MOTORSPORT IRELAND ENDURANCE TRIALS REVIEW

MOTORSPORT IRELAND ENDURANCE TRIALS REVIEW

Posted: December 4, 2020 6:44 AM

At a recent meeting of the Motor Sport Council, it was agreed that a general review of Endurance Trials would be carried out. This was decided firstly as the Regulations for these have remained without substantial modification for the 10 years since this new branch of the sport was introduced, and that a general review of their operation was therefore appropriate, but also due to some concerns that the discipline may have departed somewhat from the original intention of budget, entry level, events, with the possibility that the technical and course limitations, imposed to ensure that speeds would be limited to those appropriate to the intended character, were being stretched, and that the events were beginning to be viewed by some as “rallying on the cheap”.

This was not the intention, and it cannot become the reality – stage rallies have increased speeds & risks, leading in turn to increased costs for insurances, rescue vehicles, medical cover, etc. The cost of preparing a stage rally car is also expensive, not least due to safety features such as fireproofing, cages, suits, HANS & helmets. Endurance events, on the other hand, were intended to be an entry level, low-cost sport with tests rather than stages, standard cars rather than modified, etc.

The review will be conducted by a group chaired by MSC member Nial Murphy, and with representation from the Rallies Commission (in conjunction with the Navigation Sub-Commission), the Technical Commission and the Safety Commission. It is intended that the review will be completed as quickly as possible, with the expectation that the events will resume as part of the general post-Covid opening up of Motor Sport, although this will depend on an acceptable and successful outcome of the review process.

Interested parties are invited to make submissions to
endurancereview@motorsportireland.com.

Submissions should be as short as possible, and while all submissions will be considered, they should ideally deal with topics such as technical specifications, practicality of enforcement of same, course layout, type of tests, safety of competitors, safety of marshals, access by public, average speeds & maximum speeds.

Those who might wish to see a relaxation of the rules are also free to make submissions, but any such suggestions should be accompanied by proposals to address the increased risks, speeds and costs that might result.

Submissions should be made as soon as possible, but in any case, not later than 12 noon on Friday, 18 December.