Rally regs....

[RedMist]

I've been hunting for a rally car... however a car with cage has come up reasonably cheaply and I cant seen to find the regs that state wether or not I can race this car at club rallies. I'll obviously need certed seats and belts, underbody protection, an extinguisher and assorted small items. I just wondered what the regs were... its a pre 92 (1998) 4WD turbo 2ltr. Anyone with a copy... or a link online... the www.motorsport.org.nz regs seem to be all about the Kiwi 2WD and Classic rallying... cant find anything about pre 92 or pre 96.

Daniel.

[pc]

AFAIK It needs to be reg'd and WOF'd with a homoligated cage.... so you're limited by LTSA rules mostly, not Motorsport rules.

[Leon]

You need to talk to somebody who is running the regional series. The pre 92 is just a class competed in at some regional series, not at all at championship level (thus why it's not on the MSNZ website).

http://www.motorsport.org.nz/Pdf/M33%20App2%20SchA.pdf general safety requirements all events all vehicles

[RedMist]

Leon, thanks its a great start.
So how do I find out the class restrictions for regional rounds? Or the proposed regs for pre 96? I just want to know if the car is able to be raced at a regional level.
Its been quite some time since I have rallied and even then the only regoinal rounds I competed in.... were in the UK.

[Leon]

Talk to your club committee people would be my best guess. Clubs often get mailed regional class information, on which you could find the contacts for the series. Unfortunately none of this is controlled by MSNZ, it's strictly a locally organised category.

[Cahuna]

As long as the car meets the Schedule A safety requirements (link posted by Leon) you should be good for most regional rallies, other than those exclusive to 2WDs/classics (of which there have been a couple recently in the North Island). However depending on the event you might be thrown into an open 4WD class instead of pre-92 or pre-96.

From reading the regs for South Canty's rally in July (http://www.southcanterburycarclub.org.n ... ppRegs.pdf) there are two classes you could probably enter, 'Over 1600cc 4WD' (class C) or 'Pre 96' (class J). I'm not sure about the exact eligibility requirements for pre-96 but if you contact the rally organisers (try Paul Dickson, pjdickson@xtra.co.nz) they should be able to help you.

Also, keep an eye on http://www.onlinemotorsport.net as it has details on each regional rally series, including regs for each event. And join us on its forum, there are a number of people there who organise these series and/or rallies in the series and who are more than happy to answer these types of question.

[TRD Man]

Being a Southerner I guess you're most likely to enter the Mainland series.
Click on this link for the mainland co-ordinator.

http://www.motorsport.org.nz/Rally/mainland/index.htm

If you want information about the very excellent Fram Filters Central Region Rally Series or the exceptional Trusthouse/Racetech Rally Wairarapa, I can help.

As others have said, your car doesn't necessarily have to fit into any one of the class requirements in order just to enter the rally.

[RedMist]

A fantastic and well informed set of responses.

Thankyou gentlemen.

After bitching repeditively about the GT4, it appears that I might own yet another one. Heavy old girl... but I'm not aiming to be compeditive... just be there.

[TRD Man]

Are you looking at the ex Meekings GT4 that has appeared on TradeMe in the last day or two?

[RedMist]

I did. However he wants 20k for a car thats obviously taken a beating. And I dont think it'll be compeditive against the pre 96 evo's.
I'm still heavily involved in offroad racing. I just want something that I can have some cheap fun in, and scare the fluck out of my victom / navigator.
Hence I'm looking at a caged 185 and then just underbody it, reroute fuel and brakes, Link Plus g2, add seats, belts, extinguisher, etc.
Still if you know of any well priced (sub 12k) cars around. PM ME PLEASE!

[wde_bdy]

Have you looked at the one for $6k on Trade Me up my way? Comes with a spare car as well. Cage is only bolt in and its a fair way to ship it but might still be worth considering.

Callum

[Leon]

Could be a silly question, but if you're looking for cheap fun, then maybe you should look at something like a RWD Starlet / Corolla / Something? Going the 4wd turbo route is definitely a good way to set fire to large piles of money.

Yeah, the RWD Starlet / Corolla route isn't going to get you at the pointy end of the field, but your position in your chosen engine cc class will probably be a lot higher, for 1/4 of the money.

Plus, you can throw it sideways at trees.

Actually, assuming your off road racing experience has given you a bit of experience in that sort of driving, maybe look at an MR2 for some rear wheel rear engine driving action.

[Mr Revhead]

Going the 4wd turbo route is definitely a good way to set fire to large piles of money.

yes...... large LARGE piles of money

[Leon]

I'd buy this

[RedMist]

I was actually considering something like an AW11 rally car. However the GT4 is just so stupidly cheap, and although its riddled with mechanical faults, I must admit that I do find it reasonably attractive. Or perhaps a very lightweight SW20, with a 4age?

Leon, that car does look good. But going from 178bhp in a car that weighs bugger all to a mild 4k in a heavy body... and for some reason I dont find it sexy. Call me superficial but I'm not going to chase ugly with large amounts of money and considerable time in my cold garage.