MG Car Club of South Australia
MOTORSPORT LATE NEWS
From..Murray Stephenson
MSCA Super Sprint Come and Try
On Sunday 29 September the MSCA
ran another successful Come & Try
(C&T) super sprint at Mallala. Nineteen
eager souls participated in the event
which was again capably run by Bruce
and Petrina Astbury from MSCA Victo-
ria. This group had a number of women
and a broad range of ages making for
good discussion and some great learn-
ing for all. Eleven brave instructors vol-
unteered to ride with the participants
and help them to negotiate the track.
The numbers meant two groups had to
be fitted in to the program and, as the
sprinting numbers were also up, this
required a change to rolling starts for all
sessions.
The principle of the event is to show first
timers the joy of sprinting and develop
driving skills along the way in the hope
that they may continue to sprint and do it
safely.
Participants experienced the usual
sprinting process of documentation,
scrutineering and drivers briefing away
from the main sprint group and then took
in a classroom session to discuss driv-
ing techniques. The first C&T group then
took to the track with instructors on
board for an untimed, low speed
(100km/h max) session of five laps. For
many this is a tense time but over the
day they realise that Mallala is just a
road with limited traffic all travelling in
the same direction. Drivers start to relax
as they come to grips with the road and
the directions of their instructor. After the
second group has had a run the partici-
pants returned to the classroom for an-
other session including lines in corners,
braking technique, etc.
A second track session was run with
instructors on board and the speed limit
was released a bit to allow them to try
out their skills and cars a bit more. Stra-
tegically placed witches hats helped
guide drivers on lines in corners, al-
though some of the sprinters relocated
these hats over the day!
Back to the classroom for a debrief and
then two more sessions on track without
instructors although they were welcome
to ask their instructor to come again.
Across the day it was great to watch the
driving improve as the participants re-
laxed and gained confidence in their
abilities. They generally develop from a
tentative first session to smoother,
quicker runs during the day.
Feedback at the end of the day, and
since, has been good with participants
enjoying the track time while acknowl-
edging the educational aspects of the
day. Several have said they will be back
to sprint in the future. This was a fun day
for those involved with good weather,
great training and some fun track time as
well.
The first round of the 2020 MSCA Super
Sprint series will be run at Mallala on
Sunday 22 March and it is intended to
include a C&T component. Think about
this as a Christmas present for someone
who may have expressed an interest in
the past but has always been nervous to
try it. The vehicle requirements are re-
duced and the single day licence is in-
cluded in the $125 fee. Juniors are wel-
come, fourteen years and older, but pref-
erably should have had some prior ex-
perience such as motorkhanas and the
like.
Contact Murray Stephenson on 0419
565 970 for more information or watch
the MSCA website, www.mscasa.com
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