ARDS - Association of Racing Drivers' SchoolsARDS

'ARDS' is the Association of Racing Drivers' Schools. ARDS was formed in the early 1990's and consists of a board of directors who are representatives of each ARDS member school.

ARDS in conjunction with the MSA issues ARDS Instructor Licences, currently the only recognised and available licence for circuit racing instructors.To apply for an ARDS Instructor Licence a person must have raced and must qualify to hold an MSA Race National A competition licence. The individual must then complete training and pass an assessment at an ARDS member race school that has agreed to be their sponsor school. The ARDS Instructor Licence has a grading system:

  • Grade A
  • Grade B
  • Grade C
  • Probationary Grade C
  • Grade D
  • Additionally some Grade A qualified instructors are issued with a Grade S Licence which denotes that they are registered with the MSA to sign off first time race licence applications following a candidate's successful completion of the MSA Novice Driver Training Course.

ARDS carries out Novice Driver Training Courses (also known as the ARDS Test) on behalf of the MSA. This is the course all first time race licence applicants must complete.

For further details about ARDS please visit the official website at www.ards.co.uk.