Scrutineering
This section contains general guidelines for scrutineering.
It should be useful to scrutineers and competitors alike.
CONTENTS
Subject Section
Introduction
Chassis 1
Brakes 2
Steering 3
Throttle spring 4
Tow / Recovery Points 5
Fuel Tanks 6
Springs 7
U-bolts 8
Seat belts 9
Bumpers 10
Fire extinguishers 11
Battery 12
Electrical cut-off 13
Competition numbers 14
Roll-cages 15
Silhouette 16
Wheels 17
Tyres 18
Differentials 19
Engine & gearbox mounts 20
Exhausts & noise 21
Crash helmets 22
Scrutineering check list. 23
Notes on terminology:-
Originally, the term Land-Rover (note the hyphen) was a vehicle type produced by the Rover Company. Then came Land Rover Ltd producing Land Rover branded vehicles such as the Range Rover, One-Ten and Ninety. Currently, the company is called Land Rover and is a member of Jaguar Land Rover owned by TATA. The product range names are Defender, Range Rover, Discovery and Freelander. In this handbook, Ninetys / 90s and One-Tens / 110s and Defenders are all considered to be the same range.
If you need any further clarification, please contact any of the ALRC scrutineers.
Scrutineering
Introduction
For a vehicle to participate in a motor sport event, it must be in a safe and sound condition, and it must comply with all applicable regulations. For the ALRC, the main regulations are contained in the MSA 2015 Yearbook; and the ALRC Handbook (which you are reading now!) The MSA Yearbook contains many regulations which end in “unless stated otherwise in Supplementary Regulations” Many of these options are taken up by the ALRC on a permanent basis and are to be found as part of the ALRC rule set. So the ALRC Handbook effectively contains Regulations and Supplementary Regulations (SRs). The ALRC is not permitted to make a rule that sets a standard lower than an MSA one. The ALRC can, and often does, set a higher or more restrictive standard. In most cases, this is a result of the ALRC being a one-marque club. Event organisers may create further Supplementary Regulations to suit their needs, and these must be published with the event entry forms so that competitors will know all the applicable rules and regulations before the event starts.
It all starts off with the entrant or driver, usually one and the same. Among the principal rules that the entrant or driver must heed, when presenting the vehicle for scrutineering, are the following MSA regulations:-
H.32.1.5. An entrant shall, before the event, satisfy himself as to the eligibility and safety of the vehicle and safety equipment and the competence of its driver.
H.32.1.6. An entrant shall furthermore ensure that a vehicle is maintained in an eligible and safe condition throughout the event or meeting.
H.32.1.7. The act of presenting a vehicle and safety equipment for official scrutiny shall be deemed a declaration of its fitness and eligibility for the event and an acceptance of the consequences of such a declaration not being valid.
H.32.1.8. Vehicles shall comply with the MSA Technical Regulations and any appropriate Approved Formulae Regulations.
H.32.1.9. There shall be no requirement for eligibility of a vehicle additional to the preceding point unless such requirement is stated in the SRs.
The following is also pertinent:-
J. 3.1.1. The fact of obtaining a Scrutineer’s approval at prevent scrutiny does not indicate that the Scrutineer is accepting any responsibility for the safety or the roadworthiness of the vehicle, nor does it indicate that the vehicle complies in all respects with the Regulations. Please note that pre-event scrutineering or logbook inspection by a scrutineer is only a spot check of a limited number of key safety and eligibility features of a vehicle’s condition. Alone it will not guarantee that the vehicle meets all applicable regulations or standards.
So if the vehicle is examined during or after the event and found to be out of compliance with the regulations, it may be excluded from the results. If the problem was something that the entrant feels the scrutineer should have spotted before the event, the entrant has no come-back against the scrutineer. !
The Documentation:-
Let’s have a look at the required documentation first. The car may be fine but if you haven’t brought the necessary papers with you, then you won’t be able to compete. For a Road Taxed Vehicle (RTV) or a Tyro Trial, the required documentation is fairly straightforward; an ALRC club membership card and the event entry forms are all you need. The signing-on sheets will carry a declaration that you have a valid driving licence and a valid MoT certificate (where applicable). The entrant does not need to present these for examination. For a Cross Country Vehicle trials (CCV) you’ll need an ALRC log-book in addition. (See article elsewhere relating to log-book procedure.) For any timed event such as Competitive Safari, Team Recovery, Timed Trial, etc., competitors will need an ALRC log-book and a Clubman's Licence (at least) obtainable from the MSA. Club cards and Competition licences, where applicable, will normally be checked at 'signing on'. This is very much simpler than other forms of motor-sport where insurance cover must be produced, mandatory competition licences and homologation papers etc. shown.
The Scrutineers:-
So who are scrutineers and what are their powers and duties? For RTV and CCV trials, the scrutineer needs only to be a club appointment, he or she does not need to be a Motor Sports Association (MSA) official. For Competitive Safari, Timed Trial, Team Recovery etc. the Scrutineer will need to be a National Scrutineer at least.
Their main duties are twofold:-
a) is the vehicle safe and sound. and
b) to check the vehicles' eligibility for the event, that is, does it fulfil the requirements of the ALRC and MSA regulations.
Contrary to popular opinion, the Scrutineers want you to compete; they aren’t really looking for reasons to stop you. However, if they do find something untoward in a) or b) above, then they will have to act on it.
NOTE the following MSA regulations:-
D.33.2. The main purpose of Pre-Event Scrutineering is to check, as far as possible under the prevailing conditions, the safety of the vehicle and safety equipment for compliance with Technical Regulations and to superficially check its eligibility for a particular class or category (G.6.7, H.32, J.3).
This is similar to the earlier quote and indicates that the Scrutineers will always carry out safety checks before an event. But note that this rule allows them to carry out only basic eligibility checks before the event. Detailed eligibility checks may be carried out after the event:-
J.3.1.4. At the conclusion of a competition, a number of vehicles, as agreed by the Clerk of the Course and the Scrutineers, or as ordered by the Stewards, or as laid down in the Regulations, may be required to be presented for Post-Event Scrutiny. No work may be done on such vehicles after finishing the competition except by permission or request of the Scrutineers, until after the examination is completed and the vehicle released. It is the responsibility of the competitor to provide appropriate tools and personnel within an agreed time to carry out the work required.
This is common practice in many motor sport disciplines and often only the top few finishing positions in the event will be examined. This practice is rare in a small club event. The downside to this practice is that a vehicle may compete in several events without much success whilst actually being ineligible during this period. Suddenly it wins but is rejected due to that ineligibility being discovered! Furthermore, the cause of the failure may be easy to fix and the driver could easily have rectified the problem before the event if only he had known about it.
The scrutineer’s duties also include making a report to the Clerk of the Course (CoC) about the vehicles entered. It is the duty of the scrutineer to report an unsafe or ill-prepared vehicle, or one that doesn't comply with the rules, to the Clerk of the Course who will make a judgement as to whether the vehicle is allowed to compete. It is not the scrutineer who decides if the vehicle can compete. So the scrutineer may “fail” the vehicle and the CoC may not allow it to compete. However annoying or upsetting, this process is in place to protect you (from yourself sometimes) and others from possible danger which you could avoid by better preparation.
Should, for example, a person be injured following an accident whilst a vehicle is competing and there is a Judicial Inquiry, such as a Coroner's Court, the scrutineer would have to give evidence that the vehicle was fit to enter. If the cause of the accident was a badly corroded brake pipe, or collapsed engine / gearbox mountings then that is the responsibility of the driver as defined in MSA regulations H.32.1.5. to H.32.1.9 quoted earlier. This could open the way to litigation against the driver (as J. 3.1.1. takes the responsibility of this off the shoulders of the scrutineer.) Thankfully in Land Rover club circles those litigation doors have not yet been opened and this must be due to the responsible attitude that the scrutineers and most competitors show. Keep it up!
In a sport where there are few cash prizes, and helping your fellow competitors is still the name of the game, some people will still lie and cheat in their efforts to pass scrutineering. Perhaps it may be better said that people tend to neglect the vehicle preparation side or don't read the vehicle regulations properly. No matter what the reason is, if a scrutineer reports your vehicle as being unsatisfactory due to bad preparation or rule infringements, please think about it from their point of view before coming to the boil.
Should you still feel that the scrutineer's judgement is wrong, there is a right of appeal. Lodge a protest initially to the Secretary of the Meeting who will consult the Clerk of the Course. At a major event, your protest may end up with the ALRC Scrutineering Committee, a nationally spread body of people which has been set up specifically to establish an equality of scrutineering standards throughout all Rover Clubs. If they are not present, the following may apply:-
G.7.2.5. The decision of a Scrutineer may be overruled by the Stewards of the Meeting in the course of adjudicating on a properly registered Appeal..
Scrutineers are not 'God', but just like all officials in motor sport, whether Cross Country Vehicle eventing or Grand Prix Formula One, without them there would be no event.
If scrutineering closes at 10:00 a.m. it is no good arriving at 10:15 a.m. Scrutineering is closed and if you are not self-controlled enough to accept that you have made a mistake without shouting and swearing, you shouldn't be in motor sport at all, least of all the friendly circles that Rover Club eventing provides. At a club event, a friendly chat with the scrutineer may yield acceptable results.
So what are the safety and eligibility checks previously mentioned?
The safety checks are usually self evident. Loose, damaged, corroded or badly worn parts present obvious dangers, but difficulties can arise over competitors' more 'esoteric' designs for equipment which may, in the eyes of its constructor be perfectly safe, but in the eyes of any other person, the scrutineer included, it may not be. Other people may be polite, the scrutineer is obliged to be honest, and for the sake of safety, report the vehicle as unacceptable. If you intend to do something to a vehicle which is not clearly defined, or maybe it’s something that appears to fit the rules but no-one else has done before, then do ask the advice of your club scrutineer first. If there is any doubt, then put your intended ideas in writing to the ALRC Scrutineering Committee for an opinion. That way it will avoid possible disappointment and expense. You won’t get an instant response, so if you’re thinking of trying something bold, then allow for the Scrutineering Committee to get together and discuss the matter.
Vehicle eligibility is complex with various regulations of the MSA (see the MSA Yearbook or “Blue Book”) and the ALRC (ALRC Handbook or “Green Book”) to be complied with. BOTH sets of regulations are subject to change from time to time and BOTH sets must be complied with. For those of you without Competition Licences or who are not MSA officials, the relevant sections of the MSA Yearbook are printed elsewhere in this Handbook. Furthermore, don’t forget to read the Supplementary Regulations (SRs) mentioned earlier.
So, what is the scrutineer going to check for? How can you ensure that when you present your machine it will pass the safety and vehicle eligibility checks? First of all, read the Vehicle Regulations. It may sound rather silly, but many competitors, even those “long in the tooth” don't read them thoroughly, or don't realise that they have changed. Having read them, apply them to your vehicle; think about what each regulation says and have a current copy in your hand whilst you check to see that everything is right.
Having done that and having looked underneath the vehicle yourself, can you see everything? Is everything clean or is it covered in a layer of mud? Most checks are visual and if your vehicle is clean without mud or dirt obscuring everything it will be quicker and easier. Scrutineers are well within their rights to refuse to check a vehicle covered with mud and will send you away to clean it before they'll inspect it.