As part of the ongoing effort to improve the operation and jurisdiction of the Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy, championship organisers Lydden Hill have made a formal request to Motorsport UK to overhaul the judicial process and bring the series in line with how FIA World Championship events are run.

All motor sport disciplines under the governance of Motorsport UK are held under the National Competition Rules (NCRs) issued and updated by Motorsport UK. In accordance with these NCRs, the traditional judicial system has been a three-tier process with the first judicial body being the Clerk of the Course. Any decision made by the Clerk of the Course could then be appealed to the second judicial body, namely the Stewards of the Event. There is then a final appeal to the last remaining body, the National Court.

5NBRX is seeking permission from Motorsport UK to vary the judicial procedure to allow the Stewards of the Event to act as the first judicial body. This would mean that the Panel of three Stewards would then be responsible for investigating and issuing decisions regarding all on track driving infringements. However, offences reported by a Judge of Fact will be reserved under the powers of the Clerk of the Course, except for judgements of fact regarding technical infringements which would be referred to the Stewards of the Event. This exemption is permitted under the current NCRs and 5NBRX are now seeking authority to undertake the revised procedure.

The proposed change will enable decisions to be made much quicker, enabling events to be run much more efficiently and would mean that potential delays caused by the extended judicial process can be avoided.

The organisers are more than aware of the extremely tight schedule at events which can include less than one hour separating each session. In addition, this would mean that the panel of Stewards are more productive at events now that they would be involved in adjudicating on track incidents.

Under the current system, the Stewards could be seen to be underutilised as other than ensuring the event is run safety and in accordance with the NCRs, their active involvement in the event would depend on whether or not an Appeal was submitted against a decision of the Clerk of the Course.

5 Nations BRX is aware that judicial system for even the most seasoned driver can be daunting. The organisers have produced a short judicial guide which has been uploaded onto the Competitors section of the 5 Nations BRX website and is available here. All competitors and teams are advised to understand this, as it does contain valuable information of how the judicial system at an event works. Obviously should approval of the plans be obtained from Motorsport UK, the briefing document will be updated.

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