2023

Notes to accompany HRA Championship progress scores, issued 8 April 2023.

See 2023 HRA Championship Scores page.

It would make my life easier if, before entering a club championship scoring event, each member could advise me of their date of birth (both crew members) and details of the vehicle being used—specifically which HRA class it fits in (remember if it is SCC it could also be H81, P81, R25_2WD or R25_4WD). Please send an email to clubscorer@hra.org.au with the details.

The HRA Championship Scorer’s role is not always a simple one. Getting hold of a set of results for each championship round is fairly straightforward. But then comes the job of interpreting them. None of the counting events uses the HRA class structure. There are standalone events, like the George Woods Rally and the Boisdale Rallysprint, which use their own classes. There are many VCRS events included; these use the VCRS class structure. In addition to vehicle classes, we have Championships for Novices and Masters, the latter for the over 55s (far too young a cut off age given the HRA’s demographic—in my opinion, we would be better off with a category for younger people, say under 35).

So, what does the scorer do?

I spend hours searching the internet for vehicle specifications, needing to know the year of manufacture so I can identify the actual model involved and then seeing if that model was available before the relevant cut off date—1/1/1981 for H81 and P81 classes or 1/1/1998 for the R25 classes in 2023 … for R25_2WD and R25_4WD, the cut off date will advance each year. If I don’t have a date of vehicle manufacture, I simply guess and rely on the crew and their competitors to point out errors.

As Assistant Clerk of Course for the George Woods Rally, I had access to the full entry data, which supplied me with Drivers’ and Entrants’ (but not Navigators’) dates of birth; also, the year of manufacture of the competition vehicle. This gave me a good start for the year, but I still need that information for crews who did not do the GWR.

The difference between H81 and P81 is not something I know much about. I think there are more freedoms within P81 (pre-81 vehicle meeting MA PRC requirements) than within H81 (pre-81 vehicle meeting MA HRC requirements). Currently the only vehicle being run that, I believe, meets the HRC specs is John Moore’s Morris 1100; there may be more, but you need to advise me if you are running one.

Where an event is open to SCC-type vehicles, I try to determine which of the HRA classes each SCC car fits. Mostly they are post-1981 so will be one of R25_2WD or R25_4WD. As SCC cars are ‘standard’, any pre-81 cars will likely be H81 (as for the Morris 1100).

I often have to guess the crews’ ages. I frequently get this wrong; having been around for years, I remember many current competitors starting out in the sport—so they must be under 55, surely. WRONG! It is up to the individual competitor to advise their DoB so I can enter it in the database and allot points in the Masters Championship when appropriate. Incidentally, you must be over 55 on 1 January in the relevant competition year to be classified as a Master. And, you must compete in a vehicle complying with the H81, P81, R25_2WD or R25_4WD specs.

As I’m also in charge of maintaining the HRA Grading list, I can easily determine crews eligible for the Novice Championship. Let me point out that to score, both crew members must be Novices as at 1 January in the relevant competition year. And, you must compete in a vehicle complying with the H81, P81, R25_2WD or R25_4WD specs.

The Touring Championship makes a return this year, with enough events scheduled to ensure there will be enough actually run to provide a championship. The rules are not completely clear, but I understand that any vehicle is eligible for this championship. I will seek committee confirmation of that statement as it may be that the intent is to restrict scoring to those vehicles that comply with the H81, P81, R25_2WD or R25_4WD specs.

I will try to update and publish the scores after each event. I need your help to ensure I have classified vehicles and people correctly. I realise that the SCC championships that are scored by Rob Cranston are much easier to do as each competitor/car must be registered with Rob before competing. Maybe we should do the same for all the other championships—fill in a form to be eligible to score points… Comments?

Nick Wright
HRA Club Scorer