ENTRY INTO SPEEDWAY
Junior Sedans is an entry level motorsport category in the world of speedway. Many of our national sprintcar and speedway champions owe their success to time spent learning the craft in the Junior Sedans.
Dan McCarthy investigates the true cost of racing in the popular dirt racing series for youngsters.
Over the years AUTO ACTION has written about many racing categories from around the nation and delved into the real costs to compete – however, in this look at what it can cost to go racing, we are leaving the tarmac for the first time and taking a look at speedway racing Junior Sedans is not only an entry speedway category for kids, but it is an extremely cost effective one.
The category was officially created in the late 90s, although records of titles held in Western Australia date back to 1978.
The success of the Junior Sedans grew throughout the 00s and in 2006 the entry in junior sedans for drivers aged between 10 and 17 was standardised.
The youngsters in the series race both front-wheel and rear-wheel drive road cars that have been slightly modified to make them safe on the race track.
Once a car is purchased or built the cost of running a car is next to nothing – travelling to the track generally costs more than racing, and even the repairs are extremely cheap in motorsport terms.
Cars eligible to be raced include Hyundai Excel, Toyota Corolla, Suzuki Swift, Daihatsu Charade, Mitsubishi Lancer, Datsun 1600 and even older machines including Holden Toranas and Ford Escorts.
The maximum engine size is 1.5L and as a lot of the parts are standard from the road car, the racing between all cars is competitive and closely fought.
AA spoke to a couple of fathers of racers – Darren Brumfield and Peter King. Brumfield has been involved in Speedway for many years, racing himself, and helps where he can with scrutineering of Junior Sedans in South Australia, while the King family are new to the motor racing scene.
To find out about the real cost of racing in Junior Sedans, purchase the latest edition of AUTO ACTION at your local newsagency or for the digital version click here.
