FUTURE VOTE BY SPEEDCARS AUSTRALIA FOR HYUNDAI MOTOR ELIGIBILITY
By Dennis Newlyn
Speedcars Australia will soon vote to determine if the two litre, twin overhead cam forced induction four cylinder Hyundai engine will be accepted into Australian Speedcar racing.
The final decision will be handed down within several weeks following a vote amongst delegates (which includes car owners) after submissions for general rule changes have been submitted to Speedcars Australia by January 31. Any such changes will be immediately rubber stamped after voting and then enforced into the 2026-27 season.
The Hyundai engine in a car out of the Donald Mackay stable, already has competed at various tracks after having been given preliminary permission to run race meetings, (excluding title events) following an earlier (time governed) submission to Speedcars Australia.
The Hyundai objective by the Mackay team is to potentially reduce running costs of Speedcar engines and hopefully this will lead to an increase in car numbers in the ranks.
The motor has undergone extensive testing and results show it’s a potentially cheaper alternative.
“You can run these engines for three seasons with only preventative maintenance required,” Donald Mackay said.
“As a comparison, a brand new short motor Hyundai (block to cylinder head) ordered through HMO Customer Racing (Sydney) is ten to fifteen thousand dollars delivered to your front door the next day as opposed to a regular freshener which can up be upward of six to twenty thousand dollars every season,” Donald explained.
He then added:
“This regular ongoing maintenance is required only once in three years with the Hyundai and all parts are available from a local Hyundai anywhere in Australia. You can certainly pick up a Hyundai motor from your local wrecker as a stock standard car engine, suitable to then be used in Speedcar racing.
“At the moment it is hard to put a complete final price on the Hyundai motor because there are so many optional variables, but I can guarantee it is an affordable engine for Speedcar racing. I see this Hyundai engine as an investment for the sport. It is purely a cost and affordability factor in an attempt to get a regular higher car count for the Speedcar division,” Donald stated.
The Hyundai has been running during this season and ran competitively at Goulburn Speedway recently.
The objective is to provide competitors with reduced costs and also to offer a “cheaper” alternative engine for Speedcar racing with a specification lifted from 1.8 to 2 litres.
It’s basically a motor straight out of a road vehicle Hyundai, with minor development changes, however maintaining a very good horsepower rating comparable to current engines.
There are a number of different Speedcar engines used in the marketplace, all are worthy, and the Hyundai is a very interesting option in the best interests of Speedcar racing overall.
The competitive level of Speedcar racing never remains dormant in this wonderful, traditional section of Australian speedway history.
