Delado Motor Club Oak Farm, Tolleshunt Major, Maldon, Essex
Delado Motor Club has been created to introduce junior drivers from the age of 12 -17 along with adult drivers the opportunity to sample rallying at a low cost in a safe and controlled environment.
Delado host a wide range of activities from teaching days, practice and testing days. We also hold a rally sprint championship.
The club is based at Oak Farm, just outside Tiptree and we have our own area of the farm which includes a stage which is just over 1.5 miles in length but loops back on itself so giving a stage length of approx 3 miles per competitive run. The stage has been designed by Baz Cannon and is a nice technical combination of fast flowing and tight bends with both up and down hill sections. The stage is well maintained and rolled prior to every event so preventing any serious rutting on corners etc.
We also have a club house which, whilst basic at the moment gives somewhere to sit and we also serve hot and cold drinks and snacks throughout the day. Any profits made go back into the club funds. It is our intention to build/improve the club house facilities in the future.
The club runs a Rallysprint championship which consists of 9 rounds. The best 7 scores are counted for each competitor. Each round consists of a practise run and 7 timed runs. All timed runs count and the total time for the 7 stages determines round winners etc. Points are also awarded for FTD of the day.
Each round is run in the same way as an MSA event. All cars go through scrutineering prior to the event and each driver must be a member of the club, sign on at the start and attend the drivers briefing.
The stage is marshalled throughout and marshals are equipped with fire extinguishers at various points around the stage. A safety car is also equipped with fire extinguisher etc. Cars run on the stage one at a time so there is no risk of being baulked or blinded by dust etc. We use a rolling start for each stage where the car approaches the start in 1st gear approx 10 miles per hour and when the flag is dropped accelerates away. This was implemented to reduce the amount of strain placed on clutches, transmission etc and to reduce the rutting at the start line. It has worked very well so far and is one of the ways we are trying to keep potential costs to a minimum for all those competing.
We alternate the direction that the stage is used for each event so giving 2 stages.
The club is run on a members only basis with an adults membership being £125 per year (1st Jan to 31 Dec). The cost to enter each round is £35 per driver. It is possible for cars to be double driven provided both drivers have joined.
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