Did you know… Try out a new motorsport discipline for yourself this National Motorsport Week?

This National Motorsport week there are more ways than you think to get involved. Racing, rallying and karting are well known types of motorsport but they are just the tip of the iceberg…

From joining us for an event to getting involved behind the wheel, or even volunteering, there’s a discipline for everyone. Read on to find out more.

Autocross

Autocross is an ideal discipline for novices looking to get their first taste of competitive motorsport. The aim is to tackle a temporary course, usually between 800 and 1200 metres long in a grass or stubble field, against the clock.

There are usually heats of three or four laps, a practice run and at least two timed runs, the best of which counts towards the results. Competing is against the clock, and the quickest person wins. There are different classes, which are determined by engine size. Cars can also be double driven, so you can team up with friends or family and help reduce the cost of competing.

Auto test

The aim of Autotests are to negotiate as quickly as possible a memorised, low-speed course without hitting any markers – it is all about car control.

Drivers compete on courses – usually on tarmac or grass areas such as car parks or smooth fields – marked out by plastic pylons or cones. They tackle a number of tests, with two attempts at each. The driver with the lowest accumulated time is the winner, although penalties are incurred for hitting cones, failing to stop on a line, or for taking the wrong route.

Try out an Auto test in your own roadcar at one of our StreetCar affiliated car clubs. Find out more here.

Circuit

It’s fast and furious, and quite possibly one of the most well known forms of motorsport is circuit racing, but what is less known is that circuit racing is far more accessible than you are led to believe with a full season and race car budget starting at £10,000.

A number of cars race wheel-to-wheel on a race track. The winner is the first competitor to reach the chequered flag, which falls once the designated number of race laps or a time limit has been completed. Most meetings comprise practise sessions, qualifying and at least one race.

Keen to take the leap? Get your Racing licence now

Cross Country

Cross Country events are the best reason for getting your 4×4 out of town and doing what it was designed for! This off-road discipline combines elements of rallying and trials, depending on the specific type of event.

Cross Country takes place on off-road courses of up to 10 miles in length. Each competitor completes the course several times and is given penalties for exceeding the bogey. Trials feature courses, called sections, marked out by a series of gates. The further you get through each section without stopping or hitting the gate, the lower the penalty.

Drag

Drag racing is the fastest, loudest and perhaps most spectacular of motorsports, pitting drivers and their cars against one another in pairs from a standing start. The standard course is a straight quarter-mile – sometimes shorter, never longer – and the racing format is instant-knockout.

Numerous different vehicle categories range from road-going production cars to Top Fuel Dragsters. Some eliminators feature vehicles of equal performance capabilities competing head-to-head without handicaps. First to the finish progresses to the next round; second to the finish is eliminated. It’s very decisive. The procedure repeats until a single winner is left standing in each eliminator.

Drifting

Drifting is a globally recognised motorsport discipline, which involves the driver intentionally oversteering a car to break traction of the rear (or sometimes all four) tyres around a corner.

The art of drifting originates from Japan in the 1970s, whereby enthusiasts, known as ‘zoku’ at the time, would compete in time trials on mountain roads, or alternatively referred to in Japan as ‘touge’. Over time, the discipline now incorporates precision as a competitive factor, which drivers judged upon their following of the defined drifting lines sanctioned.

Esports

Esports is the most accessible kind of motorsport and the cheapest way to get started. You can compete in any vehicle, at anytime, anywhere. All you need is a gaming device – such as a computer, Playstation, Xbox, or mobile device –  and your chosen motorsport game.

Motorsport UK’s Esports Hub, available at http://esports.motorsportuk.org offers value, insight and benefits to new and experienced drivers.

Hill Climb

Hill climbing has been part of British motorsport since the early days, with many famous drivers, including Sir Stirling Moss, having competed on the hills.

Cars tackle an uphill course one-by-one, with the quickest time dictating the winner. Competitors are given practice runs before the competition starts, before a minimum of two competitive runs, with the best time counting in the final results.

Karting

It’s pretty well-known that, barring a few exceptions, most of today’s top professional racing drivers all started their careers in karting. But what isn’t so well-known is that karting is a sport for all and there’s nothing to stop you competing week in, week out.

Think of Karting as scaled down circuit racing, for as well as the vehicles being smaller the circuits are too; most karting is ‘short circuit’, although more powerful Superkarts (or Long Circuit Karts) do run on full-size race tracks.

Karts go wheel-to-wheel and the winner is the first to reach the chequered flag, which falls after the designated number of laps is completed.

Karting is split into four main categories: Cadet, Inter, Junior, Senior and Gearbox. To find out which is the one for you, get in touch with your local club.

Motorsport UK has launched its own Girls Karting Academy. Our new programme aims to inspire and invite the next generation of female talent into motorsport– it’s fun, girls only and family friendly. Find out more here

Rallycross

Think of Rallycross as a combination of Rallying and Circuit Racing. There’s plenty of close, sideways, wheel-to-wheel action all the way.

Up to eight cars at a time go wheel-to-wheel on a circuit that is part asphalt and part gravel/loose surface, with the winner being the quickest person to complete the required number of laps. The races are usually short, lasting a maximum of three minutes, so events often comprise 60 separate races.

The flagship series is the British Rallycross Championship but there are plenty of other events and series to get involved in, such as the BTRDA Clubmans Rallycross Championship, at venues across the country.

Rally

The late British legends Colin McRae and Richard Burns became stars in the World Rally Championship but that’s only the tip of an iceberg, because in the UK alone rallying is enjoyed by thousands of competitors across dozens of championships and events.

Special Stage rallying is probably the best known branch of the discipline but navigational events on the public highway, known as Road Rallies, have a long and successful history and are easily accessible to anyone with a road car and driving licence. Get your Rally licence now.

Sprint

Sprint is a high-speed discipline in which drivers take turns to set a time around a lap of a race circuit or a point-to-point course, with the fastest times determining the results.

Sprints are typically held on racing circuits, as well as disused airfields, and with venues spread right across the country you won’t have to travel too far to have a go yourself.

Competitors are given practice runs before the competition properly starts. You will get two runs against the clock, with your best time counting in the final results.

Trials

Trials is about how far you go rather than how fast you get there. A low-speed but highly challenging discipline, it is one of the most accessible forms of the sport and an ideal entry point for newcomers.

Trials are all about finding grip in order to progress as far as possible along a course laid out on a hill side. There are three main types of Trials: Car Trials, Sporting Trials and Classic Trials.

Car Trials are for the driver who wants to compete in a road car, so it’s a great place to start. In Sporting Trials, cars are designed especially for the purpose. Classic Trials are the original form of Trials.