NOTTINGHAM SPORTS CAR CLUB

May 2011 1 CLUB WEBSITE

www.gosprinting.co.uk Don’t forget to visit the Club Web Site. Its full of useful information from Club events and dates to results, Championship positions, downloadable regs and membership forms and details. If you’ve got something that could be useful to other NSCC Club members, then why not advertise it on the Web site. For further details contact Cliff Mould on :- 0114 2864135 or email [email protected]

SPIN OFF ARTICLES

Breaking news, adverts, for sale items, letters, views and race & event write ups should be sent to the Editor. Copy date for the next Spin Off:-

14th June 2010

And sent to : Paul Marvin. 4 Marriott Drive, Kibworth Harcourt, Leicester LE8 0JX Tel : Mobile : 07715 353440 or Email : [email protected]

2 IN THIS ISSUE

Chairmans Chatter 4 Editors Mutterings 5 Anglesey, Pembrey & Curborough Regs 6 2011 NSCC Speed Championship Calendar 7 Invited Event dates for 2011 8 Major Motor Sport Event dates for 2011 9 Event Contacts List 10 Trailer FOR SALE 11 Membership for 2011 11 2010 Event Programmes : 18th June 12 Classic Corner 13 Marshals Update 14 Round 1 Harewood (Martin Parkes) 15 - 16 Championship Stickers & MG Car Club marshals request 17 NSCC Speed Championship scoring for 2012 18 MSA News March & April 19 - 26 Official & Committee contacts 27

Acknowledgement The artwork on the front cover is re-printed with the kind permission of the well known motorsport cartoonist Jim Bamber. Jim has very kindly allowed me to use his illustra- tions. For a sneek preview why not visit his web site www.jimbamber.co.uk

3 Chairman's Chatter

The Championship is well under way but, I have to say, the Committee meeting last week was a bit low key – we had nothing immediate to organise! With no May Curborough this year, and our 'quid pro quo' agreement with the Westfield 'boys' for them to have the June Curborough date, it will be July before we have to run an actual event – halfway through the season. We still had plenty to talk about, however, namely target times and scoring. There have been a number of comments following the first events that it is not a level playing field and certain classes are at a disadvantage, mainly due to unrealistic target times. These target times are usu- ally class records for each venue and are reviewed each year by the TSC ( Technical Sub- Commitee), a difficult task in itself as information has to be gathered from all the venues and some organisers/websites are not always up to date with the latest information. Additionally, as has been pointed out, there is no guarantee that the times have been set by a car which conforms to our regulations or the course is exactly the same for all events etc etc. This is inevitable where different clubs and championships are involved and is a problem which other champion- ships who use the 'target time' system have also come up against. It was agreed that the e-mails received, querying results, qualified as 'protests' within the re- quired time period and a special TSC meeting has been organised to look at the issues raised and, if necessary, look at how others have dealt with the problem. We are limited in what can be done regarding the scoring system as this forms part of the Championship Regulations ap- proved by the MSA but the TSC will, I am sure, make every effort to quickly rectify any anom- alies. On a brighter note the re-vamped website should be up and running by the time you read this thanks to the sterling efforts of West Bridgford member Andrew Warren. It will no doubt take a little time to settle down and I know there is still some editing of older material to do and the archive section with past results, photos and Club history is an ongoing project. Please feel free to let Andrew have your comments (preferably constructive!) on anything you feel could be improved or added. Photos / videos of this year's events particularly welcome. Talking of photos I was at Harewood on 17th April as a spectator and got shots of all the NSCC members which, once I work out how, will get across to Andrew – for once it was a warm, fine day with a nice breeze instead of the usual wind, rain & mist. Our experiment of having alterna- tive events as part of the Championship seems to have worked well with similar numbers of NSCC members at Harewood, Silverstone and Three Sisters – let us have your thoughts. Sadly I have to report that, for personal reasons, Martin Pickles has stepped down as Club Sec- retary and committee member. On behalf of the Club I must thank Martin for the time and ef- fort he has given to the NSCC over the years and I am pleased to note that he will still be avail- able to contribute to our discussions as time and circumstances allow. We are actively address- ing (arm twisting is another way of putting it) a replacement for the position of Secretary. An early note for your diary – possibility of an exploratory day out at Blyton for a nominal fee a couple of weeks after Thoresby now that it has been tarmaced (as opposed to concrete) and is a prospect for next year. Details in Spin Off / on the website nearer the time if it comes to pass.

Roger C [email protected]

4

This edition of Spin Off is a little thin this month owing to a distinct lack of available material!!

I need all you competitive drivers out there to start putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard preferably as I can only waffle so much in these pages. So come on, lets hear what you’ve been up to over the winter break, let’s hear how your early events have gone. If you got photos as well, great, if not it doesn’t matter.

I have had one report from Martin Parkes who has put pen to paper for the Harewood round. If any of you have anything to report from other rounds then please email me.

Apologies for there not being an edition of Spin Off in April. This is the first time in nearly 10 years that I was unable to create an issue owing to an overseas trip to see my son James “down-under”.

I am also looking more seriously now at the possibility of emailing Spin Off. You may remember that I asked the membership on their views of receiving Spin Off by email or still as a hard copy. The email route will obviously save the club some cash and although many of you prefer to receive a hard copy, the changes would still ultimately save the club some money and me some well earned rest time from the computer and the printer. For those of you who requested the hard copy you will see no change, for those of you who opted for the email version, this could be in place in a few months time. I also in- tend to make it available on the website which is currently being modified again.

PM

Chester Motor Club

Anglesey 11th & 12th June

We have been informed that the Supplementary Regulations and Event Entry forms are now available for this very popular weekend of sprinting. These double headers are both rounds of the NSCC championship and early entry is recommended.

Go to ….. www.chestermotorclub.co.uk

If anyone has difficulty accessing the site to download the neces- sary documents, I have electronic copies that I can email out.

Paul Marvin

BARC Wales Pembrey 4th / 5th June Supplementary regs and entry forms are on the BARC website for drivers to download

Go to ……. www.barcwales.com

Westfield Sports Car Club Curborough June 19th

Supplementary regs and entry forms are on the BARC website for drivers to download

Go to ……… http://www.wscc.co.uk/regs.htm (Discount available to NSCC registered members)

6 2011 NSCC SPEED CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR

Round Date Day Circuit Organising Club 1 17-Apr Sunday Harewood BARC (Yorks)

2 17-Apr Sunday 3 Sisters Longton & Dist’ MC

3 17-Apr Sunday Silverstone Sheff’ & Hallamshire

4 30-Apr Saturday Aintree Liverpool Motor Club

5 07-May Saturday Shelsley Walsh MAC

6 08-May Sunday Shelsley Walsh MAC

7 14-May Saturday MIRA MAC

8 04-Jun Saturday Pembrey BARC (Wales)

9 05-Jun Sunday Pembrey BARC (Wales)

10 11-Jun Saturday Anglesey Chester MC

11 12-Jun Sunday Anglesey Chester MC

12 19-Jun Sunday Curborough Westfield Sports CC

13 25-Jun Saturday Aintree Liverpool Motor Club

14 10-Jul Sunday Curborough (L) NSCC

15 16-Jul Saturday Llandow BARC (Wales)

16 13-Aug Saturday Mira NSCC

17 28-Aug Sunday Harewood BARC (Yorks)

18 03-Sep Saturday Aintree Liverpool Motor Club

19 10-Sep Saturday Loton Park Hagley & District LCC

20 11-Sep Sunday 3 Sisters Longton & District MC

21 17-Sep Saturday Thoresby Park NSCC

22 18-Sep Sunday Thoresby Park NSCC

7 INVITED EVENTS Events to which we have accepted an invitation, but do not form part of the NSCC Championship. Keep watching this space as it will be updated as more invites are accepted.

DATE VENUE CLUB CONTACT

noreenward 20th March Mallory Park BARC Midlands @tiscali.co.uk ormer- MG Car Club’s 3rd April Curborough [email protected] Midland Centre m mar- 7th May MIRA Bentley DC tin.greenslade@ bdcl.org noreenward 7th May Curborough BARC Midlands @tiscali.co.uk Classic Touring 18th / 19th www.classictouri Mallory Park Car Racing June ngcars.com Club noreenward 13th August Curborough BARC Midlands @tiscali.co.uk noreenward 1st October Curborough BARC Midlands @tiscali.co.uk

8 MAJOR MOTOR SPORTS EVENTS FOR 2011 F1 Round 1 BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX March 13th Round 2 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne) March 27th Round 3 Malaysian Grand Prix (Kuala Lumpar) April 10th Round 4 CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai) April 17th Round 5 TURKISH GRAND PRIX (Istanbul) May 8th Round 6 SPANISH GRAND PRIX (Catalunya) May 22nd Round 7 MONACO GRAND PRIX (Monte Carlo) May 29th Round 8 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX (Montreal) June 12th Round 9 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX (Valencia) June 26th Round 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX (Silverstone) July 10th Round 11 GERMAN GRAND PRIX (Nurburgring) July 24th Round 12 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX (Budapest) July 31st Round 13 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX (Spa-Francorchamps) July 28th Round 14 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX (Monza) Sept’ 11th Round 15 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX (Singapore) Sept’ 25th Round 16 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX (Suzuka) October 9th Round 17 KOREAN GRAND PRIX (Yeongam) October 16th Round 18 INDIAN GRAND PRIX (New Delhi) October 30th Round 19 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX (Yas Marina Circuit) Nov’ 13th Round 20 BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX (Sao Paulo) Nov’ 27th MOTO GP Round 1 QATAR (Losail) March 20th Round 2 SPAIN (Jerez) April 3rd Round 3 JAPAN (Motegi) April 24th Round 4 PORTUGAL (Estoril) May 1st Round 5 FRANCE (Le Mans) May 15th Round 6 CATALUNYA June 5th Round 7 GREAT BRTAIN (Silverstone) June 12th Round 8 NETHERLANDS (Assen) June 23rd Round 9 ITALY (Mugello) July 3rd Round 10 GERMANY (Sachsenring) July 17th Round 11 USA (Laguna Seca) July 24th Round 12 CZECH REPUBLIC (Brno) August 14th Round 13 USA (Indianapolis) August 28th Round 14 SAN MARINO (Misano) Sept’ 4th Round 15 ARAGON MOTORLAND (Aragon) Sept’ 18th Round 16 AUSTRALIA (Phillip Island) Oct’ 16th Round 17 MALAYSIA (Sepang) October 23rd Round 19 SPAIN (Valencia) 9 Nov’ 6th Contact [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Pickles [email protected] MikeSimpson [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] tba tba Clubwebsite / BARC(Yorks) Longton District & MC Sheffield Hallamshire & Liverpool MotorClub MAC MAC MAC BARC(Wales) BARC(Wales) ChesterMC ChesterMC WSCC Liverpool MotorClub NSCC BARC(Wales) NSCC BARC Yorks Liverpool MotorClub Hagley &District LCC LongtonMC&District NSCC NSCC Venue Venue Harewood Sisters 3 Silverstone Aintree WalshShelsley WalshShelsley MIRA Pembrey Pembrey Anglesey Anglesey Curborough Aintree Curborough(2 lap) Llandow MIRA Harewood Aintree Loton Park Sisters 3 Thoresby Park Thoresby Park Date 17th April 17th April 17th April 30th April May 7th May 8th 14th May June 4th June 5th June 11th June 12th 19thJune June 25th 10th July July 16th 13th August 28th August September3rd 10thSeptember 11thSeptember 17thSeptember 18thSeptember 10 For Sale Trailer/Car Transporter

Brian James A Series Twin Axle 12' x 6' 1" Bed size. 1500 kgs Capacity. 2000 kgs gross Used for my 350Z, would suit any other vehicle up to that size ( kit,mini,106,evo.etc) Trailer fitted with optional folding draw bar, making it only 12'6" total length (could fit average garage) Galvanised throughout, usual Brain James refinements. Fitted Aluminium tread plate infill, waxoiled annually. In excellent condition. Ready to go for season. £ 1500.00 or v.n.o More details call Gordon Peters 0788 9932953 or 01530 837732 or email. [email protected] Available for viewing at most times in Coalville.

MIGHT BE OF INTEREST?

My name is Ian Clipson from Notts about Minis and we are starting a car show at the Little John at Ravenshead and would like to invite your club to attend we have got use of our own bar in the barn and the food in the pub is first rate. The first show will be 13th April and the second Wednesday of the month till October starting at 7.00 we hope this may be of intreast to your members and look forward to seeing you there we have about 20 Minis going. Email: [email protected]

11 2011 Event Programmes

We are once again on the look out for businesses or individuals who would be keen to sponsor any of our 4 events this season.

It was felt last year that unless we can gain any sponsorship, or en- courage one or two businesses to advertise in the Event Programmes that I was producing for the club, then it was not cost effective in the- se times to continue with the Event Programme without additional fi- nancial support. The obvious savings being passed on to the drivers entry fees.

So if you would like to advertise in an Event Programme or Sponsor an NSCC event then please feel free to make contact with me for a chat.

Contact details are at the back of this issue.

Paul Marvin

Classic Touring Car Racing Club

Mallory Park Sunday 18th June 2011

We have been told that the Supplementary Regulations and Entry Forms for the above event are now available to download on the website. This is not a championship round of ours but still worth a visit! Go to ………. www.classictouringcars.com

If any member has a problem accessing the site then I do have some electronic forms that I can email.

Paul Marvin

12 Classic Corner – December 2010 Incorporating Memorable Moments

Memorable Moments

I had to smile when I read the reproduced 1966 article in Spin Off last month regard- ing the Curborough sprint. I didn’t attend many of the Curborough meetings myself in those days as my main interest was race marshalling. However, I well remember the alternative sprint course available to the Club at Church Lawford. That venue was fur- ther south, near Rugby, and is now long lost having to give way to a housing develop- ment. The venue was crammed into part of another of the then ubiquitous ex WWII RAF airfields and there was an old double decker bus in the paddock close to the course, signing on downstairs and timekeepers and the commentator upstairs. I recall that at one meeting in the mid 60s space was short as the track owner had decided to store some equipment on the upper deck, meaning that the commentator had to stand on the top steps on the stairs.

In those days motor sport was less common than today and spectators had to pay to get into even club level sprints – my first job as an NSCC marshal in the early 60s was to collect money on the gate and then I was allowed to go and stand trackside half way through the afternoon to learn from other marshals. The yellow flag marshal on my first post was a lad I had known from four years ahead of me at school – always seemed very important people of that sort of age gap I recall and more people came from Nottingham itself at that time in the Clubs’ history too. Anyway, back to the pay- ing spectators, there was one gentleman who was a Sunday preservation activist, but he paid up in the end and I suppose it could be argued, what was he doing there any- way?

Interesting to note that the lap times for the saloons in 1966 at Curborough were quite reasonable. It must be remembered that cars where more expensive in relative terms back them, consequently fewer people competed and more enthusiasts marshalled. Cars that did compete regularly alternated between sprints and race circuits, especially as regulations for safety and the like at circuits was much more informal. Consequent- ly, some of them (those that got the awards) tended to be highly tuned.

As an aside, those who have seen the 1998 Jubilee video will have noted that back in the 1950s (yes, before my time in membership in case anyone was wondering) the NSCC had a fully mobile double decker bus used by timekeepers and the like on ral- lies – “hold very tight, please”.

Bruce Widdowson

13 Marshals Page

Not much to report until our events kick off in July. The weather has been kind up to now, lets hope it continues for our events. We would like a few more volunteers for the two Thoresby days, there are quite a few meetings that weekend so you will all be in great demand.

The Donington Historic Festival was well supported and a great success for Kevin Wheatcroft thanks to the initiative of Duncan Wiltshire in running the Festival and principal partners EFG International. The event was organised by HSCC.

We were all concerned when Frank Sytner had his accident in the final race on Saturday. The good news is that he is now out of hospital. His recovery was certainly helped (I am told) by the quick response of marshals and the Medical Crews who were quickly in attendance.

It is 13 years on May 17th (by date) since the Nottingham Sports Car Club held their Sprint at , thanks to the support of Robert Fearnall. It was a very special day for the Club and how great it would be to have the opportunity to stage another one. - I wish!! Vi

If you want to marshal at any of the NSCC events listed below and require a Marshals Availability Form, please contact me on [email protected] or 01159 261286 (mobile) 07976 961974

Round Date Day Circuit

21 Sept 17th Saturday Thoresby Park

22 Sept 18th Sunday Thoresby Park

14 NSCC Round 1 – Harewood

Only 7 Nott’s Championship contenders made the journey North for the 1 st round of the 2011 Nottingham Championship, with Silverstone and 3 Sisters also happening on the same day this could have had some effect on entries. The weather was surprisingly very good con- sidering the time of year and location. The overall entry was low com- pared with previous years with a total of 95, so that gave us competi- tors 2 practice runs and 4 timed runs up this glorious hill. Class 2A consisted of new member John Clarke in his recently bought Caterham seven which he had only driven on the road for 30 miles and managed to spin it during that period. Last years Novice runner up Rich Abraham was also debuting his recently acquired Westfield SEI which he had only driven at the Hillclimb School 10 days earlier. Rich decided to sell last year’s car after drawing up a list of the modifica- tions needed over the winter to bring the car up to a competitive level it was easier to buy one with all the mods already done. Yours truly on the other hand (in my 20 th year of competing) did nothing to the car over the winter except polish it and put a new tax disc on it 3 days before the event! In class 2E Rodney Ellis was also a first timer at Harewood in his beautiful Lotus Elan and Nigel Hinson was also debuting his new Green Lotus 2 Eleven which is based on the Lotus Exige S, this was pur- chased at the beginning of the year and was one of the last four to be built. Nigel Cresswell in Class 3F was slumming it slightly as his Father had decided to go on holiday in the motorhome which left Nigel travelling up on the morning of the event (almost oversleeping after forgetting to switch the alarm on) and even having to cook his own bacon sand- wiches outside on a camp stove! Competition Secretary Steve Brown was the final NSCC member of the day also in 3F. 1st practice was held up when a fellow competitor in 2A in his 1 st event decided to visit the scenery and take out his Westfield’s front near- side suspension which resulted in a suspended tow back to the pad-

15 dock and retirement from the event. The rest of the practice runs continued with no major hold ups apart from Steve Brown who ran out of petrol half way round on his 1 st practice run and then had to borrow fuel from Nigel Cresswell so that he could finish the day because he’d forgotten to bring spare fuel. John Clarke recorded his best time of the day on his 2 nd run with 72.77 which was a great improvement on his 1 st run and something he put down to corned beef sandwiches for lunch. Rich on the other hand was driving like a man on a mission. After taking part in the Harewood School along with me and Dave Greenwood, he improved from 65.09 on his 1 st run to 63.29 on his final run which gave him 2 nd in class and beat me by 2.53 and only 2.11 seconds behind the class winner Henry Moor- house who set 2 new class records on the day! I couldn’t quite beat my PB of 65.80 and my 1 st and 3 rd runs were both recorded as 65.91 with a best time of day on my 2 nd run of 65.82. Rodney in class 2E was enjoying his day in the Elan but was struggling with his std car against the modified competition; his best time was 81.28 which he achieved on his 2nd run although he was beating this easily on his final run until he hit 2 cones at the finish! Nigel was hap- py with his 70.32 achieved on his third run which gave him 4 th and Rod- ney 5 th in class. Finally in 3F things were very close, Nigel won the class and was very close to his PB, even without his power commander working, with a time of 60.99. Steve was runner up in his slick shod Westfield running on borrowed fuel only 0.16s behind with 61.15 although he didn’t get chance to better this as his clutch cylinder broke on his 3 rd run on the last corner. A very well run meeting made even better by the glorious weather, pity it was a low entry but this did give us four timed runs and definitely worth getting up (in my case) at 5am. After the well attended and in- formative hillclimb school we attended at the beginning of April a ques- tionnaire was given out, final question was “What do you think could be done to improve Harewood Hill Climb?” to which Dave Greenwood re- plied “Move it closer to the Midlands!”

Martin Parkes

16 NSCC CHAMPIONSHIP STICKERS

Drivers who have registered for inclusion in the 2011 Nottingham Sports Car Club Championship are reminded that the appropriate Championship decals must be clearly displayed on both sides of the competition vehicle to be eligible for points to be scored at qualifying rounds. Failure to do so can result in exclusion from the results for the rounds where these were not seen to be included on the competi- tion vehicle.

MG Car Club are looking for marshals

We are looking for extra help on the following dates:

Summer Sprint - August 7th at Curborough. Autumn Trial - Sept 25th at Burton Dasset Country Park near Gaydon.

If anyone is interested in more information or to volunteer please contact: Andy Robson on 0121 453 1595 or Paul Hipkiss on 0121 550 4280 or myself Simon Morris on 07788 168488 ([email protected])

17 NSCC CHAMPIONSHIP SCORING FOR 2012

Your thoughts and views are invited with regard to the current scoring system for the Nottingham Sports Car Club Speed Championship.

Your input is important to us so if you have any comments please let us know.

Questions have been raised in the past and the Technical Sub Committee are meeting to discuss the options available to them and to consider the possi- bility of the updating and / or changing the method of points scoring within the Speed Championship.

If you have any views at all on this subject, beit in favour of the current system of scoring using target times or an alternative, please make your views known to Steve Brown either by email or letter.

Details can be found at the back of this issue.

Technical Sub Committee

18 MSA News ISSUE : April 2011

UK government announces three-month ‘closed road’ motor sport consultation The Motor Sports Association’s campaign to bring closed road motor sport to mainland Britain received a major boost last week, as the coalition government confirmed that it will shortly begin a three-month public consultation to establish how existing legislation can be amended to allow motor sport to take place on public roads. The announcement was made during a debate – secured by Ben Wallace MP (Wyre and Preston North) and involving Mike Penning, the Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State for Transport – at Westminster Hall last week. The MSA has been pushing successive governments to empower local authorities with the right to suspend the Road Traffic Act without having to resort to an Act of Parlia- ment. Such an amendment would open up the way for competitive motor sport events such as stage rallies, sprints and hill climbs to take place on a limited number of British roads, as happens across most of mainland Europe. MSA Chief Executive, Colin Hilton, welcomed the news: “We are delighted that the gov- ernment has recognised that a minor change to the Road Traffic Act could have huge benefits, not only for the sport itself, but also for the communities involved and we are grateful to the Under- Secretary of State for Transport for listening to our proposals with such an open mind. As the governing body, we are proud of our excellent track record of safety and risk management, and throughout the consultation process we will be demonstrating that proper safeguards are already in place to ensure that these events would be safely and responsibly staged.” Three-time Formula 1 world champion, Sir Jackie Stewart, expressed support for the initiative. “The British motor sport industry is one of the UK’s most successful enterpris- es and we indeed lead the world in this field,” he said. “There are many other countries that use their roads on a temporary basis for significant sporting events that attract worldwide interest. In many cases it can even progress safety standards on those same roads for the benefit of the general public and all road users.” Former F1 world champion OBE agreed, saying: “This would be a great move forward for the sport in the UK and would bring visitors and pride to parts of the country that wish to stage such events. I am delighted that this government seems to be willing to embrace motor sport which will assist the UK’s world-leading position, and improve the sport’s ability to help provide opportunities and focus for young people.”

19 National Motorsport Week 2011 gears up Plans for this year’s refreshed National Motorsport Week are coming together. With the MSA now fully supporting the initiative that was originally established by the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA), and the date moved to coincide with the Goodwood Festival of Speed, National Motorsport Week is all set to start ful- filling its potential. “We’re not good at blowing our own trumpet here in the UK and, whether it’s our unri- valled national motor sport scene or world class motor sport industry, this is one sec- tor in which we really have something to celebrate,” says Colin Hilton, MSA Chief Ex- ecutive. “It’s no coincidence that eight of the 12 current teams are based in this country, or that we are one of only two countries that host all four of the FIA’s top international championships. We also boast more than 750 motor clubs with a total membership of around 200,000 enthusiasts. It’s all part of the same success story and one that all too often gets overlooked.” But more than just celebrating all that UK motor sport has to offer, the advent of a high-profile National Motorsport Week is being used to engage with new audiences and to attract new participants. “Go Motorsport is the MSA’s year-round commitment to raising the profile of the sport, but National Motorsport Week provides a great platform to increase awareness of what our sport and industry has to offer,” continues Hilton. “At one end of the scale we’re encouraging our F1 teams and premier venues to hold open days for the public, and at the other end we hope that clubs and associatons might set up ‘taster’ events or other initiatives to boost their membership.” To ensure that National Motorsport Week hits the headlines and achieves widespread public prominence, the MSA has held a series of meetings with many of the key play- ers in UK motor sport, including Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, Mercedes GP Petronas and Virgin Racing, as well as major venues such as Goodwood, Silverstone and Mercedes-Benz World. The initiative has also been given the ‘thumbs up’ by the media, with support already promised by the BBC, Daily Telegraph , The Sun and Haymarket Media Group. “We need to set up these high profile activities in order to generate awareness for National Motorsport Week and to create a platform from which others can promote their own events during this period,” explains Hilton. “It really doesn’t matter how small an activity may be; they all play a part in making more people aware of what UK motor sport has to offer.” The MSA is preparing a ‘Toolkit’ to explain how to get involved with National Motor- sport Week. It will include all you need to know, including campaign logos, headline facts about both the sport and the industry and tips on how to get involved. The toolkit will be circulated among all MSA-registered clubs, MIA members and other interested parties. It will also be available on the MSA website or from the Go Motorsport office: [email protected] A complete listing of National Motorsport Week activities – large and small – will be posted on www.NationalMotorsportWeek.co.uk once it has been updated by the MIA. If you are planning an event of any description during NMW, please let us know so that we can include it in the listings. 20 MSA launches new quarterly magazine for British motor sport The MSA has re-launched its quarterly magazine for the UK motor sport community, with the first issue of the renamed MSA magazine being delivered to 44,000 MSA- registered competitors, volunteers and clubs in March. MSA magazine (formerly known as Motorsports Now! ) is the governing body’s flagship publication. It is now produced on behalf of the MSA by Think Publishing, the 2009 PPA Independent Publishing Company of the Year, which won a six-way competitive pitch last year to take over the title from the beginning of 2011. The 74-page MSA magazine contains news, views, regulations and judicial decisions emanating from the governing body, alongside features – written by some of the lead- ing names in motor sport journalism – on the people, cars, places and events of UK motor sport.

***************************************************************************** MSA requests nominations for membership of 2012 Specialist Committees The Motor Sports Association is seeking nominations for individuals to fill the vacancies on the Specialist Committees that represent the interests of the various disciplines of motor sport. The Specialist Committees meet two or three times a year, normally at Motor Sports House to discuss and debate new regulations and other issues. The following Specialist Committees may have vacancies available for next year: • Autotest Committee • Cross Country Committee • Historic Committee • Kart Committee • Kart Sporting Sub Committee • Kart Technical Sub Committee • Race Committee • Rallies Committee • Autocross & Rallycross Sub Committee • Dragster Sub Committee • Sprint & Hill Climb Sub Committee • Street Sport Working Group • Trials Committee All applicants must be a member of an MSA-recognised motor club or Regional Associ- ation which must ‘sponsor’ the application. However, there are no formal qualifications required other than the benefit of experience in motor sport. The role is entirely volun- tary, although expenses will be paid to cover travel to meetings at Motor Sports House, and the appointment is normally for a three-year term. Continued >>>>>> 21 HOW TO APPLY Applicants should submit a brief CV of their motor sport involvement and achievements, including any relevant qualifications, together with name, address and contact details to the sponsoring MSA-recognised club or Regional Association. The sponsor will forward the application to Andrea Wren at Motor Sports House, Riverside Park, Colnbrook, SL3 0HG. This must be done as soon as possible as applications must be received before the end of June 2011 at the latest. ******************************************************************************************************** Marshals’ registration The MSA has undertaken to update its marshals’ database this year and will thereafter do so on an annual basis. Currently, those who have registered as a marshal remain on the database indefinitely. As a result, many people who are not actively marshalling are still receiving communi- cations and information from the MSA. In order to cleanse this data, the MSA will be sending out registration documents later this year. All marshals who wish to be regis- tered on the database will be asked to renew for 2012, even if they registered as re- cently as 2011. The MSA licensing department will then send out personal registration and record cards after processing the renewals. All marshals should receive these doc- uments by the end of the year. Once this initial postal registration for 2012 has been concluded, annual renewals will then be able to be completed via the MSA website. *************************************************************************************************** MSA training seminars concluded for 2011 The MSA recently concluded its series of annual seminars, which this year were target- ed at Stewards and Clerks and delivered at 13 venues across the UK, with a total at- tendance of 628 – an increase of almost 10% on the last series held in 2009. The seminars were led by MSA Head of External Affairs Allan Dean-Lewis and a presentation team comprising Ian Watson, Nigel Drayton, Dave Lucas and Peter Law- ton, who in turn were assisted at some venues by Tony Fletcher and Rod Taylor. The revised Seminar format, featuring more interactive work, was particularly well received by those who attended. The next series of seminars is planned for early 2012 and will be targeted at MSA Club Officials. *************************************************************************************************** Brands event funds TV for local hospital A road safety event organised by raised enough funds to purchase a flat- screen television for the communal room at the Dolphin Ward for children at Chatham Mari- time Hospital. The event was supported by , MotorSport Vision Racing, the BRSCC (South East and East Anglian), BARC (South East) and the 750 Motor Club. “The television is perfect,” said Ward Playleader Annie Huxtable. “Before this they had noth- ing in the room and with the children here for weeks at a time it’s now much more like a second home for them. Both this and the DVD player are much needed.” Event organiser Andy Lyle said: “One of the aims of the event was to help reduce hospital admissions and we hope that the gift from those who attended will provide further assis- tance by improving the environment for the children that they care for.” 22 MSA News ISSUE : May 2011

Teams, clubs and venues pledge sup- port for celebration of motor sport With less than two months remaining before National Motorsport Week (25 June – 3 July), a large number of nationwide events and activities are being lined up and more will be announced over the coming weeks. All eight UK-based Formula One teams have pledged their support, as have a large number of others determined to use the prominent National Motorsport Week platform to promote their own involvement in the sport. A full list of those participating will be compiled on the revamped www.NationalMotorsportWeek.co.uk website, which also has various toolkits and guides available for download. “With the MSA and MIA now working together on this important programme, we are predicting a large number of activities to be confirmed for National Motorsport Week,” reported Jonathan Gill, who is helping to co-ordinate the project from the Go Motor- sport office. “In recent weeks we have had extremely positive meetings with all the UK’s F1 teams and most of the country’s circuit owners, plus a host of other key play- ers from the industry and media. “We are confident that we’ll see a wide variety of events being announced – most of these being aimed at attracting more people into motor sport whether it’s as a compet- itor, fan, volunteer or employee. Motor sport is one area in which this country excels – it’s vital that we get this message out to as wide an audience as possible and use it to get more people involved.”

************************************************************************************************* Special support for motor clubs While the higher profile activities being scheduled during the revamped National Mo- torsport Week are likely to grab the headlines, it’s even more important that grass roots motor sport maximises this opportunity to engage with the public and generate more participation. For most clubs, confirmation of this year’s date has come too late to enable new activi- ty to be included in the calendar, but Richard Egger – Go Motorsport’s experienced Regional Development Officer in the East Midlands – is working with a small selection of MSA-registered clubs to explore what can be done in a very short timescale. The MSA is hopeful of announcing the 2012 date as soon as possible and it is hoped that these ‘pilot’ activities will be used by clubs as case studies for next year’s event. To date Richard has contacted more than 20 clubs and received positive feedback from all quarters. “One already had an activity planned for NMW; three have existing events which they will now run as NMW activities and do some extra marketing to at-

23 tract new faces while 15 have agreed to have a look at putting something together even if it will be low key,” reported Egger. Other clubs keen to use the National Motor- sport Week platform to promote their own activities are urged to contact info@ Go- Motorsport.net. ************************************************************************************************** Details of UK Bribery Act unveiled The coalition government has revealed full details of the new Bribery Act that will come into force on 1 July 2011. The media had suggested that corporate hospitality might have been threatened by the new legislation and this had caused significant alarm within the motor sport world, par- ticularly amongst the UK-based Formula 1 and WRC companies and other major inter- national teams. MSA Chief Executive Colin Hilton, together with FIA Deputy President Sport, Graham Stoker, met with Ministry of Justice officials earlier this year to clarify the situation. They received reassurances that the government fully understood the significant role that hospitality played in sponsorship and business-to-business dealings and that there was no intention within the new Act to curtail this type of activity. The guidance notes accompanying the new Act now confirm that ‘bona fide hospitality and promotional, or other business expenditure which seeks to improve the image of a commercial organisation, better to present products and services, or establish cordial relations, is recognised as an established and important part of doing business and it is not the intention of the act to criminalise such behaviour’. And its foreword urges com- panies to ‘rest assured’ as ‘no one wants to stop firms getting to know their clients by taking them to events like Wimbledon or the Grand Prix’. It endorses reasonable and proportionate hospitality and expenditure, and states that the more lavish the offering, the greater the inference that it is intended to influence the granting of business or a business advantage in return. As an example, it envisages that the provision of flights, airport to hotel transfers, hotel accommodation, and even ‘fine dining’ and tickets to an event for an official as well as their spouse is ‘unlikely to raise the necessary inference’ to engage scrutiny by compliance officers, so long as there is a business rationale for the trip. The full act can be found at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/23/pdfs/ukpga_20100023_en.pdf ************************************************************************************************** FIA Homologation Labels The MSA Technical Department has been made aware of forged standard labels on seats and harnesses. Competitors are urged to check standard labels vigilantly before purchasing such items; there are some seats on the market that purport to be made by a recognised manufacturer and to be FIA homologated, but in reality are fakes. Any- body who comes across a homologation label that they suspect is not genuine is re- quested to take an image of the label and send it to [email protected].

24 Seat Mountings and Harness Mountings Requirements for seat and harness mountings are set out in Blue Book section (K)2. To clarify, the use of a vehicle manufacturer’s standard mountings is acceptable in both MSA and FIA competition, where those mountings are compatible with the har- ness to be used. The MSA Regulations apply to mountings that are not standard for the vehicle. ************************************************************************************************ First Donington Historic Festival a success Twelve-thousand motor sport fans flocked to Donington Park over the May bank holi- day weekend for the inaugural Donington Historic Festival. The event featured 12 races, 300 historic cars on-track and hundreds more on dis- play. Event organiser Duncan Wiltshire said: “This was the first time we’d run the Festival, so we couldn’t be absolutely certain how it would turn out, but it exceeded our most optimistic expectations in every way: the spectators, the weather, the revi- talised circuit, but above all the racing.” ************************************************************************************************ Motor sport teams urged to be vigilant According to press reports in the past week, the UK Border Agency is warning that motor sport teams may come under closer scrutiny in future. Officials gave the warn- ing to the Daily Telegraph after reports emerged suggesting that illegal drugs and other items may have been found aboard a world superbike team transporter during routine checks. The Motor Sports Association would like to remind all teams to be vigilant and mind- ful of their legal responsibilities for all team members and staff to uphold the law both in this country and abroad and also to ensure that they do not bring motor sport into disrepute. *********************************************************************************************** The MSA Academy roadshow MSA Academy coaches Greg Symes and James Wozencroft delivered Performance Master Classes at a Scottish Motor Racing Club meeting at Knockhill over the May bank holiday weekend. The pair were supported by Team UK and GP3 driver , and MSA Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence student David Wagner. The next stop for the MSA coaches is the Dunlop InterSteps Championship round at Snetterton this weekend (7-8 May). The coaches will also deliver introductory ses- sions on the Academy at the Super One meeting at Shenington on 6 May and the Formula Kart Stars event at Three Sisters on 21 May. Wozencroft and Team UK graduate Adam Gould will cap the month by delivering Master Classes and the MSA anti-doping workshop to Formula 1000 Rally Champi- onship competitors at the Ranges Motorsport Centre in Trawsfynydd on 30 May.

25 BBC’s Kravitz swaps mic for flags at Thruxton Formula One pitlane reporter Ted Kravitz donned orange overalls at Thruxton’s re- cent Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship round, as part of an ongoing series – organised with the help of Go Motorsport – aimed at showing BBC viewers just how to become actively involved in motor sport. Two years ago, David Coulthard returned to his karting roots with a group of teenagers at Rye House, before the BBC cameras followed Coulthard’s fellow presenter Jake Humph- rey as first he passed his ARDS test and then made his race debut in the Lotus on Track Elise Trophy at Silverstone. Last year, the intrepid Humphrey switched his attentions to rallying, taking to the fearsome forests of North Wales as Tony Jardine’s co-driver on the Cambrian Rally. Now Kravitz has taken up the baton to become a volunteer marshal for the day at Thrux- ton’s BTCC meeting earlier this month. Once again his exploits were followed by a BBC film crew and will be screened in the build up to a forthcoming grand prix. “What I’ve learnt is there’s an incredible depth in expertise, talent and bravery among these marshals,” he said. “We all hear how British marshals are the best in the business but I’ve seen how well they organise themselves and how willing they are to put them- selves on the front line so these events can go ahead.” Kravitz is no stranger to touring cars, having presented ITV’s coverage of the BTCC be- fore switching to the BBC when it secured the F1 broadcasting rights at the start of 2009. “What I didn’t realise when I presented the BTCC show is that you are really only a small part of everything that makes the overall event all happen,” he said. “Without the mar- shals nothing goes ahead – we are so reliant on them. “My first post was at the chicane where I witnessed close up having a crash. He was furious when he got out of the car. We’ve all seen on TV drivers getting out of cars but today I really saw up close raw emotion. To feel that from such close quarters is an incredible experience.There were a couple of further incidents throughout the day at the chicane and, on the startline, plus a fuel leak on the track – I had to help mop up – and that was on my debut as marshal! “In fact, I’ve probably had two of the most exhilarating experiences at a race meeting. I waved the green flag at the back of the grid to signal to the starter that the Formula Re- nault field was in position and it was safe for the race to start. Then I was taken out to a different marshals’ post on the far side of Thruxton barely a few feet away from the Por- sche Carrera Cup cars flashing past at 150mph. “I never realised just how close as a volunteer you get to the cars, nor the sense of ca- maraderie among marshals,” Kravitz continued. “I can now see why they brave the wind, rain, hail and a bit of sunburn to do this. You feel you’re helping to make the event run smoothly. “I’d encourage anyone who’s an armchair enthusiast to get out of that armchair, go to the GoMotorsport.net website and to get involved. Okay, so you have to pay your own ex- penses and you don’t get paid – it’s a voluntary role – but you have the best seat in the house and you get such a great feeling from actually being involved in what’s going on.” As well as being screened by the BBC, Kravitz’s exploits will also be featured on the BBC’s website and in Autosport magazine.26 NSCC OFFICERS & COMMITTEE MEMBERS

PRESIDENT Vi Selby

Roger Carrington. 152 Egypt Road, New Basford CHAIRMAN Nottingham. NG7 7GZ. 01159 781997 Email : [email protected]

Martin Pickles. 21 The Lea, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leics SECRETARY LE8 0SE. 0116 2796125 (home): Email : [email protected]

Paul Marvin. 4 Marriott Drive, Kibworth Harcourt, Leics TREASURER LE8 0JX. 07715 353440 (mobile) Email : [email protected]

ASSISTANT Vi Selby. 29 Grasmere Road, Loughborough, Leics TREASURER LE11 2ST. 01509 261286 (home) / 07976 961974 (mobile)

COMPETITION Steven Brown, 16 Beech Avenue, Groby, Leicestershire. LE6 0EJ SECRETARY 0116 2991135 : Email : [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP Kim Marvin. SECRETARY Email : [email protected]

CHAMPIONSHIP SCOR- Lee Griffiths, 5 Melrose Park, Beverley, HU7 8JL ER Email : [email protected]

Keith Graham. 16 Farmlands Lane, Littleover, Derby DE23 7UR. 01332 772389 Stephen Miles. 01159 227974 Email : [email protected] Mike Mayfield. 4 Lime Close, Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottingham NG12 2DF. 01159 119714 - 07989 279660 Email : [email protected] COMMITTEE Mike Simpson. 6 Sherbourne Drive, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicester LE65 2QT. 01530 411349 / 07824 773922 Email : [email protected] Val Street. 50 Charnwood Fields, Sutton Bonington, Leics LE12 5NP 01509 672728 : Email : [email protected] Andrew Rollason : 3 Clifton Drive, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire LE65 2QL Email [email protected] Brian Allen : 15 Wilne Close, Sawley, Notts NG 10 3AQ

MARSHAL CO- Vi Selby. 29, Grasmere Road, Loughborough, Leics ORDINATOR LE11 2ST. 01509 261286 (home) / 07976 961974 (mobile)

Paul Marvin. 4 Marriott Drive, Kibworth Harcourt, Leics MAGAZINE EDITOR LE8 0JX. 07715 353440 (mobile) Email : [email protected]

27 Disclaimer Spin Off is the official magazine of Nottingham Sports Car Club. Views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Club, its Officers or members, unless expressly stated. Nottingham Sports Car Club accepts no liability for any loss, damage or claims occurring as a result of modifications, work or other action carried out on advice or suggestions given in any article or letter published in this magazine. Publication of advertising does not imply endorse- ment, approval or recommendation of the goods or services offered. Nottingham Sports Car Club admits no responsibility for the accuracy of the copy or veracity of claims made by advertisers.

DATA PROTECTION ACT It is the practice of the Nottingham Sports Car Club Limited to hold membership details on computer files, although it is not the Club’s policy to release members details to outside sources. Should you object to the holding of such details on computer files, your literature will be addressed manually. This may, however, cause delays. 28