UTS Autotest
The UTS Autotest is ran annually by Whickham and District Motor Club and is a qualifying round of the ANECCC Autotest Championship.
Autotesting must be one of the cheapest forms of Motorsport, entry fees are usually around £12.50 - £15 and you can have a most enjoyable days competition for very little cost. It is a sport where skill is more important than having an expensive powerful car allowing talent to shine over budget.

The objective is to negotiate a course marked out with cones, pylons etc sticking to the correct route in as short a time as possible. The route is set out in a test diagram which is given out so that competitors can study & walk the route prior to their run. The tests involve competitors using both forward & reverse gears and often the use of the handbrake. They are required to cross lines, stop astride lines, park in garages, circle around bollards, perform handbrake turns & reverse flick turns with the added pressure of being timed to the second.

Cars compete against the clock, quickest wins the tests, however penalties can be awarded for failing to stop astride, hitting a bollard or going the wrong way. The competitor with the lowest score i.e. fastest time with the least penalties is the winner.

Surfaces used are usually smooth, tarmac & or concrete, more often than not a large Car Park, cars are divided into basic classes depending on how the organiser sees fit usually:-

  • Minis & specials
  • Front wheel drive cars
  • Rear wheel drive cars

During 2004 the championship has included a Novice class for anyone who had not been actively competing in Autotests before 2004, this class will be open in 2005 for people who have not been actively competing in Autotests before 2005. All novices will compete in the same class irrespective of their car, this should make for reasonably close competition for beginners in this sport.

The Autotest Whickham & DMC organise is a Dual Permit event, National B & Clubsport. The Clubsport is the section the novice would enter, you do not even need a Competition Licence only a club card.

You don’t need a specialist autotest car as you can use your standard road car if you wish, you can even share the car with another driver & reduce your costs even more! You can use your standard road car without any mods whatsoever and as tyre wear is more than usual you could get some cheap secondhand tyres just for the events. You could even use an MOT failure providing you get it to & from the event on a trailer or something similar. Jimmy Knox won his Class in an old Fiesta he’d picked up for the day, another competitor has a car that cost him £50! So what is stopping you competing in Autotests? The thriving ANECCC Championship means there are sufficient events to allow you to have fun all year.
This diagram shows what might be expected of the driver at a simple autotest. The finish is located in the same place as the start, and the only section requiring reverse is indicated with a dotted line. These can get more complicated as the day moves on and with no navigator to direct you around the course you will need to memorise the route as much as possible beforehand, as stopping to look at the diagram will cost you time and going the wrong way will cost you penalties.

Anyone interested in competing please contact Gordon Bradford on 01914960926 or 07802672950 or alternatively email: gordon.bradford@talk21.com

Results for 2005 UTS autotest download here:

Excel format (91kb)