I have just bought my 1st Mx5 a 1990 “G” Reg Eunos 1.6
I cannot believe within the space of a week how much this is taking over my life Lol . I have always been a keen motorsport and motorcycling enthusiast but some of the stuff i am seeing with these little beauty’s is just out there !!!
I have always had quite a few hobbies on the go but most recently Mountainbiking / road riding /running and a real passion for Motogp and F1. I have always loved Karting and have messed around at turn up and drive events and did a couple of years of Motocross as a 14-16 yr old. Ironic really that i have never really been into any of the cars i have owned LOL but that appears to be changing now …
I dont have the money for any upgrades yet but just can’t help looking
I am completely blown away by some of the autocross events and would really like to try one. Can anyone tell me what sort of Mx5’s are used for these ?
Are they all heavily moded ? or can anyone just turn up and have a go ?
Looks like awesome fun ! Must try get along to an event near me soon.
Grass Autotests are great fun and are organised by MSA affiliated motor clubs.
They consist of a series of cones laid out in a field. You are given a diagram and have to drive around the cones in the shortest time following the pattern on the diagram. Now this as usual sounds a lot simpler than it is-as you discover when you are sat in the middle of the cones thinking where the **** do I go now!
They include handbrake turns, reverse flick and the like and are the only form of motor sport where reverse is used intentionally. There are also tarmac autotest which as the name suggests arethe same thing on tarmac but these are a bit more damaging to tyres, transmissions etc.
As to how modified. Pretty much anything goes, as there are classes for most vehicles even non road going Mini specials. If you drive it on the road (legally) it should be fine. The only mod is generally to let a few PSI out of the tyres.
Have a look here for more info http://www.sevenoaksmotorclub.com/ click on the Autotest link in the middle of the page, or have a look in the Gallery for pics (inc a couple of MX5s)
We run a series of Autotests in the evenings from May to August. Entry fee is about £10 and you just need to be a SDMC member -no MSA licence required. We used to hold these a Swanley but I believe next years will be at Brands Hatch. Other local clubs to me hold them at Edenbridge and Headcorm.
There may well be a club that runs them closer to you-have a look on the Go motorsport site
I compete in tarmac autotersts in my MX5. I’ve got a trophy for third place when my car had a turbo, locked diff, no interior, FIA seat, hydraulic handbrake, no rear bumper and modified steering rack for a smaller turning circle. The guy who was second was in a 190bhp Elise. The guy who won was in a standard MX5 [:D]
It’s mostly driving skill. The advantage of using an MX5 is that no matter how you do you’ll be having fun.
Some car clubs have been running “AutoSolo” events, which are closer to the US “Autocross” (aka SOLO2); so a forward-only course marked out on a large carpark. Faster than an Autotest, but because there is a huge amount of run-off, the risk to competitors is much less than a Sprint. Probably also less to think about. So the MSA has deemed that Autosolo events don’t need helmets, and I’m not sure even a Nat B licence is required. Because less marshalling etc is needed, costs are lower.I don’t think there are so many of these events in the UK, and I guess the reason is that its difficult to find suitable locations, thanks to sunday trading…
The Farnborough MC have been running Autosolos for quite a while now, and might be able to advise. I have a feeling anything goes, as far as car type. My hunch is that a FI MX5 wouldn’t have all that much advantage at these sort of events.
We also do Autosolos, two a year at the moment, both at North Weald.
As before there are pics on Sevenoaks Motor Clubs web site.
Copy of regs for info-Note in addition to standard regs from Blue Book:-
SUPPLEMENTARY REGULATIONS 1. Sevenoaks and District Motor Club will organise a Clubsport Autosolo on Sunday 25thSeptember 2011 at North Weald Airfield (MR: 167/490038) Epping, Essex. 2. The meeting will be governed by the General Regulations of The Motor Sports Association Ltd (incorporating the provisions of the International Sporting Code of the FIA), these supplementary regulations and any further written instructions that the organising club may issue for the event. 3. The MSA Permit number is TBA 4. The event is open to all fully elected members of the organising club, Weald MC, Greenbelt MC, HCAAC, FDMC, Dellow Register, Club Triumph and TWMC. Clubs that are members of Weald MC are: Bexley LCC, Blackpalfrey MC of Kent, Borough 18 MC, Borough 19 MC, Central Sussex MC,Croydon & District MC, Chelmsford MC, Eastbourne & Ram MC, Maidstone & Mid Kent MC, Sevenoaks & DMC and Southern CC. 5. All drivers must produce a valid club membership card. A competition license is not required. 6. The programme of the meeting will be as follows: Signing on 8:15am Scrutineering starts 8:15am Drivers briefing 9:30am First car starts 10:00am All timings are approximate. Anybody competitor not signed on by 9:30am may be excluded. 7. The event will consist of 6 classes as follows: A. Historic - any car registered or manufactured before 1st January 1975. B. Production saloons/hatchbacks/estates/4 seat coupés and convertibles up to 1400cc C. Production saloons/hatchbacks/estates/4 seat coupés and convertibles 1401 to 2000cc D. Production saloons/hatchbacks/estates/4 seat coupés and convertibles over 2000cc E. Production 2 seat sports cars (open and fixed roof) F. Specialist sports cars, kit cars suitable for road use and other cars ineligible for classes A to E. Cars eligible for Class A will run in that class, rather than the corresponding classes from B to E. Diesel cars, with or without forced induction, will run in the class corresponding to their engine capacity. A petrol engine with forced induction, in Class B or C, will move up one capacity class. A rotary engine will be classed at twice stated capacity on the vehicle’s V5 document. All vehicles must comply with MSA Technical Regulations for autosolos. Please refer to 2011 MSA Yearbook Section (M). If you do not have a Yearbook you can view it online at www.msauk.org. All vehicles must be taxed and insured for the public road. Insurance documents and a current MOT certificate must be produced at signing on: exemption can only be given to vehicles less than three years old, and then proof of date of first registration will be required (V5C document). Vehicles must compete on road-legal tyres. Tyres from List 1B are not permitted. All vehicles must have been driven to the event via the public highway.
As pointed out a competition licence is not required. Only other points to note are that the car must have been driven there so needs current MOT Insurance and Tax, and that List 1B tyres are not allowed (only usually a problem where they are fitted as standard to cars like the Elise)
I am surprised Sue hasn’t borrowed pic for her Avatar…and no of course I don’t mind And I suppose we had better complete the set and avoid accusations of favouritism with a Sprint pic
Nice picture! Sideways isn’t fastest, but it is more fun [:D]
If we’re opening this up to other cheap motorsports: I know of drifting competitions that give you a day on track for under £50. I even judged at one (the winner’s trophy cost way more than the entry fee). You can enter in a standard RWD car.
This is a £1500 car getting 6th place in a national series back in 2007:
Andy has 2 1/2 MX5’s he kindly let me use his on a Sprint and gymkhana, I just loved the feel of the car and so I bought one on Ebay, yes the red one. I am also addicted to my MX5, it is the red one in pic, only had it a few weeks, and boy is it fun to play with. Ok Andy love playing with yours as well. My feelings are it is a proper car to drive, so positive, I want to play all the time. Come and enjoy with us. I can not wait to drive it with anger again!!
And I suppose we had better complete the set and avoid accusations of favouritism with a Sprint pic
