'Introduction to Motorsport' weekend

To celebrate National Motorsport Week, Cirencester Car Club once again ran its 'Introduction to Motorsport Weekend' on 7 - 9 August.

The Gloucestershire-based club ran a wide range of events designed to show the scale and diversity of motorsport events which are accessible to everyone in their road-going cars at local level.

During Friday evening and throughout Saturday and Sunday, events ran from the event headquarters at the Highwayman Inn, Elkstone, just off the A417 between Cirencester and Gloucester.

The events were all true 'grass roots' motorsport events and included a navigational scatter, a touring assembly with photograph based questions en-route, the ever popular gymkhana (driving test) and a grass autotest which, whilst open to all entrants, also formed part of the clubs Summer Series.  A motorsport pub quiz was held in the public bar on Saturday night from about 8pm.

On Friday evening there was a navigational scatter, while Saturday morning competitors were invited to take part in a Treasure Hunt. Saturday afternoon featured a revised Gymkhana, similar to last year's event which, amongst other things, saw competitors using their cars to take penalty shoot outs with a 4 foot inflatable football. Sunday morning featured a Touring Assembly during which competitors were invited to match photographs provided in the roadbook to locations passed on the route.  This event encouraged enthusiasts to take part in non-competitive tours through some of the best scenery in the region and was an ideal event for all the family, using cars of all ages.  The event finished on Sunday afternoon with a Grass Autotest in the pub paddock which fomed part of the club's Summer Series of events, giving all competitors the opportunity to test their driving skills around the cones. 

The event was first run in 2007 and helped the Club to finish second overall in the MSA Motor Club of the year award, and the Best club in England.  The format was conceived by club Chairman, Martin Saunders and is now being copied by many other local motor clubs.  The 2008 running built on the success of the first event and despite bad weather was a huge success.  Lessons learned through previous events were incorporated into this year's running which featured a slightly different format to allow competitors more time to enjoy all the events.

"We are the only club taking on the concept of National Motorsport Week in its entirety" says club chairman Martin Saunders, the man behind the event, “at a time when everybody is thinking about reducing motorsport budgets it is only appropriate that local clubs offer their members low cost motorsport and we know from previous years that this is what people want.  The proof of this is in the number of new club members this event generates each year”.  National Motorsport Week is a major event created by the Motorsport Industry Association (MIA) in conjunction with the Motor Sports Association to enhance awareness of and interest in motorsport.

By taking a 'back to basics' approach to its programme in recent years, Cirencester Car Club has managed to successfully rebuild its membership and now has over 100 active members, drawn from a 30-mile radius around the Cotswold market town.

The weekend was open to everyone and entry to many of the activities and a trial membership fee were covered by only a small charge. We are delighted to repot the event was once again a great success for our club and we look forward to planning our next event for NMW 2010 having our Introduction to Motor Sports Weekend on 6, 7 and 8 August 2010.

To see photos of the event please click here.

For more details, visit www.cirencestercarclub.com