Rally Driving
Ever wondered what it would be like to go rally driving? Fancy yourself as the next Colin Macrae? Lots of people fantasise about having ago but don’t know where to start and don’t realise they can just go and have ago for a great day out or you can very easily take it up as a hobby but you do need to get a rally driver licence.
There are many rally schools in the United Kingdom but only a few of them are acredited by The Motor Sports Association so before you book to go to any one of them make Sure that they are a member of the British Association Of Rally Schools. This will ensure that you are going somewhere that will give you a great day and superb training and that you will be doing authentic rally driving in the true sense of the word!
Silverstone Rally School is acredited by The Motorsports Association and was actually the first Rally School in the world. They offer a number of courses on there website from a half day to a full day and both of these courses will give you agreat insight into rally driving where you will be taught how to do handbrake turns and Scandanavian flicks and skid pan work. You will find the time there will fill you with adrenaline when you get the car going side ways and you will find that you will of had a great day out, but come away very informed about how to rally drive. For those who want to take it a little more seriously they offer one on one training in the form of a Rally Solo. This type of one one on training will really bring your skills on very quickly.
A top tip to make sure you have a great day out and some quality training is to spend more time looking for a quality school than being fixated about the type of rally car you will be driving. Because of the WRC many people get fixated about wanting to take their first taste of rally driving in a Subaru. Remember the rally drivers you see driving these cars on TV have had many years of training and a Subaru is a car that you would need to know advanced driving techniques to be able to get such a fierce car under control and sideways for rally driving. You would be far better to take your first taste in a rear wheel drive car like a Ford Escort MK2 where you will be able to pick up the techniques required far more easily and get the car sideways on your first visit rather than choosing a Subaru and coming away feeling disappointed. The Subaru is something you can aspire to as you develop your new found skills!!!
If you want to take up rally driving as a hobby you need to take the BARs test (British Association Of Rally Schools test). The first thing you need to do is get a Go Rally Pack from the www.msa.org. You then need to study the rally driving section and watch the dvd that comes with the pack. Once you have read this you can contact Silverstone Rally School or any of the other BARS schools to take your test. The test is a small driving test and a written test and all the information to answer the questions in the test are in your go rally pack.
Once you have past the test you can apply for your rally driver licence and once you have this and have bought a car you can start rally driving. You will need to join a local rally driving club and can find events to do on the internet.
Before you go out on your first rally though I would suggest that you invest in some one on one rally driver training which will stand you in very good stead to make you safe and do well in your future hobby.
or further information visit www.silverstonerally.co.uk
