Before you can take part in any racing you must obtain a race licence from the ACU (Auto Cycle Union). You must take an eye test, go to a race school, and belong to a bike racing club to get a race licence. Normally you must have a race licence before you can join a club so its a bit of a catch 22 - but in practice what happens is you obtain an application form for your ACU licence from the ACU or the racing club, complete it, get an eye test and send it all off to the racing club with their club membership application. The club will forward your ACU application to the ACU for you.

There are different levels of ACU licence - Novice, Intermediate Novice, Clubman, National, International, UEM. For your first year of racing, most will apply for an Intermediate Novice for which you must have a full motorcycle road licence and enables you to race any capacity machine. A Novice licence requires no road licence but restricts you to 600cc. As a Novice (or Intermediate Novice) licence holder, you must race wearing an orange bib. These are available for an extra few pounds when you apply for your licence. You may drop the orange bib after you have completed at least 1 race at 10 seperate meetings at 3 or more different circuits. At this point you can upgrade your licence to Clubman status.

The club you join is down to preference and where you want to race. Three of the largest short circuit racing clubs are the British MotorCycle Racing Club (BMCRC or BEMSEE), Thundersports GB. and North Glos. They all offer meetings at a mix of circuits throughout the UK. You can select your club for a number of reasons: friends race there, it supports your chosen championship, it's got your preferred tracks for that season (Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Cadwell Park, Donington, Pembrey are a few regulars), The cost of joining a club is usually around £25 to £40 per year. You then pay for each meeting you choose to enter - usually a few weeks before the meeting. It's normally best to pre-book a full season to guarantee your place on the grid, though your payment won't be taken until maybe a couple of weeks before a race. You can turn up and pay but run the risk of a full grid meaning no space for you.

Visit the ACU website to find your nearest club and find out more. Give the club a call and/or go along to one of their meetings to get yourself introduced.

So as a summary:

1. Decide what club you are joining.

2. Do a race school - you must have a certificate showing you are capable of riding a motorbike in order to apply for your license. Bemsee run a race school in February which covers a race school and the thoery test mentioned below so it's a one-stop-shop. Call the ACU on 01788 566400 and ask who is running a practical race school day.

or... Book a Theory test with the ACU. This compromises of a morning up in Rugby where racing rules are explained followed by a short test!
and... Book a race school to get a certificate to send to the ACU.

3. Download an ACU membership form and book an appointment with your optician to get an eyesight test, required for your ACU form.

4. Join the club you want to race with and pay their fee.

5.In some cases you can send off your certificates and your ACU application form to your chosen club and they will send on to the ACU along with your club membership details

6. Send your membership details and certificates to the ACU along with your application form and photo and wait for your ACU license to drop onto your doormat along with your rookie bib (if you’ve ordered it) and ACU handbook

Information websites:
www.acu.org.uk ; www.bemsee.net ; www.neweramcc.org ; www.derbyphoenix.co.uk ; www.ngroadracing.org