The Oval Racing Thread

GP Midgets are the fastest of all short circuit cars, and are bespoke racing cars of up to about 1400cc. front or rear engined, they are flippin' quick.






Perhaps a bit more appropriate to RR, classic hot rods started out as a non-competetive, just for fun formula which developed into a very popular race series which harks back to the "Golden Era" of Hot Rod racing. Ie, pre-Toyota Starlet and no space frame chassis.



















National Hot Rods have evolved into space-framed specials, but clad in clones of road going cars, mostly Vauxhall Tigra and Peugeot 206cc.






Most tracks run domestic series of Hot Rods, sometimes built to the same rules as other tracks or promoters, so drivers can race at other tracks than their home circuit. Often very popular as a cheap (or rather, less expensive) way into racing, cars are lightly modified road cars, stripped with a cage and some suspension modification.

These are Rookie Rods at Buxton (my local track apart from Bank Holiday Belle Vue) a few years back



Hot Rod racing is strictly non-contact. Although high speeds and very close racing means some rubbing is inevitable, drivers can be penalised for deliberate contact.

Saloon stock cars are just that...

Picture from google. Looks like Buxton.




Like the others, these have evolved into bespoke racers, although using standardish Sierra running gear.



A gratuitous chassis pic from google.



National Ministox race under the Brisca banner, and are for 11-16 year olds. Many top drivers cut their teeth on Minis, and often run at the same meetings as F1, so dads, nieces, sons and daughters all race on the same day.

Ha the old transporters - that was a Plaxton bodied AEC 760 - fully loaded with the car, spare wheels & tyres - spare everything else too with exception of the engine - tools & old diesel welder - front converted to part seats, part small kitchen galley and part sleeping accommodation + the team - and thing would still head down the M1 when booted at 70 MPH +


Found a few more pics - apologies for the quality they are pics of pics




One of the old car



This bit was quite important



It's not the first time that we loaded up bent either - or axle-less come to that



New car (my paintwork) & the team - I'm on the far right and that pic is a minimum of 30 + years ago

Good man! It was bmcnut's Dad's A60 pictures that prompted me to make this thread. If it races in a circle I want to see them!

Brother Kev and I got into oval racing in the early '70s. Local tracks near us in Derbyshire/South Yorkshire ran 'Bomber Cars'... bangers with a fair bit of armouring. Some wild creations appeared and things got out of hand as lightly armoured cars ended up racing things built like F1 stockcars. When the Chesterfield Club folded, some drivers went to the bombers at long Eaton Stadium, others to F1 & 2 stock cars and many, like us took up grasstracking. Kev's Mk 1 Lotus Cortina was particularly successful in that. Later the engine went into My VW Karmann Ghia on a Hewland adapter plate. Kev had bought an Anglia hot rod racer to reshell the Cortina but decided to give it a go on the tarmac at Buxton's High Edge Raceway. That led us into years of hot rod racing at Buxton and Hednesford mainly but with visits to Wisbech, Skegness, Cleethorpes and Brafield (Northampton between '79 and '86. in Anglias, an Avenger then Sunbeams The hot rods became 'wallet racing' and we eventually looked for a cheaper formula. That was 'stock rods'.. then up to 1300cc cars with limited tuning. One of the cars we used for that was a 1294cc SIMCA 1000SR, which started a craze that's still going on in the Ward family. We found all the tuning gear from 'dead' SIMCA rally and race cars that was beyond the stock rod rules so found better shells and went sprinting & hillclimbing with some success. I then had several years in Classic Saloons on the big circuits in SIMCA 1000 Rallyes. Around the turn of the century, I was supposed to be retiring from the track but resurfaced at Buxton on the ovals, ending up with a creation based on a Talbot Samba but with much of the structure/running gear from a 309 for their short lived front wheel drive Hot rod class.
I'll dig out the photos. Some of them I may have posted before in another thread.
Bomber cars at Chesterfield... Spectators on pit shale tip. Black dust everywhere Club should have got sponsorship from a soap manufacturer. Beetle built by local Vw/Buggy specialist









Anglia hot rod



My first ever hot rod race... non contact ?




more photos to follow...

I started racing back in 1996. I lived within a few miles of Pembrey Motorsport Centre. I worked there as a teenager when I was in college then uni and when I left uni the guys from Hednesford Raceway had started racing in Pembrey as a winter series. They didn't use the whole circuit, just from the startline, down to the hairpin, round the next corner then back through a hole in the wall onto the start/finish straight. As it was really a set of 3 corners and not an oval, they called it Tri Oval racing. Saturday afternoon was practice, and then the Sunday was racing. Either 2 or 3 heats and a final, I can't remember now.

There was also classes for autograss cars as they were also in their off season which were really popular. As well as all the oval classes and autograss classes there was also a rally car class. This is what I raced in, in my mk2 Escort. That was until I rolled it on the hairpin on Saturday practice whilst "dabbling" with my younger brother. It was only lightly damaged with a little dent in the roof so I taped the windscreen back in as it popped out unbroken and raced it for the rest of the season. At the end of the season I bought a mk1 Escort for £100 (which I still have) and transferred everything into that for the next season.

Hednesford also ran some one off race weekends at Llandow. Again with autograss and rally car classes. I did about 4 of these twice in the mk1 Escort and twice in autograss cars (class 2 mk2 Escort and class6 Astra get which I've still got).

Sadly I've not got many of the photos as my ex took them years ago when we split. I do have a couple of photos as a memento- one action shot and one of all the panels I smashed up in the noncontact racing ( I've actually still got all the panels too).

Good times, good atmosphere, good racing.

Brilliant pictures and memories. I have completely overlooked grasstrack. scmick you have some quality stuff, always pleased to see it.

I think number 111 is a beautiful bit of kit had a good look around it at Buxton


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Very true, but the competition is close behind (or in front)

Mondeo draped over saloon stock chassis (I think)




V8 Rover powered Lexus





.... the times, they are a-changing. Although I still love the old Ford stuff.

Ho Generallee - what have you done !!! - You have me looking up all the places that we used to race at (I will list them later when I dig out some more pics) In the meantime wouldn't you know it - there's a website listing all the defunct small ovals / speedway / stock car circuits

simonlewis.com/sc5.html

Found a few more



I think this is Sheffield



So the tracks has explained earlier we travelled everywhere to the tracks although 'Brisca' F1 was predominately a Northern based sport but the Dutch & New Zealand race the same formula - tracks that we raced at + some that I spectated at are listed below the ones marked * I believe are still hosting the Formula but the rest have gone mainly to the development of a supermarket or a DIY chain

Hartlepool

Newton on Aycliffe

Newcastle - only ever raced there once



Nelson - Lancashire

Blackburn

Bolton

Rochdale



Manchester Belle Vue - the old stadium (Demolished in a knee jerk reaction has the entire stands were made largely of wood and after the tragic fire at the Bradford Valley Parade football ground - the days of timber built stadiums were numbered) - they still race around the corner on a separate track at Belle Vue through but nowhere near the atmosphere of the old place



Manchester White City - was a tarmac track towards the end of it's days - then demolished all but the façade which is now restored and provides the frontage of a retail park

Buxton *

Bradford - Odsel Stadium - Quick track



Sheffield - Owlerton Stadium * Was the local track for us

Crewe - You needed a strong car to survive Crewe but it was a quick shale track

Cleethorpes

Skegness *

Scunthorpe

Hednesford * - Quick tarmac track in the days

Coventry - Sadly now gone but was a legendry shale track

Boston

Long Eaton

Leicester

Mildenhall *

Kings Lynn *

Northampton *

Birmingham *

Stoke *

Peterborough

We'd think nothing of going to Coventry on a Sat afternoon to race that night - load up then off to the chippee - then drive across the country through the night to Skegness - a few hours kip before getting the car out of the transporter and doing the repairs (always required) - race that afternoon - load up at 4 and then head off to race at either Boston, Mildenhall or Kings Lynn on Sunday night - load up and get back home at 2 in the morning - knackered - then back up at 6 for work on Monday morning - those were the days