So you want to Rally? Ok. Regardless of whether you want to
drive or co-drive, the license requirements are the same except that it is not necessary
that the co-driver have a valid state drivers permit. Other than that, the only difference
is which side of the car you sit on.
First you have to be at least 16 years of age, then you
have to be an SCCA Member. Under 21 years of age and you will need a Minor Waiver signed
by your parents or guardians. Call the SCCA at (303)779-6622 or visit their web site at http://www.scca.org. Visit a local car show
and look around for an SCCA club exhibit - they should have membership forms. Or, as you
probably already have done, attend the next Pro or ClubRally event in your area and pick
up a membership form from one of the officials at registration. Membership fees start at
$40 for National dues plus anywhere from $10 to $20 for Regional dues. Add an additional
$5 if you wish to add your spouse or $20 for your whole family. This includes the monthly
SCCA Sportscar Magazine.
National License
If you are applying for an initial National ProRally
license or have not competed in two years, you have to have completed a national licensing
school successfully or have finished one Divisional ClubRally of at least a coefficient
two, or a Canadian Regional stage rally event within the past two years.
Then you must complete an SCCA medical questionnaire and
submit that with the license application. The medical requirements changed considerably at
the beginning of the 1997 year. A medical exam used to be mandatory, but now a medical
examination is only required if you have a history of specific medical problems such as,
heart disease, seizures, epilepsy, diabetes, allergic asthma, drug dependency, etc. If you
answer "Yes" to any of the ten questions on the questionnaire about specific
medical problems, you will be required to have a physical and certification from your
physician that you are fit to compete. For the year 2000, a National License
cost $120.
Applications and medical forms are available from the SCCA
Central Licensing Department. Call SCCA at (303) 779-6622 and asking for the Rally/Solo
Department. Also ask for a ProRally Rule book too. The Rule book costs about
$15.
The above implies you can run Club events without a
National License -- and indeed you can.
Club Licenses
All competitors in Club events must be at least 16 years of
age, must be members of SCCA and hold a current, valid Club License. You may attend an
introductory seminar or an approved ProRally School in order to be eligible for a Club
License. An introductory seminar is required to be held prior to each Club event. Again,
if you are under 21 years of age, a Minor Waiver signed by your parents or guardians will
be required.
Any person who qualifies for a ClubRally License by meeting
all the licensing and SCCA membership requirements may be issued a temporary license, free
of charge and valid for only one event. For a permanent Club license, you will fill out
the same medical questionnaire as used for a National license. If you answer
"Yes" to any of the ten questions about specific medical problems, you will be
required to have a physical and certification from your physician that you are fit to
compete. For the year 2000, a Club Only License cost $60.
Equipment
Uniform - An SFI 5 rated flameproof uniform is recommended
attire for all PRO Rally events. An SFI 5 is generally a two or three layer suit. If you
only have a single layer suit, it MUST be worn with flameproof underwear. If you are
buying your suit for the first time, or replacing an old one, go for the SFI 5 as you will
find that the cost of an SFI 1 plus the cost of the underwear is close to the cost of an
SFI 5. A good suit should last for years when cared for properly. The suit should be
cleaned after every event in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations. This
removes any body oils or other grease and dirt that might reduce the effectiveness of the
suit. There is some debate as to whether Proban is a good material for uniforms. Proban is
a heavy-duty cotton that has been treated with a flame-proofing compound. Some say the
treatment washes out in as few as a dozen or two washes leaving you with just plain old
cotton. Others say the treatment will last several hundred washings. (This might be a moot
point for you, because I know of no manufacturer making an SFI 5 rated Proban suit.) I'd
go with a good Nomex or PBI suit where the fire resistance is inherent in the fiber of the
thread making up the cloth. Then I don't have to worry about who is right about Proban.
Shoes - No particular shoe is required by the rules. I wear
a mostly leather (except for the sole and a couple inserts) running shoe. I've seen
everything from combat boots to ballet slippers (a little stretch there). Whatever you
feel safe wearing and is comfortable is probably ok. Be aware that leather transmits heat
pretty quickly and can shrink forcefully in the heat of a fire. Whatever you shoe you
wear, it should have good traction on your pedals and be appropriate for the weather you
expect at the event - cold, wet, etc.
Helmet - A helmet meeting Snell SA90 requirements must be
worn. I don't think you can buy an SA90 anymore. The current spec is SA95 and they are
widely available. AN "M" RATED
HELMET IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. This is a motorcycle helmet, is subjected to a different kind of
testing and IS NOT flameproof. DO NOT show up with an "M" rated helmet.
Many of
us in PRO Rally wear open-faced helmets. Why? It gets pretty noisy in a Rally car and you
have to communicate effectively with your driver. If you have no intercom or the intercom
fails during an event, it's almost impossible to communicate except by hand signals if you
are wearing a closed face helmet. Additionally, if you are a co-driver and prone to
motion-sickness, a full-face helmet is NOT the way to go for obvious reasons. Label the
back of your helmet with your name, DOB, blood type, allergies, most recent tetanus and
anything else that might be of interest to a medical technician ministering to a comatose
patient. Contrary to what you might think, a helmet is not indestructible and deserves
considerable care. It is designed to protect your head in case of a collision between your
head and another solid object. It is designed to work once and once only. So if you drop
it or throw it around, it's possibly suffered internal, invisible damage sufficient to
impair it's usefulness when you really need it. If you are in an accident where your
helmet contacts anything inside or outside the car, or the helmet is dropped, send it back
to the manufacturer for re-certification. The cost is little or nothing, and it could save
your life.
Gloves - Currently, it is a matter of personal preference
whether you wear gloves. Soon that may change and become a requirement, but for now it's
up to you. Personally, I like to wear gloves. As a driver, I find they absorb perspiration
and provide a better grip on the wheel than you might have otherwise. Also it makes me
look and feel more like a professional! Look for a good single or double layer Nomex glove
with a leather palm. The Nomex should be between the leather and your hand. The fit should
be snug. I've not seen many co-drivers wearing gloves. Probably because it would interfere
with turning pages in the route book or operating the computer. I've also found that
gloves are handy when it comes to changing a trashed tire on a stage. Believe it or not,
the wheel lugs or lug nuts get hot enough to leave some serious burns on unprotected
hands. When you establish your routine for changing tires, the one responsible for
handling the lug nuts should be the one with gloves.
If you're not sure you are ready to take that leap into PRO
racing, get involved up close to the action by joining SCCA, then attend the events and
volunteer to work. SCCA membership can get you some of the better worker positions. If
you've made up your mind to just do it, get in touch with the organizers of any Club event
you wish to run and make sure they have all the forms and they REALLY are running the
introduction seminar.
Now if you are really interested in getting started, you
should be concerned about the COST of PRO Rally. So check out my articles More on
Getting Started in ProRally - The Real Cost, Part I, which
discusses Car Prep and Car Maintenance, andPart II,
which discusses Event Cost.
So you want to Rally? Ok. Regardless of whether you want to
drive or co-drive, the license requirements are the same except that it is not necessary
that the co-driver have a valid state drivers permit. Other than that, the only difference
is which side of the car you sit on.
First you have to be at least 16 years of age, then you
have to be an SCCA Member. Under 21 years of age and you will need a Minor Waiver signed
by your parents or guardians. Call the SCCA at (303)779-6622 or visit their web site at http://www.scca.org. Visit a local car show
and look around for an SCCA club exhibit - they should have membership forms. Or, as you
probably already have done, attend the next Pro or ClubRally event in your area and pick
up a membership form from one of the officials at registration. Membership fees start at
$40 for National dues plus anywhere from $10 to $20 for Regional dues. Add an additional
$5 if you wish to add your spouse or $20 for your whole family. This includes the monthly
SCCA Sportscar Magazine.
National License
If you are applying for an initial National ProRally
license or have not competed in two years, you have to have completed a national licensing
school successfully or have finished one Divisional ClubRally of at least a coefficient
two, or a Canadian Regional stage rally event within the past two years.
Then you must complete an SCCA medical questionnaire and
submit that with the license application. The medical requirements changed considerably at
the beginning of the 1997 year. A medical exam used to be mandatory, but now a medical
examination is only required if you have a history of specific medical problems such as,
heart disease, seizures, epilepsy, diabetes, allergic asthma, drug dependency, etc. If you
answer "Yes" to any of the ten questions on the questionnaire about specific
medical problems, you will be required to have a physical and certification from your
physician that you are fit to compete. For the year 2000, a National License
cost $120.
Applications and medical forms are available from the SCCA
Central Licensing Department. Call SCCA at (303) 779-6622 and asking for the Rally/Solo
Department. Also ask for a ProRally Rule book too. The Rule book costs about
$15.
The above implies you can run Club events without a
National License -- and indeed you can.
Club Licenses
All competitors in Club events must be at least 16 years of
age, must be members of SCCA and hold a current, valid Club License. You may attend an
introductory seminar or an approved ProRally School in order to be eligible for a Club
License. An introductory seminar is required to be held prior to each Club event. Again,
if you are under 21 years of age, a Minor Waiver signed by your parents or guardians will
be required.
Any person who qualifies for a ClubRally License by meeting
all the licensing and SCCA membership requirements may be issued a temporary license, free
of charge and valid for only one event. For a permanent Club license, you will fill out
the same medical questionnaire as used for a National license. If you answer
"Yes" to any of the ten questions about specific medical problems, you will be
required to have a physical and certification from your physician that you are fit to
compete. For the year 2000, a Club Only License cost $60.
Equipment
Uniform - An SFI 5 rated flameproof uniform is recommended
attire for all PRO Rally events. An SFI 5 is generally a two or three layer suit. If you
only have a single layer suit, it MUST be worn with flameproof underwear. If you are
buying your suit for the first time, or replacing an old one, go for the SFI 5 as you will
find that the cost of an SFI 1 plus the cost of the underwear is close to the cost of an
SFI 5. A good suit should last for years when cared for properly. The suit should be
cleaned after every event in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations. This
removes any body oils or other grease and dirt that might reduce the effectiveness of the
suit. There is some debate as to whether Proban is a good material for uniforms. Proban is
a heavy-duty cotton that has been treated with a flame-proofing compound. Some say the
treatment washes out in as few as a dozen or two washes leaving you with just plain old
cotton. Others say the treatment will last several hundred washings. (This might be a moot
point for you, because I know of no manufacturer making an SFI 5 rated Proban suit.) I'd
go with a good Nomex or PBI suit where the fire resistance is inherent in the fiber of the
thread making up the cloth. Then I don't have to worry about who is right about Proban.
Shoes - No particular shoe is required by the rules. I wear
a mostly leather (except for the sole and a couple inserts) running shoe. I've seen
everything from combat boots to ballet slippers (a little stretch there). Whatever you
feel safe wearing and is comfortable is probably ok. Be aware that leather transmits heat
pretty quickly and can shrink forcefully in the heat of a fire. Whatever you shoe you
wear, it should have good traction on your pedals and be appropriate for the weather you
expect at the event - cold, wet, etc.
Helmet - A helmet meeting Snell SA90 requirements must be
worn. I don't think you can buy an SA90 anymore. The current spec is SA95 and they are
widely available. AN "M" RATED
HELMET IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. This is a motorcycle helmet, is subjected to a different kind of
testing and IS NOT flameproof. DO NOT show up with an "M" rated helmet.
Many of
us in PRO Rally wear open-faced helmets. Why? It gets pretty noisy in a Rally car and you
have to communicate effectively with your driver. If you have no intercom or the intercom
fails during an event, it's almost impossible to communicate except by hand signals if you
are wearing a closed face helmet. Additionally, if you are a co-driver and prone to
motion-sickness, a full-face helmet is NOT the way to go for obvious reasons. Label the
back of your helmet with your name, DOB, blood type, allergies, most recent tetanus and
anything else that might be of interest to a medical technician ministering to a comatose
patient. Contrary to what you might think, a helmet is not indestructible and deserves
considerable care. It is designed to protect your head in case of a collision between your
head and another solid object. It is designed to work once and once only. So if you drop
it or throw it around, it's possibly suffered internal, invisible damage sufficient to
impair it's usefulness when you really need it. If you are in an accident where your
helmet contacts anything inside or outside the car, or the helmet is dropped, send it back
to the manufacturer for re-certification. The cost is little or nothing, and it could save
your life.
Gloves - Currently, it is a matter of personal preference
whether you wear gloves. Soon that may change and become a requirement, but for now it's
up to you. Personally, I like to wear gloves. As a driver, I find they absorb perspiration
and provide a better grip on the wheel than you might have otherwise. Also it makes me
look and feel more like a professional! Look for a good single or double layer Nomex glove
with a leather palm. The Nomex should be between the leather and your hand. The fit should
be snug. I've not seen many co-drivers wearing gloves. Probably because it would interfere
with turning pages in the route book or operating the computer. I've also found that
gloves are handy when it comes to changing a trashed tire on a stage. Believe it or not,
the wheel lugs or lug nuts get hot enough to leave some serious burns on unprotected
hands. When you establish your routine for changing tires, the one responsible for
handling the lug nuts should be the one with gloves.
If you're not sure you are ready to take that leap into PRO
racing, get involved up close to the action by joining SCCA, then attend the events and
volunteer to work. SCCA membership can get you some of the better worker positions. If
you've made up your mind to just do it, get in touch with the organizers of any Club event
you wish to run and make sure they have all the forms and they REALLY are running the
introduction seminar.
Now if you are really interested in getting started, you
should be concerned about the COST of PRO Rally. So check out my articles More on
Getting Started in ProRally - The Real Cost, Part I, which
discusses Car Prep and Car Maintenance, andPart II,
which discusses Event Cost.
