thanks for all the advice!!
So my list now is:
Spot Lights (Hella Rallye 2000s do?)
Uprated Bulbs for headlamps - Can anyone recommend a good bright option?
Sump Guard
Double Throttle Return Spring (what is this?)
Possibly a Roll Cage
A clear Speaking navigator!!
Thanks for all the help, I think as it is my first attempt I'll just treat it as a Sunday drive!!
EDIT: Oh and if anyone wants to know - its the Morecambe Club Rally.
Ah, Morecambe, where I started. Double return throttle spring is basically a second spring on the throttle which helps it return to closed should there be an issue i.e. the first spring snaps or you crash. I know this was needed when I used to do it and am assuming it still is but check the MSA Blue Book for all requirements. I'm assuming you have a MSA license now and as such should have recieved this book with it. Please make sure that your car complies with this completely as they will not let you compete if you don't and there's nothing worse than turning up to an event fully prepared and ready and not making it through scrutineering.
A good navigator is a must, someone you trust because inevitably they will pretty much be responsible for your well-being as you will for theirs. They don't have to be massively experienced in rallies but good map reading skills are key. My navigator was a girl who had been in the sea cadets. No rally experience but she was one of my best friends and could read maps really well.
Spot lights? As it's your first event, don't dwell on it too much, just get some decent ones, if you can borrow them even better. This event will help you massively as you'll be able to evaluate things like this and decide whether to change or keep it for the next event.
You've got the right mindset treating as a Sunday drive. Just make sure you get the car back in one piece and you'll be happy. You will probably get lost at some point and will have to stop and sort it out, don't worry, just try and enjoy it. Our first event set off from Myerscough College and ended at the Truck stop just off the M6 near Carnforth. We were in the novice group with a 309GTi and a 205GTi so we were never going to trouble them in a 1.0 Mini City but we had a laugh and got there in the end. We actually racked up a fairly impressive finish considering. We were last but we weren't that far behind everyone else. We went upward from there and, whilst I stopped doing it a few years later, my navigator now does proper stage rallies with a number of different drivers and it has become a major part of her life, she met her boyfriend through it and most of her friends through it.
Sorry, noob question! What does this actually involve? Are these 'races' on public roads? What's the objectives? Sounds interesting!
They are not races as such. They are basically an navigation exercise on public roads. You are given a list of coordinates which relate to the location of a series of boards which have numbers or letters on and each team has to find the quickest route between them. The roads are all open and as such cars must be road legal and all speed limits adhered to. I have heard tales of police doing speed checks along rally routes and people have actually been done for speeding on them.
The 'objective' is to note down the code on each board and arrive at the finish point in a given time. This time is set by a test crew who drive the route basically at the speed limit and therefore this should be the minimum time it'll take, any less than this and you'll be penalised, any more and obviously you are not as fast as everyone else. It's a test of driving skill as well as navigating and observation, I know the organisers of the ones we did used to put the boards in some really odd places.
