March 24, 2007

If you were to grade your last Sunday on a fun factor scale of one to ten, what would it have scored? Six, seven, maybe an eight?

Well mine was a full on level-busting 11!

I have to admit, it does take something special to pull me out of a warm bed on a cold Sunday morning, and hanging around a Tavistock car park braving snow showers and biting wind might not have dragged you away from your cosy duvet - but I don't regret it one bit.



As some of you may already know, I am a relatively new member of the Plymouth Motor Club. And since joining last year I guarantee you I have never had so much honest fun on four (and sometimes three) wheels.

So my Sunday was spent alongside my good friend, and long standing club member, Wayne Grimshaw competing in the thrilling motorsport known as autotesting. Yes, I know it might not sound quite as glamorous as formula one or super bikes, but it's something everyone should try at least once.

If you've not experienced it before, autotesting involves manouvering a car around a set course marked out by cones or tyres against the clock. This is done using forward and reverse gears and mainly involves use of the handbrake. Time penalties are added to your test if a cone or marker is touched, or if you navigate incorrectly around the cones.

Once you've memorised each course the real fun begins. Autotesting requires skill, sharp concentration and 100 percent attention, but the rewards are huge.

Shaving a few tenths of a second off your last test time definitely makes you feel like Marcus Gronholm, and beating a skilled club member puts an even bigger grin on your face - although from personal experience don't expect that to happen too often!

And before you get any ideas that it's all £10,000 performance cars up on ramps and a team of racing engineers tinkering around underneath - stop. This really can be motorsport on a budget. As reported in my previous articles, the car I get to compete in cost Wayne the grand sum of £175. Hardly Formula One stuff.

I have to admit, at first you may find the feeling rather bizarre. Getting in to a car normally involves adhering to a strict set of rules, but rules for autotesting are completely bonkers. Don't drive slow, drive fast. Don't brake gently, yank on the handbrake? I'm sure you're starting to build a mental picture of what fun I had.

For me, autotesting provides the perfect relief for my frustration with today's driving-by-numbers roads and ever increasing laws. When was the last time you hand-braked a car round traffic cones in a haze of smoke?

But what I find really impressive about the Plymouth Motor Club is the people involved. It takes a lot of organization just to keep the club moving forward, let alone booking an entire car park for a day's autotesting. Despite all manner of setbacks and problems that can occur, the club always pulls together to make it all happen.

It's this sort of passion for motorsport that enables events such as last Sunday to be so well run and successful. The club has been going strong for almost 100 years now and continues to provide some great motorsport ranging from autotesting, hill climbs, sprints, treasure hunts and scatters. There's also a great social side to the club too.

If you want to read and see more on my adventures with the club, and to find out how I got on last Sunday, log on to www.thisisplymouth.co.uk next week where I'll be giving a full rundown of last Sunday's event, backed up with pictures, exciting video action of autotesting and an interview with the club's Wayne Grimshaw himself. And for more information on Plymouth Motor Club, and how to get involved with local motorsport, go to www.plymouthmotorclub.co.uk.