Forgive the pun, but it doesn’t get more grassroots than Autograss. This is motorsport at its most accessible, with a wide range of classes to suit every budget and plenty of meetings taking place across the length and breadth of the UK.
But just because it’s easy to become involved doesn’t mean it’s simple to succeed, as the racing is ferociously competitive, while there’s also a peculiar technical challenge that would test the skills of any racecar engineer – which is largely about nailing the starts… made on slippery, loose surfaces.
But before we get to the starts, let’s go back to the start. Autograss grew out of ‘Jalopy Racing’ in the 1960s – basically oval track racing in farmers’ fields. Then, in the 1970s, the disparate clubs came together under the auspices of a governing body, NASA (National Autograss Sports Association).
It would be lovely to say Autograss rocketed into the national motorsport consciousness from then on, but it’s always kept a low profile. Despite this, the sport is remarkably healthy, with over 3000 licence holders in the UK and up to 600 entries in the flagship British Championship events.
There are 10 classes in Autograss (plus classes for juniors), all of which feature two-wheel drive cars that race in a number of heats to qualify for a class final. Class 1 is for standard front-wheel drive under 1000cc; Class 2 for near-standard under 1300cc; 3 is rear-wheel drive with bigger engines; 4 is 1130cc maximum with unlimited modifications; 5 is open but the engine must be between 1131 and 1420cc with only two valves per cylinder, while 6 is pretty much anything goes, provided it’s front-wheel drive.
But for the purposes of this feature, we will concentrate on the quickest cars of all. These are the Class 7 unlimited super saloons and the Specials classes: 8, 9 and 10. All cars competing in these are capable of reaching speeds around 100mph on the quarter-mile oval tracks.
