A certain amount of confusion has recently occurred in respect of what tyres are acceptable for road rallying. Regulation K22.3.1 states “Wheels and tyres are free but must fit within the standard unmodified wheel arch”. Regulation K22.3.2 states “Be fitted with tyres that are always legal for use on the Public Highway”. Thus under section K the requirement is that tyres must be road legal and fit within standard unmodified wheel arches.

Regulation R1.1.2 details some notes for production tyres and lays down specific requirements for Production Saloon Car and Sports Car Racing. It also gives some advice as to the legal situation concerning the sale of ‘E’ or ‘e’ marked tyres for road use.

The legal requirement concerning tyres is that they should have a minimum of 1.6mm depth of tread over 75% of the tread width for the full circumference of the tyre and that the tyres should be “Fit for purpose”. There is no laid down requirement for a minimum percentage of void area for the tread pattern but as a point of information the FIA refers to a figure of 17% minimum. The term “fit for purpose” is open to interpretation and any individual case is going to be subject of assessment ultimately by a court of law. There is an argument that if a car is participating in a road rally then this is a competition and thus tyres marked “For Competition Purposes Only” are “Fit for Purpose”. This may or not be so and if you are involved in an accident on your way to the start of such a rally a court may deem that the tyres were not fit for purpose. It is very much a grey area although we suggest that whatever the circumstances tyres marked “For Racing Only” are unlikely to be accepted as being fit for purpose if used on the public highway.

It is to be noted that whereas in many countries the legal requirement is that cars must be equipped with “e” marked tyres, in the UK the only limitation extends to the sale of tyres for highway use. Thus to use non “e” marked tyres on the public highway is not illegal provided they are fit for purpose and meet the minimum tread requirements as noted above.

Scrutineers’ responsibilities extend only to carrying out such checks as are reasonably practicable concerning compliance with MSA regulations. Whether or not the car is road legal is entirely the competitors’ responsibility.

The MSA cannot advise whether tyres marked “For Competition Use Only”, or similar, are fit for purpose or otherwise. You may like to reflect on the point that should a court decide that such tyres are not fit for purpose then potentially this could result in your being awarded 12 points on your licence, a fact that may limit your driving activities.