MOVING ON UP a fixed racing seat, a multi-point harness, an FIA-approved plumbed-in fire extinguisher and an electrical kill switch.
The specifics of these will be stipulated in each championship’ s regulations, with reference back to the NCRs, so understanding how to navigate that information is essential – and this once daunting task has now been simplified by the recent launch of the new Motorsport UK App with an intelligently indexed search structure.
“ It’ s much more user friendly than trying to work through a 600-page PDF document,” promises Duncan.“ The navigation system is very intuitive once you understand the structure. There are chapters on general regulations and specific chapters for each discipline, and the App sorts and crossreferences between them all.
“ For example, the roll cage section will tell you basic requirements like the minimum tubing dimensions, the number and type of the required members, and then you can either make the cage yourself to those specifications or speak to specific roll cage manufacturers to find out the exact model you need for your particular vehicle.”
Motorsport engineer Will Snuggs first went through this process five years ago when he built a pair of CityCar Cup cars for his dad and a friend. He went on to set up a full-time business, WJS Motorsport, and says that although 80 per cent of the competitors in CityCar Cup choose to self-build, he is often asked to help when people find the skills involved are beyond their level.
“ I do full car builds, but I also help people who have built their own cars and, for example, are not able to weld,” he says.“ I have fitted a lot of roll cages, and I also do a lot of dash fitting, which are the main parts people struggle with. The more experience you have, the neater you can make it and the more you are able to spot the common mistakes.”
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The build process begins by stripping back the donor road car to a bare shell ready for the build, after which the roll cage is typically the first point of focus. Although all based on the NCR requirements, each one is vehicle specific and designed to follow the car’ s body contours as closely as possible to offer maximum safety.
“ The regulations dictate how many mounting points the cage needs to have in the vehicle and they can be bolted or welded,” explains Duncan.“ Smaller, slower cars have fewer fixing points and their locations on the body shell are vehicle-specific, to ensure they are positioned to provide the best survival cell area within the vehicle.
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