Getting Started in Bristol Two Litre Cup

Paperwork: Licence and Club Membership

Bristol Motor Club Championships are open only to paid-up members of Bristol Motor Club. No additional fees are payable aside from entry fees to the events themselves but participants must hold a Motorsport UK Competition Licence where required to enter the qualifying rounds.

You can join the club here – Click
It costs £20 per year but means you can enter a wide range of motorsport events plus various club activities.

You will need an RS Interclub licence from Motorsport UK.  This is just a paperwork exercise and actually very straight-forward.

You can apply for your licence at the MotorsportUK website: https://members.motorsportuk.org/imissite/login/default.asp

Once you’re a member of the Motor Club and you have your licence then keep an eye out on social media for when the organising club issues their event invitations. We’ll be notified when they’re issued so will also make sure we post them on the Bristol Motor Club social media platforms too. To secure a spot at events it’s often good practice to get your entry in early as it’s not uncommon for events to fill up in hours.  

Equipment

The championship is regulated by Motorsport UK so this means, for sprints and hillclimbs, you need an appropriate helmet and a race suit.  Please refer to the yearbook to be certain this information is still correct as you could be reading this sometime after I’ve written it!  As a minimum, you need to have:

• Helmet – Keeping this guide concise, the most common standard is a FIA helmet conforming to one of the following:
  • FIA 8860-2010
  • FIA 8859-2015
  • Some SNELL and SFI helmets are allowed but not very common.
    Most motorsport helmets you’ll find in the retail outlets will most likely be FIA 8860-2010 or 8859-2015.
    Karting Helmets are NOT permitted
• Race Suit – The most common type of suit will be an FIA 8856-2000 suit.  Again, this is most likely what you’ll find in a retailer.  There are lower specification suits, but most people run the full race suits.

If your car is modified enough to run in the Modified or Sports Libre category, you will also need:

• Gloves – Again, these need to be FIA 8856-2000
• Hans Device

Where to buy your equipment

There are many retailers, this is not a recommendation or endorsement but are typical places where you might buy the above equipment.

• Autosport Show (January every year) – https://www.autosportinternational.com
  This is a great place to try on lots of gear and usually get ~10% discount.  Saves messing around trying to find the right size.

• Demon Tweeks – https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/
  Well known retailer with a good range of gear.

• Merlin Motorsport – https://www.merlinmotorsport.co.uk
  Based at Castle Combe so useful if you need something quick.

Car Modifications for Sprints and Hillclimbs

• You will need a timing strut which fits to the front of the car which essentially provides an appropriate silhouette to activate the timing equipment. These can be bought however the majority of competitors make them from plywood or aluminium sheet cut to size, painted matt black and attached to the number plate plinth. The specifics are in the Blue Book Rule S.10.9
• Your ignition switch must be clearly marked with the “On-Off” position. A sticker, visible to a marshall, adjacent to the ignition barrel will usually suffice.  A Sharpie and some tape has been used with success in the past!
• The negative lead on the car battery must be marked with yellow tape.
• Competition numbers must be displayed clearly on a contrasting background on both sides of the car (S.9.2.5) to the satisfaction of the Chief Timekeeper. We’ll endeavour to liaise with the organising club to try and maintain the same competition number for your sprints and hillclimbs throughout the season. 

If your car fits into the Modified category, you will need extra safety equipment:

• Rollcage to Motorsport UK specification, ideally with a suitable harness bar.
• Race seats.
• Racing harness (most opt for a 6 point harness).

This list is not exhaustive and may be out of date by the time you read this, so please refer to the Blue Book section S.