^{Photo: Neil Dockray}

Based on the well received format for the 2001 championship, the 2002 Goodyear British Off Road Championship takes in an extra event and has its sights firmly set on being the best value for money British championship. For an entry fee of only £300 for the whole year the competitor gets five high quality, high mileage competitive safaris, ten days of solid racing! That is the equivalent of just £30 per competition day!

With the support of title sponsor Goodyear promised for the next three years the organising team have had the basis to go out and find the best sites in the UK. With some quality terrain and the events spread geographically right around the country the championship is certainly worthy of the prestige of it's British title. The 2002 Goodyear British Off Road Champion will be no hollow victor, but instead will have had to earn the title by speed, skill and consistency.

Retained for the new season is the, as yet, untried inclusion of a control tyre. Goodyear's excellent Wrangler MT/R has been chosen as the tyre that all competitors must use if they are to challenge for the British title. Despite the absence of the 2001 series (at the hands of the foot-and-mouth epidemic) many competitors have already tried out the Goodyear tyres in advance of next year's championship. Leading modified production contender Simon Dowdeswell (Land Rover 90) and record producer Julian Mendelsohn in his new Bowler Wildcat have both been using the aggressive Goodyear tyre to good effect.

The inclusion of a control tyre is advantageous two ways. Firstly it puts all competitors onto a level playing field. No longer will the competitor who can afford to bring several different sets of tyres to each event to match the conditions have any advantage, driving skill will be to the fore. Secondly by the introduction of a control tyre Goodyear are driving down the costs for the competitor. Not only will the Wrangler MT/R be available at a special British Off Road Championship price from selected dealers, but it is also considerably more durable than the remould special tyres that have recently become the mainstay of the sport. The Goodyear Wrangler MT/R  has the competitive edge, as it is designed specifically as an off road tyre and uses strong 'first' life carcasses. Five times British Off Road Champion, Bruce Tigwell, wrote that "tyres like these are set to move our sport on to bigger and better heights of off road performance and reliability."

2001 was a bit of a non-starter for off road motorsport due to the foot-and-mouth epidemic, but the organising team of the Goodyear British Off Road Championship have not been idle. The team ran four successful low-profile pilot events under the '4x4 Festival' banner. Each of these have provided a valuable platform from which to build the 2002 British Championship. Championship promoter Selwyn Kendrick said "The enforced break has given us the opportunity to build upon what we had proposed for 2001, and allowed us to try out some new ideas."

The 2002 Goodyear British Off Road Championship opens in April with two days at a new site in the South East of England, close to Tunbridge Wells. This is possibly the best off roading terrain in the south east. The event takes place on a well known country estate, leading the competitors and spectators alike down beautiful tree-lined avenues, before tackling slopes more akin to those found in mid-Wales.

Round two shifts towards the North to another new site near Leeds.

July means the annual trip to Scotland. The Goodyear British Off Road Championship round is a week after the superb Scottish Hillrally giving both the spectators and the competitors the wonderful opportunity of a fantastic weeks holiday in beautiful Perthshire between the events. Facilities will be made available for camping and fettling the vehicles as well as activities for all the family.

The Midlands is host to the fourth round near Swindon. A real fast treat is in store here, with a blend of gravel tracks, grass land and tarmac roads!

The final is at the popular Seven Sisters site in South Wales. Glyn-Neath should see a dramatic finale to the championship, a fast and furious dash to the finish always runs the risk of an upset here amongst the solid Welsh rocks.

The emphasis in course design is to choose good fun and flowing courses rather than ones ending in needless vehicle damage. The organising team comprises some of the UK's best course builders - Terry Day, Peter Head, Andy Mills and Chris Tomley to name a few.

Each of the event weekends will contain two days of competition and are designed to combine fun with some of the closest racing. On the social side, the two day format gives everyone the opportunity to relax and let their hair down. Officials, marshals, spectators and competitors alike will welcome the opportunity to relax and catch up with friends and like-minded people.

The organising team are working hard to get the Goodyear British Off Road Championship the profile that it deserves. The championship has a dedicated media and public relations person and with the backing of multi-national companies such as Goodyear and the Ford Motor Company the media profile is assured. The championship already has a substantial presence on the internet at www.britishoffroadchampionship.co.uk where you can catch up with the all the latest news or find out more about the competition. Many of the off road and motorsport magazines will be covering the championship, and the organisers are looking towards more coverage in the national newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and the internet.

Championship spokesman Henry Webster says "We are particularly keen to encourage production based vehicles, as well as the established specials. The media coverage is geared to providing as much exposure for these classes as for the outright winners."

The Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin first seen at the Autosport International Show back in January of last year and developed by Ralliart Co-Ordsport has attracted huge interest throughout the year, culminating in a class win a the Second 4x4 Festival of Wales at the demanding Seven Sisters site. More are expected in 2002.

For those competitors who deem the challenge of the whole Goodyear British Off Road Championship to be too great, or cannot commit the time to the whole championship, there will be an opportunity to enter individual rounds in a clubman competition. There will be no clubman championship, but competitors can enter either on the Sunday only of each event for £50 or the whole weekend for £100. It will not be a requirement for the competitors in the clubman event to use the control tyre.

At the Autosport International Show (January 10-13) the championship exhibited a Mitsubishi Pinin 1.8 GDI Van that has been prepared by Ralliart Co-ordsport to compete on the Goodyear British Off Road Championship and the Goodyear National Hillrally Championship. The vehicle on display has been the 2001 development vehicle, a development which saw it claim class honours on the demanding 4x4 Festival of Wales in October. This vehicle is now on sale and features all the latest development parts including remote reservoir Proflex dampers. The asking price is £13,500 + VAT. Similar vehicles are in build and could be bought for the same sort of price as a Group N single make rally contender, but the running costs are much lower.

Alongside the Mitsubishi on the show stand is a Ford Ranger pick up ready for use in the production class of the Goodyear British Off Road Championship, this vehicle is destined to become the championship's spectator safety unit. With the support of the Ford Motor Company we hope to see Ford Ranger pick-ups competing on the championship in 2002.

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