Motor Sports Council report – September 2007
The Motor Sports Council – the legislative body of
UK motor sport – met last week (11 September) to ratify
constitution and regulation changes that will be adopted for
next season. A summary of some of the key changes is given
below, but the full regulations will be notified in the MSA’s
official magazine, Motorsports Now!, and in the 2008 Blue
Book as appropriate.
The creation of the Volunteer Officials Advisory Panel –
as originally announced in February – was confirmed,
and the chairman of this group will become a member of the
MSA Motor Sports Council from next year.
Regulation E12.16.7: Catalytic converters will be mandatory
for all production based touring, saloon and sports cars,
including specialist production and kit cars, from 1st January
2009 and for newly registered championships from 1 January
2008. They may be specified for certain other formulae.
Regulation J20.14.8: FIA-homologated rear warning lights
will be compulsory in all race events from 1 January 2008
in order to ensure that visibility is improved in poor weather
conditions.
Regulation N1.5: The introduction of Tyro Kart Events has
proved extremely popular and from January 2008 a new Junior
Tyro category will be created for 11 to 16 year olds with
engines not exceeding 10hp per kart. This should allow a junior
‘starter’ class to encourage the transfer from
arrive and drive to MSA karting, particularly given the recent
increase in interest in karting.
Regulation N12.2.1 and E2.15.12: In the upgrading of a kart
licence, competitors will, from next season, be able to count
up to three signatures from NatSKA (National Schools Karting
Association) meetings held under an MSA permit, to encourage
further progression from NatSKA to MSA karting.
Regulation S3.2 and S3.3: Following a thorough review by
the Medical Advisory Panel, the regulations concerning minimum
medical requirements and facilities have been overhauled in
accordance with modern day medical practice.
Entrant’s Licences: From 1st January 2008, all entrants
must be in possession of the appropriate Entrant’s Licence
for an event in which they are participating. The entrant
is the legal entity who is responsible for all acts and/or
omissions of the driver/co-driver or any person connected
with the entry. Entrant’s Licences range from International
Open (valid for all events inside and outside the UK) to Club
Entrant (valid for UK National Events only).
The Technical Advisory Panel, in association with the specialist
Committees, has completely reviewed the technical definitions
to ensure that they are up to date and that they are in agreement
with FIA definitions as appropriate.
Production Car Trials has been renamed and will henceforth
be known as Car Trials.
The MSA Chief Executive’s report, designed to keep
Council members up to date with the activities of the Motor
Sports Association, together with that of the Regional Committee,
outlined many areas of on-going interest:
The Club Development Fund has passed the £500,000 mark
for grants made, to projects worth more than £2.6m
The new Rescue Development Fund, launched this year, has already
granted more than £27,000 to projects worth nearly £100,000
Negotiations with the Forestry Commission over access charges
are progressing well and should be concluded shortly
The MSA is investing heavily in additional staff and technology
within the licensing department to deliver a more efficient
service for competitors and to ensure that this year’s
renewals process is significantly improved
The first ‘Women in Motor Sport’ forum was to
be held on 13th September at Motor Sports House
The first meeting of the new ‘Next Generation’
forum – which is designed to give those people under
25 years of age a dedicated voice within the sport –
will be held on 3rd October at Motor Sports House
The MSA is evaluating the administrative process to provide
‘free’ first-time licences to under-16s as previously
announced and details will be confirmed shortly
Congratulations were also given to all those involved with
BAJA GB 2007 for the success of last month’s event.
|
