As recommended by the Scottish Motorsport Event Safety Review, the MSA is bringing online a second radio frequency for exclusive use by MSA Licensed Officials and safety personnel on stage rallies in Great Britain.

As the current radio safety frequency, MSA81 is an exclusive national radio communications resource. The addition of the second MSA81 frequency will allow for better management of rallies, particularly when there are stages running concurrently.

Licence holders of existing radios that need to be programmed to the two new channels on the second frequency may claim up to £40+VAT for the cost of a service and reprogramming, subject to production of a receipt and the issue of a new Certificate of Conformity.

Licence holders of existing radios limited to only four programmable channels may seek a contribution of up to £200+VAT towards their replacement with new or second user equipment with a sufficient capacity to meet rally safety communications needs. Again this is dependent upon the issue of a new Certificate of Conformity, confirmation that the old radio has been deprogrammed and the production of a receipt.

The MSA can also confirm that the 2015/16 Radio Licence Fee has reverted to £5 per radio.

Rob Jones, MSA Chief Executive, said: “The MSA had been working towards the second frequency for some time and the Scottish Review provided additional impetus to this project, bringing it to a conclusion. With over 2,000 radios to be reprogrammed or replaced, it will be a month or two before there are sufficient radios in the field to take advantage of the second frequency. However rallies running from this summer onward should be planning for the use of this important additional resource.”