How to Enter an Aintree Sprint
Entries are now open for our 2026 Aintree Sprints!
You don’t have to be in a championship to take part. See our Event Calendar for a list of clubs whose members are invited to our events.
Unfortunately, due to the ever-increasing cost of staging events and the significant lack of competitors since the pandemic, every Aintree sprint since 2019 has failed to break even financially. We are running just two Aintree sprints in 2026 (May and September). We used to run a third sprint (June), but we have replaced it with another test/track day to reduce our losses. We hope this will enable us to preserve the historic Aintree venue for motorsport.
To keep motorsport alive at Aintree, we need your support more than ever. Use it or lose it!
Enter and pay online with our secure online service:
By entering, you agree to comply with Motorsport UK’s National Competition Rules and the 2026 Supplementary Regulations for the event.
You should read the Supplementary Regulations first to determine which class you are entering and what you need to do to your car.
The entry fee is excellent value at £150 per driver per sprint (or £147 for LMC members) – and there’s a £15 discount if you enter at least 10 weeks before an event. Each entry fee includes the latest Motorsport UK fee of £34 per driver.
Not an LMC member yet? You can still claim the member’s discount by joining the Club now; it’s fantastic value at only £12 a year, or £30 for three years.
Join here:- Membership – Join Us, then return to this page and click the link below to enter the event(s).
We include the full range of North & Midlands Classes at our events, as detailed in our event regulations. The clarifications will help you to decide what you can (and can’t) do to your road car and still stay in class. If the MSUK National Competition Rules say a modification is ok, then it is. If it doesn’t mention it, then you can’t do it.
To find out why we use these classes, see our History of the North & Midlands Classes and Clarifications.
Save money and join. LMC
If you enter any three LMC events (sprints, hillclimbs or trackdays), your total discount almost pays for your membership. Enter a Test/Trackday as well, and you are in profit. And membership entitles you to join our popular Speed Championship that takes in up to 24 events at 9 of the most popular Sprint and Hillclimb venues in the North and Midlands, and even crosses the borders into Scotland and North Wales.
Notes:
Camping before events
Limited camping is available on Friday evenings for competitors with motorhomes and campervans that have onboard facilities. There are no power or water hook-up services, and toilets are not available overnight. Tents are not allowed.
You should arrive by 8:45 pm at the latest, as the venue gates will be locked at 9.00 pm and will not re-open until 6.30 on Saturday morning. There is no access or exit for vehicles or pedestrians between those times.
To book a space, contact the entries secretary to ensure the available spaces have not already been taken up.
Not competed in a sprint before? The following will definitely help:-
What kit do I need, and what do I need to do to my car?
We always recommend visiting a sprint or hillclimb event first and asking competitors loads of questions. Drivers are a friendly bunch and love to talk about their cars, and will freely advise a potential new competitor.
Firstly, to enter a sprint or hillclimb (the rules are the same in both disciplines, and several competitors take part in both), you’ll need a Motorsport UK RS Inter-Club competition licence, and you’ll need to join a motor club that’s invited to the event. (For new drivers in the Intro Class, you can even use a free Clubman’s Licence.)
The Barbon events are run by Liverpool MC and Kirkby Lonsdale MC; membership of either club will allow you to compete in most sprints or hillclimbs in the north-west, and several further afield. If you have a totally standard road-legal car first registered after 1/1/2000 that’s less than 2 litres and not turbo’d, then you might be able to enter the Intro Class on an MSUK Clubsport licence, but you’ll need to check the rules carefully.
Click on the Supplementary Regulations above. They should be read in conjunction with Motorsport UK’s National Competition Rules for Sprints & Hillclimbs.
You’ll need to mark the towing points front & rear, and fit towing eyes in them. Modern road cars are supplied with one as standard, and you can buy a second eye quite cheaply. No need to use paint, TOW stickers are readily available online, or you could just use insulating tape of a contrasting colour to make an arrow. You’ll need to wrap some yellow tape around the main earth cable to the battery. And you’ll need to show which way to turn the key to turn off the ignition.
You’ll need a helmet of the right standard (the scrutineers will need to examine it and affix an approval sticker on the day for a small fee). If your car complies with our Standard Road Car classes, you only need to have your arms and legs covered, though flame-retardant overalls are recommended. Driving anything other than an unmodified standard road car, you’ll need FIA-approved overalls and (in some classes) gloves too.
Gloves & Balaclavas:
Drivers, please be aware that a new MSUK regulation came into effect in 2026:
Ch14, App2, Art4.3. Competitors are required to wear flame-resistant gloves (see Ch.9 Art.12.6) with the exception of Standard Cars and Road Cars, where their use is recommended. The use of a flame-resistant balaclava (Ch.9
Art.12.3) is mandatory with the exception of open bodywork Period Defined Vehicles (Non-Rally) A-D,
Standard Cars and Road Cars where their use is recommended. For all categories the wearing of flame-resistant
socks (Ch.9 Art.12.4) and underwear (Ch.9 Art.12.2) is strongly recommended.
Finally, you’ll need to make a vertical timing strut at least 254mm high x 51mm wide (10″ x 2″), the bottom of which shall be between 180mm and 200mm from the ground. It needs to be matt black on both sides. Most people use a thin piece of black aluminium and, on a road car, they attach it using a number plate bolt or a bracket fastened behind the number plate.
This is a greatly simplified overview of the requirements. The following guides will help answer your questions before your first event:
https://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/allabout.asp
https://tinsanmotorsport.co.uk/taking-your-daily-car-to-a-speed-event/
Invited Championships:
See our Club Calendar page for the latest list of championships invited to our sprints & hillclimbs.
Click to enter:-
Once you have completed your details for your first event of the season, our entry system allows you to copy your details to enter further LMC events without having to re-enter everything.
Need to do some testing? Then don’t miss our Aintree Test/Track Days, which are ideal for testing cars and drivers. We also offer exclusive sessions for single-seaters! For details, select our track day tab above.
Once the Sprint entries are open, just select the appropriate event here:-
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Important: see the note above about gloves and balaclavas
Aintree Spring Sprint – 30th May 2026
Aintree Autumn Sprint – 5th September 2026
Note, we don’t accept entries by post. If you struggle to enter online, ask a friend or colleague for help, or contact the LMC entries secretary for advice. See the event regulations for contact details.
We use the ultra-secure Stripe payment service so you can use your normal credit or debit card with no extra charge. LMC does not have access to your card details.
Data Protection:
We take your privacy seriously and will only use your personal information to administer your entry, including providing a public Entry List and sending you emails in connection with your entry. Some of your information will be given to the timekeepers, scrutineers and others involved in organising the event. See our Privacy and Safeguarding Policies Here.
If you are competing in several speed events in addition to Aintree, you could be eligible for an award by joining the Liverpool Motor Club Speed Championship – the Best in the North West!
Our events are also qualifying rounds of the ANWCC Speed Championship and the SD34 Sprint & Hillclimb Championship. Why not enter all three – the same events tend to be qualifying rounds of all three championships, so you’ll stand an even greater chance of winning an award.
Live timings are available during the Aintree events from www.Resultsman.info
Insurance whilst competing
Your existing car insurance policy will not cover you whilst competing, unless you take out specialist cover; you will be on track entirely at your own risk. We don’t recommend any particular company, but drivers tell us that they have been pleased with the service provided by the following:-
MarshSport Motorsport Insurance
MarshSport is also the appointed insurance broker to Motorsport UK.
Tel: 0113 394 2250 – (please mention Liverpool Motor Club when calling)
REIS Motorsport Insurance <– Click to visit their website
Moris Motorsport Insurance – Click to visit their website
0203 427 5960
North West Air Ambulance
We are supporting the North West Air Ambulance Charity again this year. They don’t receive any funding from the Government or the NHS and rely on your donations. We hope you will support them too by adding a donation of £1 or more to your online entry. Since we started supporting NWAA in 2014, our drivers have donated over £9,000 to the Charity. Let’s see what we can do this year!
One day you may need their help; right now they need yours.
Charity No. 1075641 www.nwaa.net