beginning of 2008. The season was fantastically enjoyable, with plenty of good, close competition and a good, friendly atmosphere. We had a trouble-free season and finished 3rd overall in the Championship.

Stage Rallying will never be cheap, but for anyone who wants to compete on a sensible budget Rally First offers excellent competition, where most of the budget can be spent on doing the events, rather than having to spend loads of money on the car.

Full details of the series can be found at http://www.btrdarally.com