NOTICE
WARNING TO THE PUBLIC

MOTORSPORT CAN BE DANGEROUS

Despite the organisers taking all reasonable precautions, unavoidable accidents can happen.
Please comply with all instructions of marshals and notices and remain in permitted areas only.

THEY ARE CONCERNED WITH YOUR SAFETY

Hopefully this will explain the flag and lights system used at UK Oval meetings. Also on here you will find an explanation on how the races are run. For newcomers to the sport it can be confusing as to what is actually going on out there. Read on my good people!

 All forms of Oval Racing follow the same procedure and grading system. At the start of each race cars are staggered according to their colour grade. White tops line up first on the grid, then the Yellows, then the Blues, then Reds and finally the Superstars. A drivers grade is decided by the amount of points he has scored in any given grading period. Each grading period is usually one calendar month.  

 A new driver has a white roof with a black cross on the rear of his car to tell other drivers that he is a novice. The rules say that if the other drivers can avoid him then they must do so, but, during the course of a race if someone does make contact with him and it is not deliberate then no action will be taken by the race stewards. A novice has the option to line up in the race at the back of the grid. However, he can only use this option for a maximum of his first three meetings, after which the crosses must be removed and he must start at the front of the grid with the other white tops.

Yellow tops are made up of drivers who have scored enough points to move up the grid from white, or ex Blue tops who have not scored sufficient points to retain their grade. Blue tops are ex Yellows who have scored enough points to move up a grade or ex Red tops who have been demoted down a grade and so on.

Red tops are star drivers who have climbed through the grades. Red tops can be moved to Superstar status if they score enough points and can carry on their roofs flashing amber lights. A Red top or Superstar will always start at the rear of the grid, except on the occasions the Silver roof and the Gold roof is in attendance. The Silver roof is the National Points Champion. If the World Champion is racing at the meeting, noticeable by his Gold Roof then he will always start behind the Silver roof at the very back of the field.

Most cars move up and down the grid order as described above, however, it is possible for a driver to score enough points in a grading period to move straight from White up to Superstar. No driver can move down more than two grades though i.e a Blue top can't go down to White. This applies to all grades. If a driver returns to racing from retirement he will always start with the roof colour he attained prior to his retirement, only if he does not score enough points will he be down graded.

The usual format for the racing, if enough drivers are entered, is two heats each with the cars evenly split into each heat. The first ten drivers to finish their heats will automatically qualify for the meeting Final, with the remaining drivers going in to a Last Chance Consolation race where the top eight drivers will also qualify for the Final making a 28 car race. The first ten cars to finish the Final will score points. The last race of the meeting is the Grand National or All Comers race. When the driver who won the meeting Final enters this race he has the option to start at the front of the grid. This is known as a Full Lap Handicap and if the driver chooses to take this option all drivers in the race who are placed high enough at the finish will receive double points.

Is that clear enough? Thought not! Why not just get yourself along to your nearest Oval track and see what its all about!!