Someone once said, “it’s very hard to accurately describe a road rally - it either sounds a bit tedious or highly illegal”.  And how right they were. 

If you describe it as orienteering in a car, it sounds rather pedestrian and dull, but then as soon as you mention that it’s competitive driving on public roads, people can’t believe it’s legal, and think you crazy (an assumption which many might confirm!).  But there must be something in it that makes us take to the roads time and again.

Wessex Motor Club has been getting adrenaline pumping for almost 50 years.  The club is affiliated to SUSU and to UK motorsport’s governing body the MSA, which regulates everything from autotests to Formula 1.  This gives our members the opportunity to compete and get involved in a wide range of motorsports, run by clubs up and down the country. 

We run our own championships each year, which consist of 10 events from the start of the academic year until Easter.  These events take two forms: navigational scatters and 12-car rallies.  The first is, broadly speaking, a treasure hunt, where clues are solved to give a point on the map which you visit and receive points for doing so, and the second is a fixed-route event completed within a time schedule. 

You do not need to have a modified, high-performance, fully prepped car to compete in our events.  As long as it moves, you can use it (and if it does move, you’ll have an advantage over many of our members!).  We provide an opportunity to enjoy motorsport on a student budget.

Wessex Motor Club is also the ideal place to start if you’re a beginner. 

We have many experienced members who are only too happy to assist and train new crews, and as our events increase in difficultly as the season progresses, you’re not thrown in at the deep end.  All we ask for is enthusiasm, and perhaps a touch of insanity.  Our members compete in regional and national road rallies, with considerable success. 

Olly Smith and Jonah Nuttgens won their class in September’s Powerush Road Rally, and Ceri Owen won her class in the Bullnose Road Rally, to mention just a few success stories.  We also run our own road rally, the Funky Elephant.  Last April was its first year, and it was a widely acclaimed event.  It firmly established Wessex on the road rallying map, and allowed our crews to shine, as Wessex crews won the Expert, Semi-Expert and Clubmans classes. 

We’re also hosting the National Student Motorsport Championship this year, which we won in 1997.  Last year Southampton went to Edinburgh, and finished second, so we have high hopes of scooping a victory on home territory.  Our members also participate in the British Universities Karting Championship.  We finished 2nd in 2000, our first full year, and as the club now owns a kart, we’re looking forward to another successful season.

So if you fancy yourself as the next Colin McRae, Richard Burns or Nicky Grist, or you’re just a petrolhead who likes good pubs visit our website www.soton.ac.uk/~motor to see how you can get involved in the university’s most high-speed, high-octane club.

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