Motorsport heavyweights back Excel racing future

An informal meeting in Brisbane to discuss topics surrounding the future of Excel racing across the nation was held last week, with representatives from all over the country present in a productive sitting.

The meeting was aimed at starting a constructive discussion to put forth ideas that reconfirm and recommit to the long term future of Excel racing as a more singularly viewed and co-operative entity, with the category seen as an important and genuine development pathway for young drivers.

Present in both in person and via ZOOM was meeting organiser Garry Connelly of the Racing Together program (also an FIA Formula 1 steward), Brett Peters of Track Attack, the CEO of Motorsport Australia Sunil Vohra (ZOOM), Roland Dane, Paul Morris, Brodie Kostecki, Arch McMurray, as well as plenty of other car owners, car builders, engineers, and team owners.

Some key points included the current divide of regulations across the states, and how the various state series’ could perhaps run under one set of national regulations, as well as how safety and driving standards could be more thoroughly policed, and the discussion around implementing a national control tyre and common control parts.

In certain terms, the entire agenda of Excel racing across Australia was up for discussion, and it was a room full of serious motorsport people discussing it for the betterment.

Through Connelly’s experience over the last three years as the Indigenous Racing Together founding chairman, he detected that there didn’t exist a common forum for interested parties to make a common vocal contribution.

“We were really pleased with the turn up to the meeting, we spoke for over two and half hours and it was very productive,” Connelly told AUTO ACTION.

Connelly is the founding chairman of the Racing Together team, who race and operate Hyundai Excels

“We came up with suggestions that we are going to put forward as a group related to technical regulations, driving standards, how to make the scrutineers job easier, and how to promote Excel racing to kids coming out of Karting, among other things.

“It was about looking forward and seeing how as a group we could help those that run the sport to make Excels more accessible, to keep the costs under control, and how to ensure fair and close racing.

“In the last three years I’ve heard a lot of comments about ways different people can contribute, but it didn’t appear that there was a common forum to be able to do so.

“Another salient fact that came out of the meeting was that a lot of race meetings – particularly in Queensland where I’m based – are made more financially viable with the big Excel fields that come in…and we believe there’s even more competitors to be attracted.

“It was also a unanimous view in the room that it should stay a state based series, and that a national championship – if it’s held – should be a one off event as to not dilute the quality of fields and spread them over too many competitions.”

Hyundai Excel racing is a densely populated development category, with series’ in operation across the whole country. Image: Vichen Photo

Conversely, Track Attack category manager Brett Peters reconfirmed the productiveness of the meeting, saying that the notion of an informal and unified meeting was long overdue.

“I take my hat off to Garry for getting the meeting together. By the time I came along to Excel racing there were two distinct groups, and I’ve been asked a few times whether I’d come to a similar style of meeting and talk, but this is the first time it happened,” Peters told AA.

“There were some intelligent people in that meeting, and I don’t think it’s a matter of “our” regulations of “their” regulations…it shouldn’t be an us or them. It’s about coming up with one set of regulations, and if that can be achieved it’s a really good thing for our competitors and the young drivers coming through via Excel racing.

“At the end of the day, everything was on the table for discussion, and it was done with a really great attitude from everyone there, so we’ll go away for now and see what comes of it.”

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