Hi Frank

You are correct. In order to get the lowest level (National B) stage rally drivers licence you will need to get the starters pack & pass the BARS test. Joining a motor club is an excellent idea & Malton looks like a good choice. They are actively involved in rallying - organising their own events, including an annual forest stage rally. It's probably worthwhile joining before taking your BARS test as you'll find out a lot by participating in the club activities. Don't just restrict yourself to driving. Get out and marshal or help with timekeeping - you'll learn how an event runs. Before attempting to work on your own car go out on events and act as a mechanic servicing for other club members - you'll learn a lot about car preparation. Co-drive or navigate for somebody if you get the chance - it will give you experience on an event so that when you drive yourself it will be more familiar. Once you've seen the sorts of events that are available you can then think about the car you need and what preparation is appropriate - a forest car is not the same as a tarmac car. Buying a prepared car is probably better than preparing your own as it will have all of the essentials already and probably a lot of good modifications that you only learn by stuff breaking and causing you to retire from events. You'll probably still want to change things to suit yourself though, so be prepared to spend some time working on it before your first event. Don't forget that seat belts & seats are lifed and have an expiry date so if you need to buy them leave it as late as possible. Stage rally cars need a competition car log book from the MSA so if you buy one make sure the book is transferred, if you prepare your own it will need to be inspected by a scrutineer to make sure it complies with the MSA regulations (https://www.msauk.org/assets/144-155...ehiclesj-3.pdf and https://www.msauk.org/assets/293-338...allyingr-1.pdf) to get its log book. Those two sections are enough to get you started. You'll get a full printed set of the MSA regulations when you get your starter pack.

Good luck & have fun!