THE ENGINEERING NIRVANA IN UK RALLYCROSS
Motorsport News looks at the Supernational division
When we were asked by editor Matt James to select our top 10 from the 50 nominations for Motosport News’s best-sounding competition cars of all time feature last month, top of my list was Andy Burton’s Peugeot 306 Opel Cosworth V6.
It’s without question that Burton’s machine and its wailing V6 engine used to sound incredible in the stages but, in hindsight, I think giving it top spot in my selection was influenced by other factors too. Mostly, innovation.
The reason rally fans flocked to see Burton’s car in action was not just for the fantastic noise it emitted but also because of the story behind the car. It was a case of a Herefordshire farmer and his mates doing in-house (or in-shed in this case) development to push boundaries, create something unique and take on those with better, or at least more massproduced, machinery.
Excluding the latter element there, the same could have been said for many rallycross cars in classes throughout the division’s 53 years of existence with rules often loose, at best, compared to other motorsport categories.
Today, at the highest level of rallycross in the World and European Championships for Supercar and Super1600, tighter regulations and homologation has, to a degree, put an end to radical innovation.
Gone are the days of four-wheel-drive Bi-turbo Porsche 911s, DAFS with engines mounted where the passenger would usually be seated, the infamous Ford Escort Xtrac with its radical transmission system and ex-formula 1 aerodynamic devices being bolted onto Supercars ad hoc.
A home for those machines has been created in many national and regional series, and none more so than the pioneering Retro Rallycross Championship in the UK which, as a class for cars from the discipline’s past, is increasing in popularity.
But, innovation in contemporary rallycross isn’t dead yet either, due to the Supernational categories’ continuation. Most Supernational divisions in domestic series (notably in Scandinavia) are dominated by rearwheel-drive, saloon car-based machines. But in the UK the class once known as Modified and later Super Modified has been home to all sorts of sometimes weird and often wonderful creations.
Of course there are pages of technical regulations for the class but, fundamentally, the basis of the rules is for cars to have the engine housed in the original location as the road-going version. The engine has to have the same number of cylinders as the standard one and it has to be two-wheel drive (but it doesn’t matter which axle is driven).
The holy grail of the creating a car for the class is a machine that can start well to help its driver get to the front of the pack, then be able to deliver fast consistent pace to remain there.
That sweet spot has been hit, but rarely. While the consensus has been that rearwheel-drive machines launch better, front-wheel-drive cars are faster over a single lap once moving. That is a scenario that has produced great racing over the years as drivers battle through the field. But, for the last three terms, Tristan Ovenden has found the ultimate form with his Renault Clio V6 and dominated the class in the British series.
Incidentally, it’s not actually a Renault Clio V6: it’s a space frame chassis that houses a Vauxhall V6 engine in the rear. When the car was first introduced by the Bird family, Mick and James, in 2005, it took a long time for it to become competitive to the extent it could fight for regular wins, never mind titles.
James Bird secured a couple of those, a legacy Ovenden has continued.
The key point here is that Ovenden, who is clearly an extremely gifted driver too, is stepping up to the Supercar class in the new-look 5 Nations British Rallycross Championship this year and, by keeping the title-winning Clio in the family and currently parked up at home, the Supernational field could be blown wide open.
There’s no getting away from the fact that the class has struggled within the British RX ranks in recent years. There doesn’t appear to be a simple fix either, but by removing a dominating factor
(in this case Ovenden) hopefully that change can help things a little for the better, even though it has been nice to see and hear the Clio on song.
Motorsport in general is different to that of even a decade ago however. Singlemake categories in British RX, such as the BMW Minis, Suzuki Swifts and RX150 buggies have offered an affordable and accessible way for people to go racing, whether through self-builds or arrive-anddrive packages. It’s the same in rallying to an extent too with the different levels of R categories through the ranks and the fully involved or not involved at all options for competing on offer.
But, while Burton’s 306 has long since been outlawed by Motorsport UK’S rules in rallying, innovation of a kind is still evident in rallying, especially at the lower levels.
The problem, which extends into rallycross’s Supernational class too, is that innovation usually means bespoke. That, in turn, means unique and potentially expensive. Getting a specialist to build a one-off, top-level car is always going to be costly and, over the last two decades, there have been some crazy figures in excess of £130,000 rumoured for some Supernational machines.
Aside from those with the funds to order a bespoke build, the class is best suited to those willing and capable of building themselves.
Look no further that Michael Boak’s self-built space frame Audi TT in which he first used a fairly standard Volkswagen 1800 turbo engine, then later a 1900TDI. Mike Dresser was the person to introduce a Lotus Exige, which first used 2003 featured a sequential gearbox and tuned engine, but the same concept has also been adopted in cheaper and more standard trim by the likes of Ash Simpson and now title-contender Paige Bellerby.
Des Wheatley, who is no longer competing, fitted a Judd-tuned MG British Touring Car Champioship engine to his front-wheel-drive Metro and there have also be a raft for both front- and rear-wheel-drive hatchbacks from Allan Tapscott’s high-spec Vauxhall Corsas (of both front- and rear-wheel drive) to Mike
Howlin’s rear-drive Millington-powered Ford Fiestas. At the other end of the spectrum, the Mitsubishi Evo-powered Ford Fiesta created by Jamie Lea now raced by David Ewin. Ewin bought it a few years ago for less than a single-make Swift or Mini would have set him back.
One challenge the class faces is that the majority of competitors have less free time in the current era, less time for tinkering and learning while building and developing their own one-off race cars in sheds at home. Whether that’s led by generally more accessible amenities, easier communication, social media, vast television broadcast viewing or games consoles that replicate reality better than ever, is a whole different topic. Also, spending hours locked in a garage isn’t always seen as a beneficial extracurricular activity.
There will always be those willing and able to spend big bucks in motor racing.
Christopher Evans’ Nissan Micra was immaculately built by Tony Bardy Motorsport and featured a Nissan touring car engine, but he was challenged for the 2003 title by rallycross stalwart Dave Bellerby in a self-built Nova.
Simon White famously built a Renault Clio for the class with a large budget, that actually never reached its potential, while Julian Godfrey adapted his European Championship Super1600 Fiesta to run a two-litre development engine in Supernational, and claimed the 2010 crown.
The list of cars that have made the category interesting and exciting is far too long for this page, but the huge joy from a spectacle point of view is that, it’s said, variety is the spice of life. Where else can you see an Lotus Exige racing a rear-drive Fiesta, a Toyota MR2 and a front-wheel-drive turbocharged Volkswagen Golf, door-to-door on a mixture of surfaces? Nowhere.