Get on track with Motorsport UK

The BTCC is at the pinnacle of motor racing in the UK, but did you know there is also a vibrant club racing scene, with thousands of competitors getting out every weekend to have fun on four wheels?

They’re all part of Motorsport UK, the national membership organisation and governing body for four-wheel motorsport. Around 11,000 people hold a Motorsport UK Race competition licence and there are approximately 300 race events every year across the country.

If you want to join this community of racers, head to a track day to experience the thrill of driving on a circuit for the first time. Then, visit the Motorsport UK website to find your nearest car racing club. There are various clubs offering a wide range of events and championships in pretty much every kind of racing car you think of, from tin-tops to entry level single-seaters.

The next step is to get your Go Racing starter pack. This features more information on how to get on track, including details of the ‘ARDS’ course that you’ll need to take. The pack also includes the cost of your first Motorsport UK licence.

As a member of Motorsport UK you’ll also get access to lots of handy offers and discounts designed to offset some of the costs of motoring and competing, and get you closer to the action.

Other types of motorsport

Motorsport is so much more than racing. Motorsport UK oversees 10 other main types of the sport:

• Autocross: Competitors drive on a short course a grass or stubble field, against the clock. Perfect for newcomers
• Autotest: Drivers tackle a low-speed course without hitting any markers. Think Ken Block but on a more modest scale
• Cross Country: An off-road discipline combining rallying and trials. The best reason to get your 4×4 out of town
• Drag racing: Two cars and drivers see which can cover a quarter of a mile the quickest. The fastest and loudest motorsport of all
• Hill Climb: Competitors race against the clock on a narrow, uphill course. Not to be confused with an activity involving Ordnance Survey maps
• Karting: Most of today’s top racing drivers started in karting but it’s a sport in its own right. Get down to your local kart centre
• Rally: A driver and co-driver take on a series of competitive stages, usually in the forests. The sport that made Colin McRae and Richard Burns household names
• Rallycross: A combination of Rallying and Circuit Racing on a track that’s part gravel and part asphalt. This is where you’re guaranteed to find sideways wheel-to-wheel action
• Sprint: Drivers take turns setting times around a lap of a circuit or point-to-point course. Similar to Hill Climb
• Trials: A low-speed but highly challenging discipline and one of the most accessible forms of the sport. It’s about how far you go, not how fast you get there

Joining Motorsport UK

In total across all types of motorsport, there are 30,000 Motorsport UK competition licence holders. However, even if you don’t want to get behind the wheel, you can still become a member of Motorsport UK and support its work to promote fun on four wheels and protect motorsport for future generations.

What’s more, everyone who joins Motorsport UK gets access to its member benefits programme, with an exclusive range of offers and discounts designed to get you closer to the action and offset the costs of motoring. To discover more, click here.

Stay in touch with Motorsport UK

For all the latest news and updates, visit motorsportuk.org or follow @ourmotorsportuk on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.

To enquire about becoming a member, email membership@motorsportuk.org or call 01753 765 050.