What is Autograss?

What is Autograss?

The Autograss Classes How do I get involved?

AUTOGRASS is Britain’s most popular form of amateur motor racing. The sport takes place at around 50 venues throughout England, Wales and Northern and Southern Ireland.

AUTOGRASS is car racing, usually on quarter-mile dirt oval tracks. Although highly spectacular to watch, it is first and foremost a participant sport. Meetings are promoted by non-profit making clubs, which are affiliated to the governing body, the National Autograss Sports Association (NASA). The tracks are laid out on natural surfaces (usually a farmer’s field) - a fresh track will start off as grass, but that won’t last long! The track will be constructed by club members the day before the event, and the racers are also expected to help out with the organisation on the day.

This is a true family sport – anyone can take part. Junior drivers may start racing at 12 years old, moving into the adult classes at 16, and some drivers are racing competitively well into their 60s and 70s. Ladies’ races are held at every meeting and the sharing of cars between family members is encouraged.

AUTOGRASS is the affordable motor sport. You can race in the most basic classes (such as Class 1, for standard 1000cc saloons with only safety modifications) for an initial outlay of under £500 and minimal running costs. There are ten classes of car ranging from production saloons, through progressively wilder Modified machinery to the super-fast single-seat Specials. Even in the top classes, however, budgets will be significantly less than those required to be competitive in Circuit Racing, Oval Racing, Rallying or Rallycross.

For more details of how to get involved in Autograss Racing and to contact your nearest club, click here to visit the National Autograss Sport Association’s website.

The Autograss Classes

Standard Production 1000cc Saloons This class was previously restricted to Minis, but the Fiat Cinquecento and Citroen AX have been added to the list of eligible cars since 2006. No modifications are allowed apart from those required by NASA safety regulations. It's a very well supported and competitive class; the standard cars are surprisingly quick and it must represent the very cheapest way of going motor racing. Another reason for the popularity of Class 1 is that this is the only class of saloon car allowed to be used by Junior (12 - 16 year old) drivers. Budget guideline £500 - £2,000

		Restricted Saloons up to 1300cc The second of the entry level classes. Limited engine and suspension modifications are allowed, but equality is ensured by stipulating that all engines must breathe through a 32mm intake restrictor. Front wheel drive Novas, Micras Fiats and Fiestas, Rear-wheel-drive Escorts and Starlets and rear-engined Imps, Suzukis and Skodas are all evenly matched. Budget guideline £750 - £2,500

Front-engine rear-wheel-drive Saloons over 1420cc. Often thought of as the "Hot Rod" Class, with any engine allowed in any bodyshell, although multi-valve engines are subject to a maximum of 2070cc. This very well-supported Class is a firm favourite in East Anglia with plenty of sideways action guaranteed from the big-engined Escorts and the hybrid-type cars such as Ford or Vauxhall powered Toyota Starlets. Front-wheel drive cars (such as Peugeot 205 or Ford Fiesta) may be converted to rear-wheel-drive. Budget guideline £1,000 - £20,000

		Modified Saloons up to 1130cc. This is the smallest and most affordable of the "fully modified" classes with the only restrictions being that the engine must be of a type originally sold in that make of car and must be fitted in the original position. Minis and Imps tend to dominate (many of the Minis being based on lightweight Pickup bodyshells), although Micras, 106/Saxos, Fiats, Fiestas, Metros, Suzukis, etc are also competitive. Budget guideline £1,000 - £10,000

Modified Saloons 1131 - 1420cc. Unlike Class 4, this class allows any engine to be used, anywhere in the bodyshell. Although front-wheel-drive Minis used to dominate and are still popular, the recipe for success is now a mid-engined Special, usually Ford or Vauxhall-powered, clothed in a small hatchback bodyshell. Budget guideline £2,000 - £15,000

		Modified FWD Saloons over 1420cc. One of the most hotly contested classes – anything goes as long as it's front-wheel-drive. Favourites are 2-litre 16 valve-powered Vauxhall Novas, but Fiestas, Metros, Golfs and even Minis with a variety of power units are equally effective and you can be competitive with a relatively standard car. Budget guideline £1,000 - £10,000

Modified rear-wheel-drive Saloons over 1420cc. Probably the greatest crowd-pleaser at National level, and rapidly gaining popularity in East Anglia, these are the ultimate "Supersaloons". The idea is to cram the biggest, most powerful engine you can find into the smallest, lightest bodyshell and drive it foot flat to the floor! You'll see Fiestas, Escorts, Metros and Mini Pickups like you've never seen before, with V8 or V6 engines, often supercharged or turbocharged, or twin motorbike engines, sitting where the rear seat should be. Budget guideline £4,000 - £20,000 +

		Specials up to 1420cc. Similar in layout to circuit racing single-seaters (and often in the past based on chassis built for Formula Ford racing, although most cars are now produced by specialist Autograss constructors) the smallest Specials class provides close and fast racing with the majority of cars powered by high-revving and widely available motorbike engines, although car engines such as 1400 Vauxhall Nova units are beginning to offer an alternative to the bike engines which have dominated in recent years. Budget guideline £3,000 - £15,000

Specials 1421 - 2065cc. The motorbike engines that now dominate the other Specials classes are excluded from Class 9, which features cars powered by a variety of easily affordable engines such as the Vauxhall 16 valve, Ford Pinto or Fiat or Alfa Romeo Twin Cams, giving plenty of usable power in near standard form, mounted on a VW transaxle if the budget won't run to a Hewland racing box. Transversely-mounted Vauxhall or Citroen engines are increasingly offering an even cheaper alternative. Budget guideline £2,000 - £20,000 +

		Specials over 2065cc, & Twin Engines. These are the ultimate machines in which to go Autograss Racing, with no limits on engine capacity or tuning, once again in lightweight mid-engined single-seaters. V6 and V8 engines once dominated and the popularity and reliability of the Ford V6 and Rover or Chevy V8 engines means that it's still possible to race in this exciting class on a limited budget at club level, although the professionally built twin bike-engined cars now rule the roost at the bigger meetings. Budget guideline £5,000 - £20,000 +

Class 11: Ladies’ Production Saloons. Class 1 and Class 2 cars race together, with a handicapped start. Ladies’ races feature at all Autograss meetings and every effort is made to give them as much racing as the men. Some have their own cars, but many share the driving, making this a real family sport – a Class 1 Mini may race in Men’s, Ladies’ and Juniors’ classes on the same day. Class 12: Ladies’ Modified Saloons. Class 4, 5 and 6 cars race together, with a handicapped start. Class 13: Ladies’ Modified Saloons. Class 3 and 7 cars race together, with a handicapped start. Class 14: Ladies’ Specials. Class 8, 9 and 10 cars race together, with a handicapped start.

		Drivers aged 12 – 16 years . Juniors are only allowed to race the Unmodified Class 1 saloons or the new Junior Special cars (see below). All drivers must pass a test of competence and safety before being permitted to race. Budget guideline £500 - £2,000

Drivers aged 12 – 16 years . Autograss’ newest class, introduced in 2005, allows Juniors aged 12 - 16 to race open-wheel Autograss machinery, presenting an exciting and affordable alternative to Kart racing. All cars are powered by standard 44 bhp 1200cc Vauxhall Corsa engines with standard gearboxes and many standard suspension components. Chassis are available from specialist constructors Z-Cars, GB Engineering and ARD, but you may build your own or adapt an existing chassis. Adult racers may also drive these cars, at single-day club events only. Budget guideline £2,500 - £5,000

Full 2008 NASA rule books for all the above classes are available from the club secretaries; there are six books (Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, Classes 4/5/6/7, Classes 8/9/10 and Junior Special) priced at £2.50 each.

How do I get involved?

AUTOGRASS is the easiest and most affordable branch of motor sport to get into, either as a competitor or as a "working" club member.

GET TO KNOW THE SPORT

Many first time Autograss racers already have family or friends within the sport, and know exactly what they're looking for. If you're completely new to Autograss, however, pay a visit to one of our race meetings. At most events there'll be an interval during racing when spectators are welcome to stroll round the pits, take a close look at the competing cars and talk to the drivers. You'll find everyone involved will be as friendly and helpful as possible. Enquire at "race control", or approach anyone you see wearing an "official" jacket and you'll be pointed in the right direction to be given all the information you need.

JOIN A CLUB

If you like what you see, the first stage in getting involved in Autograss is to contact your local club and join up - as a racing member if you want to start competing immediately, otherwise you'll be made very welcome as a non-racing member. If you're within the East Anglian League's catchment area, follow the links to the St Neots or Cambridge club's home pages and you'll find all the details you need to make contact. If you're outside our area, follow the link to the NASA Official site (National Autograss Sports Association) and there you'll find contact names and phone numbers for all 52 NASA affiliated clubs in the UK and Ireland.

YOUR NASA LICENCE

The way the licencing system works is that, when you join a NASA affiliated club, you will at the same time be applying for a NASA competition licence. The licence fee (and public liability and personal accident insurance premium) is included in the club membership fee and, once the club's accepted your application, you'll be given the paperwork to forward to the relevant NASA Registration Secretary. You'll receive your licence and Member's Handbook (essential reading) direct from NASA.

There are five different grades of NASA licence:

Full racing member (available to anyone of either sex over the age of 16 - enables you to compete, mechanic or officiate).

Lady racing member (as above, but entitles you to race only in the Ladies' classes, plus some Open races)

Junior racing member (age 12 to 16)

Mechanic (minimum age 16 - enables you to mechanic or officiate)

Non-racing member (minimum age 12 - but no member under 16 or over 70 is allowed to officiate in a potentially dangerous area such as the pits or racetrack)

As the licence fee includes your club membership, costs will vary from club to club. Fees for the East Anglian League for 2008 are:

Full member or Lady member - £40.00

Junior - £32.00

Mechanic - £15.00

Non-racing member - £6.00

Allocation of new racing number (one-off charge) - £5.00

Rule book (compulsory) - £2.50

For insurance reasons, only NASA licence holders who sign-on on the day are allowed in the pits while racing is in progress.

Once you have your NASA licence it entitles you to travel without restriction to any other NASA club, to race, mechanic or officiate.

FIND OUT SOME MORE

If you want to be involved without actually racing, or if you know you want to race, but aren't yet sure how to go about it, the clubs would welcome and value you as a non-racing member. If you volunteer to help with marshalling, scrutineering, track maintenance or any of the dozens of other jobs involved in staging a club level race meeting, you'll quickly learn a lot from the more experienced members, and you'll enjoy the cameraderie and club spirit.

GETTING A CAR

Once you've attended a few meetings, you'll have a pretty good idea what class of car appeals to you most (although if you have a prospective Junior racer in the family the choice is made for you - Juniors can only race Class 1 Minis or the new Junior Special class). In our class guide we've provided rough guidelines to what a typical budget would be to get up and running in each class. In each case the top end of the spectrum is what a relatively small number of competitors are believed to be spending to succeed at the top level events (others can spend considerably less to be just as competitive). The lower end of the range is what you're likely to need to have fun at club level meetings with a safe and reliable car - and quite possibly win a few trophies as well.

You'll need to decide whether building from scratch or buying a ready to race car is the best way for you - but you will find that most secondhand cars change hands for figures considerably less than the cost of their components. Either way, asking around among fellow club members is the best way to source a car or to get help in putting one together yourself. The main medium for advertising Autograss cars, parts and services is the sport's national magazine Autograss Review, which costs £20 for a year's subscription.

Don't forget the other costs involved in starting racing for the first time, although in Autograss these are considerably less than in other motor sports. A good quality crash helmet will cost you around £80 - £200. Flameproof overalls are recommended rather than compulsory, but you'll probably want at least a single-layer Proban race suit (£70 - £100). When the mud starts flying, you'll need to see where you're going, so invest in a set of goggles with a "roll-off" system. All this equipment is available from specialist Autograss suppliers such as Vision Plus or Dragon Racewear, whose advertising you will find in Autograss Review.

Obviously you'll need suitable transport for the race car, and don't cut too many corners with your tow vehicle and trailer or transporter - make sure you're safe as most race cars travel much further, and at higher speeds, on their trailers than they do on the track!

Once you're up and running with a suitable car, your racing budget may be tiny compared with what you'd need to go Circuit racing, Rallying, Rallycross or even Karting.

Entry fees - at most venues you'll be charged around £5 - £6 (£5.00 is the regular adult admission price at East Anglian League meetings) a head to enter the field and another £3 to sign on to race, and that will be it!

Travelling costs - these can be whatever you make them. Your licence entitles you to race anywhere in the country, but if you live in the East Anglian League's area you'll be able to race almost every week (if you want to) without travelling more than 50 miles or so from home.

Maintenance/repair costs - obviously dependent on your own level of mechanical skill (Autograss racers are so helpful that it's possible to race having no mechanical knowledge at all) and the amount of damage you do.

Tyres - some racers throw a new set of tyres at the car for every final, but at club level you'll find a couple of sets of tyres from one of the main Autograss tyre distributors such as Sportway, Maxsport, RoTyres or MK Motors, will last you a season.

THE HIRE CAR ALTERNATIVE

If you'd like to try your hand at Autograss without the commitment of building or buying your own car, the St Neots and Cambridge clubs both have cars available for hire (in Classes 1 or 2) for a day's racing at very reasonable cost. Please contact the clubs for details of availability.