Competitor's Guide to Motorsport South Africa Competition Rules All Ages 2026

GCR 121 says competitors must know the rules of the competition they enter. In particular, you must:

• hold a licence of the correct grade and have it available throughout the event;
• present your licence in person at scrutineering or documentation;
• have passed any required medical before the licence was issued;
• wear the approved protective clothing for that competition;
• refuse to compete in a vehicle you know is ineligible;
• not enter more than one meeting on the same date without permission;
• obey the instructions of officials at all times, taking any dispute to the Clerk of the Course;
• attend briefings and any prize-giving where the regulations require it;
• race only on FIA-, CIK-, FIM- or MSA-approved tracks, and only in events with an MSA organising permit (unsanctioned events bring the strongest penalties);
• know the driving conduct rules for the event;
• not have prior knowledge of the route in rallies, off-road, enduro and similar events unless MSA allows it.

Under GCRs 166 and 253 to 256:

• Before the event: every vehicle must be scrutineered (by officials, or by competitors themselves where self-scrutineering applies) before any timed practice or race. At minimum this is a visual safety check plus general compliance with the class entered. Your safety equipment (helmet, clothing) must be available for checking on demand.
• Self-Declaration Scrutineering form: every competitor or entrant must complete one before the event and show it to officials on request.
• Presenting a vehicle counts as declaring it legal. You accept the consequences if it is not.
• Detailed internal checks usually happen after the event, after a protest or as set in the regulations. The Clerk of the Course, Stewards or MSA can order any vehicle examined, in writing. Vehicles awaiting checks stay under parc fermé conditions.
• Anything found during a strip is acted on, even if it was not part of the original protest. Non-compliant parts are impounded until protests and appeals are finished.
• Refusing to make a vehicle or part available, or to accept liability for strip costs, means the vehicle is deemed ineligible and automatically excluded.
• The Clerk of the Course can exclude any vehicle the scrutineers consider dangerous, or one damaged so that continuing would be dangerous.

GCR 177 lists penalties in increasing severity:

1. Reprimand
2. Fine
3. Time penalty
4. Exclusion

Only formal MSA courts can impose suspension or withdrawal of a licence, disqualification, or forfeiture of championship points.

Maximum fines:

In races and speed events, the Clerk of the Course can also show the black flag and apply the set time penalty for an offence reported by a Judge of Fact (GCR 157). A fine cannot replace exclusion for a technical non-compliance unless the Technical Consultant agrees it was minor and gave absolutely no advantage. You must normally be heard before a penalty is imposed (GCR 175).

Who: any entrant, competitor or official who considers themselves aggrieved by a decision, act or omission connected with a competition they took part in or officiated at (GCR 197).

How (GCR 198):

• In writing, with your name, address and grounds, signed by you.
• Lodged with the Stewards, the Clerk of the Course, their deputy or the Secretary of the Meeting, who notes the time received and payment.
• Paid in cash or EFT. A dishonoured payment can lead to disciplinary action.
• One vehicle per protest. For a technical protest, list exactly which parts must be inspected.

Fees (no VAT):

The Stewards may also require a deposit to cover strip-and-inspection costs. A failed protest's fee goes to MSA; a successful one is refunded less 10%.

Inadmissible (GCR 203): protests against refusal of an entry, collective protests, late protests, protests in bad faith or frivolous, and those with the wrong fee. Frivolous protests can also be penalised.

GCR 200 sets these limits:

The Clerk of the Course or Stewards may extend a limit if lodging in time was physically impossible. Late protests are otherwise inadmissible.

Under GCRs 201 to 205:

• The Stewards treat every protest as urgent. They first check it is in writing, has the right fee and was lodged in time, giving you a chance to argue that it was correctly lodged.
• All parties are summoned, preferably in writing. If someone does not attend, the hearing can go ahead by default.
• No lawyers. You may be represented by a fellow competitor in the same event or a club/association committee member who is not a practising attorney or advocate.
• The protestor presents first, then the other party. Both stay for all evidence and may cross-examine and call witnesses. Hearsay can be heard and weighed.
• On technical matters the Stewards must consider the scrutineers' report and the Technical Consultant's recommendations.
• If no decision is given straight away, you must be told within 1 hour when and where it will be given. A written decision follows within 1 hour and is posted on the notice board.
• In a split vote, the MSA Steward has the casting vote.
• If you were precluded from the rest of the event and your protest can't be heard in time, the preclusion is suspended until the hearing.

Appeals are only available for events of Regional Championship status or higher. Below that, the Stewards' decision on a protest is final (GCR 204).

To an MSA Court of Appeal (GCR 212A): submit a detailed written ("formulated") appeal explaining the background and why you are appealing, within 7 working days of the decision, with the R30 000 appeal fee. Miss either and the right of appeal lapses and any fee paid is forfeited.

To the MSA National Court of Appeal (GCR 212B): after a Court of Appeal decision, apply in writing for leave to appeal within 7 working days, with a R30 000 fee. Three NCA members decide on the papers, and their decision is final. If leave is granted, submit the formulated appeal within 7 working days with the R60 000 appeal fee (the R30 000 already paid is credited).

Some things cannot be appealed (GCR 216), including a Judge of Fact's decision and refusals to hear late, collective or wrongly lodged protests. You may also be asked to lodge a deposit to cover costs.

GCR 118 forbids any competitor from consuming alcohol while taking part in an event, or in the period between finishing and the officials deciding any protest or appeal the competitor has lodged. Offenders are excluded from the event and reported to MSA. Action can also be taken against a competitor if people associated with them cause problems for officials because of alcohol.

GCR 282: the Clerk of the Course, the Stewards or the Chief Medical Officer can order a breathalyser test of any entered competitor or serving official. Only the medical crew administers it. Any trace of alcohol triggers a second test with a fresh device; two positives and you take no further part in the event, with no right of protest. If the first two disagree, a third test decides (two out of three).

Under GCR 138, any competitor hospitalised after an accident must provide a medical certificate from a qualified medical practitioner or specialist before being allowed to compete again.

MSA can also, if it has any doubt about a competitor's fitness or ability, require a medical report from a specialist approved by the President of the MSA Medical Panel. When you apply for a licence you must submit MSA's medical fitness form (GCR 137), and a false declaration about your fitness can lead to disciplinary action up to disqualification.