An Introduction to: Sports Sedans
Part three of the background to Queensland's motor racing categories features the ultimate hot-rodders category, Sports Sedans. One of the most admired, but perhaps least understood of Australia's categories, Sports Sedans is dominated by the wild look of its cars. The huge flares and massive wings may 'dumb-down' its image, but it requires more thought than simply sticking larger engines and bigger wings and tyres for success.
Sports Sedans has an unashamedly dramatic air to it as a category and also a not undeserved level of intimidation. Like few other categories in the country these cars have a presence and ferocity like few others. They are a challenging category to master, budgets vary wildly and the speed differential between the top and the tail are amongst the widest in motor racing.
Sports Sedans is an old category. Only Formula Ford and Formula Vee are older amongst mainstream (non-historic) categories. More than any other category in Australia, Sports Sedans are a category for engineers. The regulations provide a freedom to design and construct granted in no other category. It's Australia's only true Silouhette category. It is not however a free-for-all. Perhaps I'm getting a little ahead of myself on this one.
One of several categories that has parrallel but separate lives as both a state and national level category. Ultra lightweight bodyshells, that resemble, sometimes only vaguely, production road cars.
Fenders made of fibreglass, huge flared guards containing the widest tyres that can be utilised, deep chin splitters and undertrays, enormous deep dish slab-sided rear wings all draped over spaceframe chassis that look more like combinations of birdcages and open-wheelers with their panels removed. All powered by huge V8s or four cylinders with turbochargers sourced from heavy industry for their strength.
The purest form of thoroughbred with no two cars being even vaguely alike even if they share outwardly similar appearances. The best car in the country, John Gourlay's car looks like an Audi A4 externally, while underneath a bonnet far larger than any A4 on the road beats the legendary Chevrolet small-block V8 in fuel-injected six litre form. The long-standing rival, the Ricciardello car from Western Australia, a 1980s Alfa Romeo Alfetta if you squint but one of the most developed race cars in the country. These cars though do not run at state level.
While many cars are self-built locally, there has always been an outlet for buying cars elsewhere. American Trans-Am racing is an increasingly popular source with its near-local derivative New Zealand's TraNZam a long standing source of cars. Several of these cars exist in Queensland, notably Shane Bradford's Camaro, Jeff Barnes Pontiac Firebird and Phil Crompton's Mustang. Bob McLoughlin's Commodore started life in that direction although has changed a lot. Touring cars, Group C, Group A and V8 supercars has always produced some vehicles, like Kevin Heffernan's series of Commodores, Wayne Clift's Commodore, Craig Nelson's Starion, Nathan Assaillit's Falcon and Daniel Natoli's Future Tourer Mitsubishi Magna have filtered down to state level. There used to be a strong U2 (under two litre class) scene in Queensland but the death of Lakeside which as a class they loved and the rise of Queensland raceway, which exposed all the vulnerabilities of U2s saw the fastest U2 cars disappear. Some fascinating histroies belong to some cars. Travis Edwards and Stewart Maxwell both own Fords built by Barry Seton. Edwards' Escort-Rotary was Glenn Seton's first racing car.
It isn't just the engines which come from exotic sources. Holinger gearboxes are spread liberally throughout the class, and Geoff Gillespie's sadly sidelined BMW M3 has TWR Jaguar XJR part numbers stamped right through the internals of the car.
If I'm portraying Sports Sedans as a dollar oriented class where you pay for success then perhaps I'm doing the class a disservice. In 2010 Tony Cox took a very well built Russell Kramer U2 class Holden Gemini car with a 2.0 litre Toyota four cylinder engine and added a turbo charger and running a conservative engine set-up for the turbo was able to claim the state championship. There is however a big jump in speed from state level to national level. It's a step not to be taking lightly. Coxy has bought new equipment for that purpose, the ex-John Gourlay/Darren Hossack Saab 9-3 powered by a six litre Chrysler V8 sourced from the NASCAR program.
Similarly a contained program focussed on consistency has netted Shane Bradford runners' up position in the 2011 Australian Championship. However that does not mean a relative racing novice can't race Sports Sedans. Some cars can be suprisingly cheap and easy to run.
The following mix of vehicle have raced in the last two years of Queensland Sports Sedan racing.
Holden Commodore-Small block Chev
Ford Escort Mk.I-Mazda 13B Rotary
Mazda RX-7 Series 4
Ford Escort Mk.I-Two litre Ford BDA
Ford EB Falcon-Windsor 351
Holden Gemini-Toyota 2.0 L turbo
Ford EF Falcon ex-V8 Supercar
Ford Anglia-Mazda Rotary
Holden VK Commodore Group A touring car
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V
BMW 135i Production car
Holden VC Commodore-Valiant Charger Hemi
Ford Escort Mk.I
Rover Vitesse-Small block Chev
Ford Capri Mk.I-Small block Chev
Mini Cooper S production car
Holden VN Commodore-Small block Chev
Subaru Impreza WRX STi production car
Mazda RX-4
Mitsubishi Starion ex Group A touring car
Ford Escort Mk.II-Small block Chev
Ford Capri Mk. III-Small block Chev
BMW M3-R
Mazda RX-7-Nissan SR20 turbo
Ford BF Falcon XR8 Ute
Mitsubishi Magna-Holden five litre V8
Sports Sedans race in Queensland purely at the State Championships at Morgan Park. An animosity has existed between the class at Queensland Raceway management previously (it is thawing in more modern times) which has led to them not racing regularly at Queensland Raceway in recent years and they are too loud a class to be successfully muffled to run at Lakeside, although exceptions have occurred and it would not be impossible. The class is run in Queensland by the Queensland Racing Drivers' Association, whose members are some of the most passionately active racers in Queensland, led in particular by Chris Donnelly and Colin Smith with national Sports Sedan manager Phil Crompton also Queensland based. In recent years the Queensland Sports Sedan Championship has changed to become Queensland Sports Sedan and Invited Championship which has added a variety of vehicles to the class, orphan sedans and similarl unable to race elsewhere on state championship scheduels, like Subaru Imprezas from Production car racing and Falcon XR8s from V8 Utes to name a couple.
Pros: The aurals and visuals are unmatched. The sensation of speed and power you will not find in anything less than International catgories like GT3 and V8 Supercar. Very friendly and embracing club, members are much more focussed on helping each other out than generating on-track rivalries.
Cons: Not usually very competitive racing due to disparate levels of performance amongst competition. You can go a whole meeting without dicing with anyone. Complex and fragile they are difficult to master and the finanical investment can escalate rapidly. The faster cars can be too big for Morgan Park's shorter circuit with fifth and sixth gears surplus to most requirements on its short straights.
Star drivers: Bob McLoughlin (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet), Tony Cox (Saab 9-3-Chrysler), Chris Donnelly (Ford Falcon), Shane Bradford (Chevrolet Camaro), Phil Crompton (Ford Mustang), Mark Bowen (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet), Colin Smith (Holden Monaro-Chevrolet)
Past Champions
Queensland Championship
2011 Mark Bowen (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet)
2010 Tony Cox (Holden Gemini-Toyota turbo)
2009 Bob McLoughlin (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet)
2008 Bob McLoughlin (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet)
2007 Bob McLoughlin (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet)
2006 Bob McLoughlin (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet)
2005 Shane Bradford (Ford Falcon/Mazda 323-Rotary)
2004 Colin Smith (Rover Vitesse-Chevrolet)
2003 Chris Donnelly (Ford Falcon)
Sports Sedans has an unashamedly dramatic air to it as a category and also a not undeserved level of intimidation. Like few other categories in the country these cars have a presence and ferocity like few others. They are a challenging category to master, budgets vary wildly and the speed differential between the top and the tail are amongst the widest in motor racing.
Sports Sedans is an old category. Only Formula Ford and Formula Vee are older amongst mainstream (non-historic) categories. More than any other category in Australia, Sports Sedans are a category for engineers. The regulations provide a freedom to design and construct granted in no other category. It's Australia's only true Silouhette category. It is not however a free-for-all. Perhaps I'm getting a little ahead of myself on this one.
One of several categories that has parrallel but separate lives as both a state and national level category. Ultra lightweight bodyshells, that resemble, sometimes only vaguely, production road cars.
Fenders made of fibreglass, huge flared guards containing the widest tyres that can be utilised, deep chin splitters and undertrays, enormous deep dish slab-sided rear wings all draped over spaceframe chassis that look more like combinations of birdcages and open-wheelers with their panels removed. All powered by huge V8s or four cylinders with turbochargers sourced from heavy industry for their strength.
The purest form of thoroughbred with no two cars being even vaguely alike even if they share outwardly similar appearances. The best car in the country, John Gourlay's car looks like an Audi A4 externally, while underneath a bonnet far larger than any A4 on the road beats the legendary Chevrolet small-block V8 in fuel-injected six litre form. The long-standing rival, the Ricciardello car from Western Australia, a 1980s Alfa Romeo Alfetta if you squint but one of the most developed race cars in the country. These cars though do not run at state level.
While many cars are self-built locally, there has always been an outlet for buying cars elsewhere. American Trans-Am racing is an increasingly popular source with its near-local derivative New Zealand's TraNZam a long standing source of cars. Several of these cars exist in Queensland, notably Shane Bradford's Camaro, Jeff Barnes Pontiac Firebird and Phil Crompton's Mustang. Bob McLoughlin's Commodore started life in that direction although has changed a lot. Touring cars, Group C, Group A and V8 supercars has always produced some vehicles, like Kevin Heffernan's series of Commodores, Wayne Clift's Commodore, Craig Nelson's Starion, Nathan Assaillit's Falcon and Daniel Natoli's Future Tourer Mitsubishi Magna have filtered down to state level. There used to be a strong U2 (under two litre class) scene in Queensland but the death of Lakeside which as a class they loved and the rise of Queensland raceway, which exposed all the vulnerabilities of U2s saw the fastest U2 cars disappear. Some fascinating histroies belong to some cars. Travis Edwards and Stewart Maxwell both own Fords built by Barry Seton. Edwards' Escort-Rotary was Glenn Seton's first racing car.
It isn't just the engines which come from exotic sources. Holinger gearboxes are spread liberally throughout the class, and Geoff Gillespie's sadly sidelined BMW M3 has TWR Jaguar XJR part numbers stamped right through the internals of the car.
If I'm portraying Sports Sedans as a dollar oriented class where you pay for success then perhaps I'm doing the class a disservice. In 2010 Tony Cox took a very well built Russell Kramer U2 class Holden Gemini car with a 2.0 litre Toyota four cylinder engine and added a turbo charger and running a conservative engine set-up for the turbo was able to claim the state championship. There is however a big jump in speed from state level to national level. It's a step not to be taking lightly. Coxy has bought new equipment for that purpose, the ex-John Gourlay/Darren Hossack Saab 9-3 powered by a six litre Chrysler V8 sourced from the NASCAR program.
Similarly a contained program focussed on consistency has netted Shane Bradford runners' up position in the 2011 Australian Championship. However that does not mean a relative racing novice can't race Sports Sedans. Some cars can be suprisingly cheap and easy to run.
The following mix of vehicle have raced in the last two years of Queensland Sports Sedan racing.
Holden Commodore-Small block Chev
Ford Escort Mk.I-Mazda 13B Rotary
Mazda RX-7 Series 4
Ford Escort Mk.I-Two litre Ford BDA
Ford EB Falcon-Windsor 351
Holden Gemini-Toyota 2.0 L turbo
Ford EF Falcon ex-V8 Supercar
Ford Anglia-Mazda Rotary
Holden VK Commodore Group A touring car
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo V
BMW 135i Production car
Holden VC Commodore-Valiant Charger Hemi
Ford Escort Mk.I
Rover Vitesse-Small block Chev
Ford Capri Mk.I-Small block Chev
Mini Cooper S production car
Holden VN Commodore-Small block Chev
Subaru Impreza WRX STi production car
Mazda RX-4
Mitsubishi Starion ex Group A touring car
Ford Escort Mk.II-Small block Chev
Ford Capri Mk. III-Small block Chev
BMW M3-R
Mazda RX-7-Nissan SR20 turbo
Ford BF Falcon XR8 Ute
Mitsubishi Magna-Holden five litre V8
Sports Sedans race in Queensland purely at the State Championships at Morgan Park. An animosity has existed between the class at Queensland Raceway management previously (it is thawing in more modern times) which has led to them not racing regularly at Queensland Raceway in recent years and they are too loud a class to be successfully muffled to run at Lakeside, although exceptions have occurred and it would not be impossible. The class is run in Queensland by the Queensland Racing Drivers' Association, whose members are some of the most passionately active racers in Queensland, led in particular by Chris Donnelly and Colin Smith with national Sports Sedan manager Phil Crompton also Queensland based. In recent years the Queensland Sports Sedan Championship has changed to become Queensland Sports Sedan and Invited Championship which has added a variety of vehicles to the class, orphan sedans and similarl unable to race elsewhere on state championship scheduels, like Subaru Imprezas from Production car racing and Falcon XR8s from V8 Utes to name a couple.
Pros: The aurals and visuals are unmatched. The sensation of speed and power you will not find in anything less than International catgories like GT3 and V8 Supercar. Very friendly and embracing club, members are much more focussed on helping each other out than generating on-track rivalries.
Cons: Not usually very competitive racing due to disparate levels of performance amongst competition. You can go a whole meeting without dicing with anyone. Complex and fragile they are difficult to master and the finanical investment can escalate rapidly. The faster cars can be too big for Morgan Park's shorter circuit with fifth and sixth gears surplus to most requirements on its short straights.
Star drivers: Bob McLoughlin (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet), Tony Cox (Saab 9-3-Chrysler), Chris Donnelly (Ford Falcon), Shane Bradford (Chevrolet Camaro), Phil Crompton (Ford Mustang), Mark Bowen (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet), Colin Smith (Holden Monaro-Chevrolet)
Past Champions
Queensland Championship
2011 Mark Bowen (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet)
2010 Tony Cox (Holden Gemini-Toyota turbo)
2009 Bob McLoughlin (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet)
2008 Bob McLoughlin (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet)
2007 Bob McLoughlin (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet)
2006 Bob McLoughlin (Holden Commodore-Chevrolet)
2005 Shane Bradford (Ford Falcon/Mazda 323-Rotary)
2004 Colin Smith (Rover Vitesse-Chevrolet)
2003 Chris Donnelly (Ford Falcon)