bl0498

Adam, Just to clarify Paul's comment on entries, the regs show that the 4th/5th June and 19/20 August (yes Friday/Saturday) events are the only ones at Shelsley in 2005 open to Nat A licence holders without necessarily belonging to an invited club or registered for a championship. Both these meetings are rounds of the British Hillclimb Championship, Midland Hill Climb championship etc. and will have incredibly fast cars present. The entries for 4/5 June close on 9th May so you still have a couple of weeks to enter that one! Brian Clerk of the Course

Adam, You will need slightly more than your Nat A license to get into a hillclimb at Shelsley Walsh or Prescott. You will of course need an invitation - either as a member of an invited club (note Midland Automobile Club (MAC) runs all events at Shelsley Walsh) or via one of the championships that has a round there at a specific meeting - just like the Lotus 7 Club Speed Championship. Some of the meetings at both venues can be entered with a Nat B license too, incidentally. Both Prescott and Shelsley only operate at certain weekends of the year (Shelsley only operates on 5 weekends - 3 of which are two day events) and both venues select entries from applicants - hence it is easy to get a rejection from both these venues - you may have to enter several events before success. Also note that both venues tend to have early closing dates for entries also (to provide time for selection) - typically three weeks to one month before the event - and both venues are VERY popular. Both are superb venues though and well worth entering. Because of my Shelsley Walsh connection I have already spoken to NIck Chan to see if the Cheshire Area need any help if they do decide to organise a gathering of 7's at the Shelsley Walsh centenary meeting in August. It will certainly be a superb event - but you needn't bother entering for that one - its by specific invitation only! Incidentally we did try to get an invitation at Shelsley Walsh during 2005 for the Lotus 7 Club Speed Championship. Due to their ongoing commitments for existing championships etc this ultimately proved not to be possible - MAC could not offer us enough entries at the event in July which fitted our calendar. We are hopeful this can be remedied for 2006 and I will be working on that later in this season. If anyone does visit Shelsley Walsh during the 2005 season I can usually be found somewhere near the startline area if you want to say hi! Brian Clerk of the Course.

Danny, As you will have noted the regulations on head restraints were amended last year so that they are mandatory for essentially all cars at hillclimbs and sprints as well as for racing etc. The regs specify that the head restraint must be capable of withstanding certain forces - and the tillet seat on its own is unable to do that in its bit behind the head - hence the need to put a padded head restraint setup behind it. Lots of people have queried about just padding the diagonal bar rather than doing the full job - but realistically the bar itself does not provide the correct profile (a 10x10cm square) and for almost everyone the portion of the diagonal behind the tillet is not actually behind the head - but somewhat lower - and obviously diagonal! The head restraint bracket is easy to fit - sorting out padding for it is the trickier bit! Hope this helps, Brian Clerk of the Course

Guys, Just refreshing this post for the newcomers to our sprints for 2005 as it provides full details of the head restraint requirements. Best Regards, Brian

Graham, Put me down for 1 XL T shirt as last year please. Brian

Guys, Glad to see this is one club I don't qualify for - yet! So are you all having special stickers on your cars to advertise Saga club membership then? Brian Young Clerk of the Course

Tim, For MSA events (including the Lotus 7 Club Speed Championship): My understanding is that an open face helmet is OK assuming it meets the standards of Q10. You will also require goggles or a visor as indicated by Q11. For organised track days this will be specified by the track day organiser - so you will have to check with them. Geoff P will advise on the Lotus 7 Club trackdays. Realistically most people that drive a 7 on track days or for competition use have a full face helmet. Sorry its not too much help. Brian Clerk of the Course.

Graham, I will try to attend this. It will be useful anyway for my CoC experience! As a club we do need to start training up our own willing volunteers as marshals for our events. Marshalling is ideal for those within the club who want to be involved but don't want to compete but still want to be close to the action etc. If you get hooked there is a complete national marshal training programme and grading scheme for those that are interested in taking it further.... Brian Edited by - bl0498 on 18 Jan 2005 21:10:51

Rob, I hadn't realised that Graham had given you a sneak preview of the 2005 Regs! Brian

Hi, I have 4 x 4L of the above. £20 per 4L. Buyer collects (Gloucester). Brian

Hi Nifty, Welcome to the world of speed events. You will get hooked pretty rapidly! A few comments on your posting: Not sure if you have read the two articles which are on the competitors corner part of the main L7CGB site. These provide a bit more general detail - any comments (emails please) on these (from anyone) please as I will try to update them over the next few weeks or so. Whats missing, could be improved etc! As to visors it is essential you have one - we did have one competitor a year or so ago at Curborough who thought his Oakley sunglasses would do the trick with an open-faced helmet in lieu of a visor! No. (Q.11) Does the Craft helmet meet the requirements? - BS 6658-85 Type A or Snell SA 95 or 2000 or the equivalent SFI Foundation standards. ECE 22.05 and ACU standards are not recognised in the MSA Blue Book and hence are not OK. As to changing classes depending on the weather etc - the simple answer is no - you will be expected to compete in the class you have entered. Class changes normally only occur because a competitor has misunderstood the requirements for the class entered or there has been a car failure and thus the competitor drives a different car or occasionally a different driver for the same car. Class changes cause quite a bit of extra admin for everyone involved in running an event and hence are minimised as much as possible. If you enter the Championship you will only acrrue points gained by competing in the class you have registered for within the Championship. Putting all that aside - many moons ago when I was somewhat concerned about competing in the wet my fellow competitors simply said that - 'its the same for everyone' - whether you have RE720's in Class 2 or ACB10's in Class 3. Perhaps thats why I still compete in Class 2!! Any other queries, please ask. As Graham say's everyone will be happy to help. Brian Clerk of the Course

Guys, I don't think we have any L7CGB competitors whom are under 18 but if we do then the MSA are changing the rules next year and as well as parents/guardians having to countersign the entry form they will also have to sign on at the competitors events (It has always been the case that a parent/guardian had to be present at the event) effectively becoming the entrant for their competitor. The main reason for this change is to establish a direct contractual relationship with the parents/guardians - which currently, particularly in karting, has meant that young competitors have had to be penalised for the actions of their parents/guardians - I am sure we have all ready the Judicial bit at the back of Motorsports Now where parent X has beaten up parent Y. The MSA will be producing a leaflet on this and nexts years entry forms etc will be amended to suit. Brian Clerk of the Course

Adam, Just for info - the 'may be withdrawn' notice on certain standards you have asterisked will read 'will be withdrawn from 31 December 2005' in the MSA 2005 Blue Book. Hence my posting a few weeks ago that some older helmets will cease to be OK at the end of 2005. Brian

Despite the MSA having Snell foundation standards valid for 10 years the Snell foundation itself actually recommend replacement of all motorsport helmets approved to their standards after 5 years due to ageing of glues, deterioration of materials, unseen damage etc. The standards do change - a look on the website will show the differences between SA 2000 and SA 2005. So rap on knuckles here I should have replaced my SA 95 helmet with an SA2000 one and next year with a SA 2005 one! Use of a helmet intended for bike use for motorport purposes has got to be a real false economy in my mind. Brian

Those of you with a keen eye will have spotted in the Blue Book the rule changes on helmets which conform to the SNELL SA 95 standard which was introduced in 1995 - they will not be approved for any MSA event after 31 December 2005. So all of us with helmets to that standard will have to buy a new one before next season - this includes myself and BB. The good news if you are looking for something for your loved one to buy you this Christmas is that the latest SNELL SA 2005 helmet standard was released on 1st October 2004. Hence hopefully there will be suitable replacement helmets at a supplier near you now. More info on the SNELL Memorial Foundation website - www.smf.org Updated as a reminder for end 2005!!! Brian Edited by - bl0498 on 13 Sep 2005 12:58:14

Rob, Graham has my spare battery (which doesn't have the same terminals as the one on his x-flow) and he is doing tomorrow and Sunday - might be worth a phone call. Brian

Guys, See Q 9.1.... 'Clean flame resistant overalls must be worn.....' Brian

Guys, Don't be put off by the weather forecasts - as Paul and Steve know Shelsley seems to have its own weather which is often at a variance with other places nearby. Shelsley has virtually no runoff anywhere on the hill so the slightest mistake can cause a problem - wet or dry. At the last meeting in July one driver embedded himself and his car so far into the hedge at Kennel bend the marshals had to cut a 2m length of hedge down to get him out of the single seater. In the wet the hill is tricky to walk up by the esses - let alone drive up at competitive speeds! So wet or dry an enjoyable day for all spectators although I know all competitors (and MAC) are praying for it to be dry. Bring your sun tan cream if it is dry! I will be found near the start line (with my MAC/MSA CofC etc badges on) if anyone wants to say hello. Brian

Chris, The August weekend is the main event at Shelsley Walsh each year and as Paul correctly suggests is a full round of the British Hillclimb Championship so as well as the older Lotus cars there are many more interesting vehicles to look at. There is also the attraction of the giant screen in the paddock at the August meetings which means you can watch what the cars are doing going up the hill from the paddock itself (there are 3 or more cameramen on the hill). Shelsley is a lovely historic venue in superb countryside so on a good day its worth going simply for the views across the Teme valley! A great day out for the family - 10 miles west of Worcester - well signposted from the M5 etc. Saturday is practise day - Sunday the timed runs. I shall be there as Assistant Clerk of the Course checking up on missing silencers!!! Brian

Graham, I don't mind either way.... Brian Faster Clerk than Driver?

Mr Kipper, Graham is correct on the parking - the area is grass, relatively uneven and there is unlikely to be any room for cars alongside or behind the Caterham. The two areas we are on are normally quite tight. I groaned when I saw where we were located! Last year when we were in the tarmac square section was unusual - there there was some space to put towcars behind some of the allocated spaces. The best idea is to park towcar/trailer combination somewhere sensible in the trailer park which is very close, failing that further up the hill in the main public car parking areas. Brian

kpm, If you haven't bought your helmet yet you may wish to consider a couple of additional points: - To do any organised motorport in a Caterham, including the L7CGB Speed Championship etc will require a full face helmet - Said helmet will need to meet particular standards - which a lot of motorcycle helmets do not - BS6658-85 Type A (NOT Type B) is the minimum acceptable standard. Snell SA2000 is the normal standard most competitors look for. Brian Edited by - bl0498 on 27 Jun 2004 21:31:28

Rob, Alan's Bacon and Brie wagon is booked! Brian

Rob, Paul is correct - you will need an International Speed License - cost to upgrade from a Nat A Speed is £103 - £55 + £20 license upgrade fee = £68. See E2.15.6. Not sure about the medical requirement though. If you have a Nat B license there is no route without going via the standard upgrade to Nat A which requires signatures at 4 events. Brian Trainee Clerk of the Course

Guys, A little update after Curborough - and after I have been Assistant CofC at two other non-L7CGB events this season. The various scrutineers I have come across are now looking actively at the head restraints issue on road-going cars. They are warning competitors at present when they find an issue in this area - at a previous event a whole group of cars of one marque were warned en-masse to resolve this problem before their next event. If the scrutineer picks it up late in the season or sees a car they have warned previously that has not remedied the issue they will possibly and justifiably fail a car on this. I tried to look at most of the cars at Curborough and I'm pleased to say that most appeared to comply with at least the spirit of the latest regs. Those that don't will probably get picked up at MIRA etc. So if you have rather hopefully ignored this so far please do take a good look at what is needed for your car. It would be crazy to spoil a good day out on this! Any queries you only have to ask. Brian Trainee Clerk of the Course (hopefully about to be promoted!)