I will start this guide from entering the fireup lane (and presume you have passed scrutineering or signed on for RWYB).

First thing is to make sure you have all of your saftey equipment with you and your car is ready. Does your race car have fuel and a charged battery? It does happen! General policy is to keep to the right of the fireup road so other cars can overtake if they are called into pairings before you. A good idea during eliminations is to find your opponent in the pits and enter the fireup road together. At the bottom of the fireup road you will see the first of the marshalls who will check your race number and direct you to a lane in the collection area. If you have lane choice for the race, you need to decide here.

Now is a good time to get all of your kit on... it's not fun rushing to get on a balaclava, helmet, neck brace, arm restraints and gloves when you are being called forward. As you reach the front of the queue, another marshall will hold you back until the burnout box is clear. When you are called into your lanes you can position yourself in the burnout box or drive past it . If you need to scrub or heat your tyres (or show-off!) it is a good idea to start you burnout when those in front of you are leaving the line. This will keep the startline crew happy as you are ready to stage and ensures no delays. At this point your ET dial-ins are read by the timing crew and entered into the computer.

This is the starting 'christmas' tree. The blue light in the middle will come one and the starter will call you to the line when the track is clear. Your ET Dial-in will be displayed in the timing lights. If it is not correct, do not enter the staging as this is acceptance of the ET and race. A marshal will soon ask what is wrong and will radio the correction to the timing crew. If you cant see the line, a crew member is allowed to direct you forwards but they are not allowed to touch the car once you have passed the blue line (disqualification !) The gap is 6 inches to roll forward from pre-stage to stage, then 12 inches to the startline timing beam.
Sportsman tree Used in all VWDRC classes	vs	Pro tree Used in RWYB
Roll forward slowly until the top two Pre-stage lights have come on.		Roll forward slowly until the top two Pre-stage lights have come on.
It is courtesy to wait for your oppenent to pre stage before going into Stage		It is courtesy to wait for your oppenent to pre stage before going into Stage
Once you are both staged, the starter will commence the race and the amber lights will count down from the top and light in half second intervals down to the green....		Once you are both staged, the starter will commence the race and all three amber lights will show together for 0.4 sec then....
GO GO GO !!!		GO GO GO !!!
green light means you have started correctly		green light means you have started correctly
red light (cherry / foul / early bath / possible riddicule) means you have jumped the lights and have been disqualified.		red light (cherry / foul / early bath / possible riddicule) means you have jumped the lights and have been disqualified.

As a general rule, if you wait until you see the green light, you have reacted way too slow. Sportsman tree racers tend to leave as soon as they see the third amber, Pro tree racers leave as soon as the amber lights come on but it depends on your reaction and how quickly your car hooks up to cut the start beam. In qualifications your reaction time will be shown on the timing gantry. 0.5 is the perfect reaction in Sportsman and 0.4 is perfect in Pro but the display will show your reaction beyond the perfect light: for example a reaction of 0.612 will show 0.112 in Sportsman and 0.212 in Pro. If you see 0.00 and a green light on the tree, congratulations... your perfect light may have won you £50 from the eurodragster.com staff !! (given to the first racer to get a perfect light in competition over a race meeting)

You are now screaming down the track and approaching the finish line. The actual finish line is where the red concrete ends on either side of the track (beyond the timing gantry at Santa Pod!)

The winner of the race will see a single amber light on their side of the track... fingers crossed it was you !

Some other less known facts:

• Red lights dont matter in qualifying... good for practising perfect launches.
• Sportsman 'bracket' racing runs a 'first or worst' rule. The first to red light or worst breakout is the person who is eliminated.
• Amos likes VWs... as long as they are painted and well presented!

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