How To Start Rallying: A Quick Guide

Rallying is about teamwork as each driver is joined by a co-driver in the car, who is responsible for reading pace notes, keeping track of time and informing the primary driver about upcoming corners and road surface conditions. 

Now, we’ve secured the basics, let’s talk about how to start rallying, from what it takes to active steps. 

What does it take to become a rally driver? 

• Full DVLA driving licence. If you’ve passed your practical driving test then you’re considered to be safe on the road and have a good understanding of your car and how to control it. 
• Being physically fit. Adequate endurance capacity is essential to rallying because of the long race days, hence why many successful drivers factor in mountain biking and running into their fitness plans. The heartbeat of co-drivers and drivers is also much more elevated due to the mental and physical stress endured. 
• Coordination, mobility and speed training. Like most other sports, rallying requires good hand-eye coordination as it’s all about simultaneous use of our hands to turn the wheel, our legs to operate the pedals and our eyes to scan the road. 
• Understanding the importance of sleep. It’s constantly instilled in us that when we’re tired, we should take a break from driving. If you feel tired, you’re more likely to do things carelessly and the probability of making mistakes increases. 
• Keeping the mind-set sharp. Focus, alertness and responsiveness are all super important when it comes to rally driving. One practice is using a wall that lights up at random times, hitting each light when it flashes on to improve speed and responsiveness. 

1. Start practicing young 

There are so many ways for juniors to get a start in the rallying world. If you want to be a driver you need to have a full driving licence and be at least 17 but you are actually allowed to compete as a navigator from the age of 12. 

Another key way to start young is just get involved with the rallying community. Attend your local club’s events and cultivate relationships, both personally and professionally, and you’ll pick up a variety of knowledge without even being behind the wheel. 

It’s a pretty well-known fact that many of today’s top professional drivers including Formula One legends got their start in karting. The principle in karting is actually the same as many motorsports, karts go wheel-to-wheel and race to the chequered flag. In karting, you can start as early as your 6th birthday and work your way through the various ranks. Karting is split into four main categories: cadet, junior, senior and gearbox. 

Many schools in the UK also run junior driving days to allow youngsters to get behind the wheel and experience rally driving before they’re 17. Under the guidance of expert instructors, they’ll learn the controls of a real rally car and head out onto a dirt track for a thrilling drive. 

2. Start rallying 

Driving Days 

The best way to get a start in rallying is to head out on a driving day. Taking place all over the country including iconic motorsport locations like Brands Hatch and Silverstone, rally experiences offer a truly exhilarating taste of the sport. Many companies who offer such experiences have purpose-built rally stages to allow participants to explore how they cope on different surfaces like tarmac or loose gravel. In this situation, they’d be accompanied by an instructor who would serve as a co-driver and introduce a myriad of rallying basics, helping you understand the car and its various controls. This would almost certainly include the all-important handbrake turns. 

Get a car and find the right gear

So, after your driving day, you’ve been well and truly hooked on rallying. Great. The next step is to get a car. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be the most powerful car, it’s actually better to get a slower one you can really push to its limits. The benefit of being in a slower car is that as you learn various rallying techniques and inevitably make mistakes, it’s much easier to control and understand what happened. It’s recommended that once you find a car, you get a scrutineer to double-check that everything is okay with the car, from fire extinguishers to how the seat fits you. 

Naturally, safety is paramount so it’s all about finding the right gear. When it comes to sourcing the equipment, a race suit, helmet, gloves, shoes, microphones and earpieces are all essential items. It’s also important to get your hands on a HANS device, which is a type of head restraint that assures the driver’s head moves in sync with the rest of the body. Due to the nature of the sport, it’s also advisable to get the best crash helmet you possibly can.

RS Clubman Licence 

Anyone in the car, including drivers, co-drivers and passengers need a valid RS Clubman licence in order to compete in a Motorsport UK event. It’s free to obtain and all you need to do is fill out a form and log your details with the Motorsport Association. In order to apply online, you need to be deemed medically fit to compete in motorsport and confirm you are a British citizen. If not, don’t panic, further information is simply needed before you can obtain your licence. 

Classes

Rally cars are categorised into various classes based on their individual qualities: 

• Rally 1: the fastest rallying cars available, these are the top class of the FIA World Rally Championship. In this category, you’re looking at your Hyundai i20 WRC, M-Sport Ford Fiesta WRC and Citroen C3 WRC. 
• Rally 2: previously known as R5. These are your four-wheel-drive, manufacturer-built models that appear in competitions globally. The WRC2 class are entrants run by manufacturers themselves, like Citroen C3 R4 and Hyundai i20 R5. 
• Rally 3: designed to bridge the gap between two-wheel and four-wheel drives. The price cap of the cars is 100,000 euros and although not much is known about this class in terms of competitions, M-Sport’s recent unveiling of its new cars has differentiated this category from the rest. 
• Rally 4: previously your R2 spec cars. These two-wheel drives are built by manufacturers and feature models like the M-Sport Rally4 Ford Fiesta. 
• Rally 5: aim to help new drivers compete in rallying without the higher costs of the classes above. The R1 spec Fiesta can either be converted from an actual road car or built purposely for the sport. 

Car Clubs 

Motorclubs are groups of like-minded enthusiasts who organise a large portion of the rallying events that take place every year across the country. In order to be recognised, a club must have at least 25 members and rules approved by Motorsport UK. Many rallying stars got their start at their local club since members are always happy to find ways to involve people, whether it’s through volunteering, co-driving or any other role you’d be interested in. Those reading in the UK can find their local club here, either selecting one from the list or entering your postcode and/or town name.  

Courses/Motoring Schools

Rally driving schools play host to a variety of motoring enthusiasts, of all ages and abilities. Established in 1995, the British Association of Rally School (BARS) aims to standardise the core elements of rally driving courses and provides a consistent level of safety for everyone. The association has members across the country, from Edinburgh to Northern Ireland to Kent. Notable examples include the Silverstone Rally School who are the leading school providing all types of events from taster sessions to one-one-tuition and Motorsport Vision Brands Hatch who offer the closest experience to professional rally driving without a licence. 

Mentorships

Many professional drivers attribute a lot of their success to starting out with mentors. The knowledge you can gain from a mentor’s experience is invaluable as they pass on key skills necessary to compete in future events. They can advise you of mistakes they once made to prevent you from doing the same. 

Practice and attend events

You know the old saying practice makes perfect? It couldn’t be more relevant. Unlike other motorsports, you don’t have the luxury of being able to do lap after lap or use cutting-edge simulation technology. The best thing you can do is make the most of every opportunity - drive any car, anywhere and at any time. You need to build a foundation of knowledge in how to cope with various weather conditions and terrains. Away from the pressure of competitive events, you’ll develop your understanding of your car and the way it moves when rallying. 

Go professional

Sponsorship covers any type of assistance, both financial and non-financial, and is a vital component that allows many drivers to continue in the sport. One such example is Morris Lubricants who support and supply some of the most successful competitors in British and international motorsport including Guy Martin. As long as participants or their team are involved in competitive motorsport, they’ll be eligible for the sponsorship programme. Title sponsors in the World Rally Championship are Shell and Hyundai Mobis. Since the 1920s, the former has empowered its motorsport programmes as the supplier of fuel and lubricants. Hyundai Mobis has continued to develop technologies in the auto parts industry, from modules to core components like braking, suspension and electrical equipment. 

Rallying has seen many faces across the years and though may not be as well known in comparison to their motorsport counterparts, there are still many members who go down in the history books as the greatest drivers. Rally enthusiasts would undoubtedly give their top spot to the Frenchman Sébastien Loeb. With a mind-blowing 917 WRC stage wins and 9 WRC titles, the numbers speak for themselves. Another name of interest was Irishman Colin McRae, who is often cited as the most exciting driver to watch with a wild driving style that grew into a focussed discipline. 

FAQs

How much does it cost to start rallying? 

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be made of money to get involved with motorsport. Your main cost is the entry fee (around £500-£600 per event) and the organisers’ race notes (around £30 per rally). You’d need to buy a car but as we said earlier, this doesn’t have to be the most expensive and a specialised safety device like HANS would cost anywhere between £200 and £600. 

How much do rally drivers make?

The salary of rally drivers varies greatly, depending on who you ask and how much experience the driver has. Those with ample experience like Ogier rake in £1.8 million whereas those newer to the sport can earn anything from £180,000 to £350,000. 

What are the requirements for a rally car?

For all types of rallies, all you need is a taxed and insured road car with a valid MOT certificate. For stage rallies specifically, the car must be fitted with safety components like a roll cage, harness, fire extinguishers etc. Further technical requirements can be found in Section R of the Motorsport UK Yearbook document. 

What age can you start rallying? 

To enjoy a white-knuckle passenger ride, there is no minimum age requirement. If you want to be a driver, you’ll need to be 17 and hold a DVLA licence but the good news is that you can be a navigator from 12. Many motoring schools also run junior driving days, targeting 11-16 years old with some schools even catering to events for 8 year olds. 

Ready to get started? Great! Head over to our full range of Rally Experiences to kick off your new hobby.