Getting started

[Matra et Alpine]

In the UK, we are lucky to have a well supported road navigation tradition with many clubs and sites to assist.

The best starting place is the MSA, who are responsible for oever-seeing all motorsport activities. They have an excellent introductory pack for rallying which covers navigating and driving.

THe first question to ask is what standard do you want to compete at.
For local club road rallies it is NOT necessary to have a competition license.
For National champsionships a 'B' license is usually required and in some cases an 'A'.
For international ( and some national ) an 'A' license is needed.

'B' license is easy to get and is necessary before applying for an 'A'.
To get an 'A' license you need Clerk of Course signatures of at least 4 events on a 'B' license ( with the exception of the Navigators 'A' which just needs more money )

All the details can be found at the MSA site - http://www.msauk.org/

For other countires, there will be a national equivalnet who will offer the same license structures.

The first step to take in navigating is to find out if it interests you....
The best way to do that is to go along to local club and meet the folks and offer to assist marshalling and organising an event. marshals are always needed on events and initially you may only be assisting by holding the torch on the top of a hill on a small unmade road, but it's all about learning the ropes. Personally I think it is good to learn that experience as later you will appreciate the effort they're putting in when it's you competing

In the club, you will get to know people and they you. That gives you a chance to offer your navigational services to any willing driver. As everyoen wants to be a rally DRIVER, navigators are thin on the ground. So you will likely be offered a seat if you can prove you can read a map, plot a course and give instruction. Hopefully our little 'play' here will help you

Again, the experience of navigating will help you drive later. First as you will understand the difficulties the nav has and secondly you will be better at making pace notes !

We're going to initially focus on plot'n'bash techniques and tests.
Mainly because they are the easiest to teach adn test on-line.
Secondly, they are the usual starting point for low cost entry into rallying.
and finally a useful grounding to move onto pce notes and road books later on

There is a Q&A thread, where we can ask questions as we go on ANY aspect of navigating and I'll try to help.

However, putting it in context .... I am NOT an 'international' grade nav or driver. I recognised that many years ago. I consider myself a reasonable club nav - again NOT the best ( we'll discuss why when we get onto regularity sections later on ). I've had a gap of 15+years in competitive nav but not a lot has changed beyond the average speed

So should be fun for you and hopefully a little for me