Australian HPV Super Series

Dates

From the 2016 season onwards, Category 4 open teams race on Saturday and the remaining categories race on Sunday at the Victoria Park rounds.

Note: Events held at Busselton are non-series events and are not included in final results calculations.

Point System

From 2014 season each teams best two rounds from the 6 hour races are added to their result from the 24 hour race to determine their Series Championship total. From 2016, points are allocated by category result instead of overall result.

Category Standings

Note: At the conlusion of the Cat 1-3 race at Victoria Park (Round 2), protests were lodged against 2 category 3 teams (Team 22 Trisled Development Team and Team 316 GTrikes Matrix) with the complaint being that both Trisled and GTrikes fielded riders who had finished school. Due to the rulebook being unclear for the eligibility of category 3 riders, the rule could be interpreted both ways which subsequently led to the disqualification of both Trisled and GTrikes. The official ruling pointed this out - "Neither Team 22 (Trisled) nor 316 (GTrikes) has sought to gain an unfair advantage. They have appraised AIPP of their intentions throughout and have been open and honest with AIPP. The interpretation of the rule by AIPP as it is currently written was incorrect. AIPP unreservedly apologises to both teams for the error in interpretation."

History

In 1985, what would become the inaugural Pedal Prix race was held in the car park of what was at the time the Underdale Campus of The University of South Australia on Holbrooks Road. There were less than a dozen participating teams. This event marks the start of the Australian HPV Super Series and at the time it generated tremendous interest. Vehicles varied considerably in sophistication and quality but the potential to get students involved in designing, making and testing the vehicles was readily apparent.

In 1986 the event was moved to the Road Safety Centre on Oaklands Road in Marion (currently being turned into a wetlands) to cater for the increased number of teams. Rules and standards were developed to guide teams in building vehicles so that they were safer. This site was considerably more complex with many corners and a hill to test riders and their vehicles.

The popularity of the event continued to grow and it soon became apparent that the number of entries was growing beyond the capacity of the Road Safety Centre. As a result, in 1992 the event was moved to the Adelaide International Raceway at Virginia, SA. This site easily catered for the increased number of entries. The wider, flatter track saw records for the distance travelled in the 24 hour endurance race increase. A major disadvantage of this site has been its openness and exposure to weather. Wind, dust and an uninteresting track layout had the committee looking for alternatives. 1996 marked the last time that petrol driven hybrids were allowed to participate. At various stages throughout the history of the 24 hour race there have been categories for petrol and solar hybrids as well as a commuter category where more than one rider was in the vehicle.

1997 saw the event moved to Sturt Reserve, Murray Bridge, where for the first time public roads were sealed off specially for the event. It was felt that the new venue would comfortably accommodate the number of entries anticipated, provide a greater challenge for teams and provide a better atmosphere for all competitors, spectators and visitors. The field at the first Murray Bridge totalled 90 teams. The record size for the competing field at Murray Bridge was 228 set in 2009.

In 2003, The HPV Super Series began, with a championship season that spanned 4 races. They included two 3 hour sprints on the same day and later a 6-hour race all at Victoria Park and then concluded with the 24 hour Murray Bridge event. The two 3 hour sprints were then replaced with a single 6 hour race. A 9-hour race was trialed once during 2009 for round 2 at Victoria Park. The current series format is four 6 hour races and a single 24 hour final race.

The 2013 Murray Bridge event was the first to include teams representing five states/territories with teams from South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales and the Northern Territory present.

In 2014, a street circuit in Loxton, South Australia was introduced as the new opening round of a four round championship. A street circuit in Busselton, Western Australia was introduced as the second non-series event, joining the circuit at Mount Gambier. The Murray Bridge street circuit remained as the final round and the two Victoria Park races remained, albeit now as the second and third rounds of the championship.

Notable riders

Racing Categories & Divisions

Categories 1, 2, 3 and 4 are assigned specific colours for their display numbers.

From 2006 a division for all-female teams was added to Categories 1, 2 and 3.

Loxton, South Australia

This race, currently held in May, is six hours long and take place at Loxton, South Australia on a 1.53 km street circuit that incorporates Loxton's large center roundabout. The track made its debut for the 2014 season as a six-hour race. This track heavily favors lighter bikes due to the climb on the southern side of the track.

Victoria Park, Adelaide, South Australia

This race, currently held in June and July respectively, are six hours long and take place at Victoria Park, Adelaide on a closed-criteruium track which is 1.354 km long. The fastest teams can achieve distances of over 250 km during these races. The Victoria Park track is now in its third incarnation. Prior to 2009 the track included an uphill segment of Wakefield Rd. From 2009 to 2012 the track used the southern hairpin and start line of the Clipsal 500 Track and a new section running parallel to Wakefield St. Late in 2012 it was confirmed by the Adelaide City Council that the redevelopment of Victoria Park had been given the green light. The redevelopment now includes an extension to the short track to take it past the heritage grandstand present on the site. This track heavily favors the most aerodynamic bikes due to the lack of slow corners.

Murray Bridge, South Australia

The Australian HPV Super Series concludes in September with what is considered to be the premier HPV event in the country, the 24-hour, final race at Sturt Reserve in Murray Bridge. The event now attracts over 30,000 spectators and participants annually, becoming an economic boon for the town. It attracts the best teams from all over the country to what is considered the toughest and most competitive race. The closed-circuit track is 2.061 km long containing a series of left and right hand corners, fast straights and challenging corners. When flooded with over 200 teams it makes for genuinely tricky and exciting racing, The elite teams may cover over 1,000 km (620 mi) during the race. The race starts at 12:00 pm on Saturday and concludes 24 hours later. (note: In 2007 the race was stopped early due to gale force winds).

During the first race at Murray Bridge in 1997, the track by-passed the northern hairpin passing straight through from corner 3 to 9 resulting in the early track being approximately 366m shorter than its present layout. In 2000 the Northern Hairpin was added. In 2004 the corner leading up to the main straight was transformed to its current shape (shortening the track by 40m). This corner has had various sponsors names associated with it, it is known popularly as "Crash Corner". In 2011 the Southern Straight was resurfaced removing the roughest section of the track. This track requires bikes to have good aerodynamics, minimal weight and decent handling.

Friday Qualifier & Saturday Shootout

In 2005, a timed Friday night practice session was introduced. This session is used to determine the grid positions for the start of the race the following day. This also included the introduction of a Top 12 Shootout where the three fastest teams from each category were given the opportunity to set a lap time on a clear track on Saturday morning before the start of the race to determine the top 12 positions on the grid.

In 2008, the shootout was expanded to a Top 15 shootout to include the fastest all female team from categories 1, 2 and 3. The shootout has quickly become a crowd favourite since its introduction. Large crowds gather around the track to cheer on the fastest teams as they are given the opportunity to push their trikes to the limit on a clear track. Top teams exceed 70 km/h on the main straight during their flying lap.

2003

Special Note Bendigo Youth Racings victory over Team Ballistic was the closest in the events history with only 10 seconds separating them after 24 hours.

2007

Special Note The 2007 race was only 23 hours long as it had to be cut short by an hour due to gale force winds.

2016

Special Note Due to the mill now operating during the race, a different track was used with a large chunk of the old track being taken out.

Other Australian HPV Races