:: WHAT IS AN F500 ::
	If you have been looking at the gallery photos on this site you should know what one of our cars looks like but what are the rules and why do they look the way they do?   Specifications (main points only) Engine 550cc    2 stroke and 4 stroke. 625cc 4 stroke 4 cylinder allowed with 35mm restrictors in the intake port between the carburettor and the head. Modifications are free except that forced induction or fuels other than methanol are illegal.   Fuel                                          Methanol with premixed oil if applicable Petrol is illegal for safety reasons Weight                                     Minimum weight 200 kg              Maximum weight 290 kg. Wheelbase                              Minimum           1520mm            Maximum          1676mm Maximum track width             Front 1450 mm              Rear 1500mm Harness                                   3-inch shoulder and lap belts.  Submarine belt. Arm restraints. Helmet                                     Must meet latest standards and Hans device or similar encouraged Top Wing                                 Max. 1000mm wide and 1000mm long. Max ht. 2000mm       HISTORY Formula 500 racing has its roots in the earliest days of speedway racing around WW2 when the defining class was the speedcar or as the Americans still call them “ midgets”. The budget versions of this class were smaller and generally powered by motorcycle engines of the day. They were initially nicknamed “ Three Quarter Midgets “ and as you can expect this was shortened to “TQ”.  In Australia this name lost it’s meaning to the general community so the name “ Formula 500” was adopted as it had more relevance. This name change happened when motor racing was dominated by classes with names like “Formula 5000” and “Formula 1” etc. It also did convey the general 500cc engine capacity. At the time the cars did vaguely resemble the formula cars as the bodies were still rounded like a traditional open wheeler and only small rear wings allowed.         ENGINES Everybody wants to know about engines first! Historically 500cc powerplants of all varieties have seen success but motorcycle engines have been the usual choice. Around 20 years ago Honda 500cc 4cylinders were probably the most common production bike motor with the major competition coming from the speedway bike motors like Jawa. The next phase saw an increase in the numbers of 2 strokes as the dirt bike motors rose in capacity. These motors became popular with examples like the Yamaha YZ490 equipped with special water-cooled heads. The Suzuki RG 500 began to appear while the speedway singles continued to be competitive. With the approval of the Sprintcar style of overhead wing the cars could get moire of the power to the ground and so the 4 strokes of the time were no match for a good 2 stroke of the same displacement. The RG 500 Suzuki came into its own during this period, as they are a 4 cylinder 2 stroke with direct ancestry coming from grand prix bikes of the early 1980s. As these bikes were only made for 3 yrs they were not widely available. A good and newer alternative was to obtain motors from other source like snowmobiles. The Rotax twins and others were adapted to drive through a separate dry clutch and gearbox. This became the most common combination employed.  Over the years innovation has flourished and many odd and daring things have been tried like: Two YZ250 motocross motors mounted side by side!                         Two YZ250 motors spliced together to make a twin!                         Konig 500cc 2-stroke marine engine!    Many more have been tried and some were quite successful while others that appeared to have potential caused great frustrations to their owners.   TODAY             Our class appears to be moving into another era. At the present motorcycles have shifted from the “ 500cc standard” and the 600cc “Supersport” class has emerged as a world wide racing class. This development has put enormous numbers of race replica bikes on the roads. These bikes typically produce around 100 hp unmodified on petrol. Many of these even have factory race kits so development parts are relatively easy to acquire. Combine this fact with worldwide the anti-pollution push against 2 stroke motors and you will see why the rules were opened up to 600cc. Although these motors are legal, fuel injection is banned in an attempt to keep cost down and to ease compatibility issues with methanol fuel. We now have the situation where 600cc 4 cylinder motors are very popular. The Rotax (and Polaris etc.) continue to be competitive and the early 1980’s RG500 still won’t go away.             Power figures for a good motor are probably around 130 hp. A lot of the cars weigh in at around 225 kg. This puts the power at 98 kw for a weight of 225kg. A VZ Monaro at 1700kg would need 740 Kw to match that. That is a shade under 1000hp! Could you hold that flat out around a speedway? Your set-up and nerves had better be good!!   CHASSIS There are now a large variety of alternatives. In the past the cars were all Australian and frequently home made. This practice still continues but most chassis are now built by specialists who have purpose built jigs and fixtures to produce the high quantity Chrome moly alloy space frames we use. Our cars are now in line with American speedway to such an extent that a growing number of imported chassis are coming onto the track. They usually called micro sprints in the US. and will comply with our rules with minor modification. This effectively makes ours an international racing class. These factors have ensured that the safety and performance of the cars has progressed to a high level.       TYRES Special racing tyres are used and tread patterns and compounds vary according to track conditions. The rear tyres are especially critical as plenty of horsepower is available and with only left turns tyre stagger is critical. (“ Tyre stagger” refers to the way that a taller right rear tyre is used to assist the car to turn left and the amount required changes constantly as the track dries or takes rubber as the tyres wear.)     SUSPENSION             Although almost any style of suspension is legal the modern car is like a scaled down sprintcar.      Front    The standard is a beam axle located by radius rods and a panhard rod. Shocks are racing style by specialists like Pro and AFCO. At least half are suspended on transverse torsion bars that act on the top of the axle and the rest use coil over shock units. Different drivers prefer each for their own reasons. This layout is proven to perform well on the rough tracks we often race on. It is simple and quick to repair if there is any damage.   Rear    The rear is a little more complex as we have the drive to contend with.  The axles are hollow aluminium with hubs, bearing and disc carriers splined onto it. The springs, like the front are usually transverse torsion bars but again Coil overs are common. The motor drives the axle via a chain that has to have good tensioning system to cope with the suspension movement.    WING             The front and overhead wings are used to improve the handling and tyre grip.     The overhead wing centre section is allowed to be a metre long and a metre long. This inverted wing section works like a wing on an aeroplane but forces downwards instead of lifting up. This forces the tyres onto the track and improves their grip. With the broad sliding attitude that dirt tracks allow the high side plates act in air like a yacht’s keel does in water. The plates are staggered to be lower on the left side to stop air from getting under the wing section, on the right the air cannot get off the top of the wing easily and therefore as the car travels at an angle to the airflow it maintains the wings effect.    The front wing helps to keep the front of the racecar on the ground and counteracts the way drag from the overhead wing tends to take weight off the front wheels.     COCKPIT             Our cars are required to be equipped with some very significant safety features. Full safety harness 3 inch wide webbing. Arm restraints and submarine belt Aluminium high backed seat Removable steering wheel to facilitate access for the driver. The driver must wear: Flameproof suit, gloves, footwear and balaclava  Current standard helmet and visor.   WHY RACE FORMULA 500? As the cars have developed they Formula 500 has become a great class for drivers who want to experience true speedway competition.             The configuration is so similar to a sprintcar that an aspiring driver can learn his racing craft in a car that responds to chassis tuning and driving just like a sprintcar. This fact is proven by the number of top sprintcar drivers who have come through our ranks. A lot also keep close contact and some even return to race with us between other commitments.             The driver who does not have the contacts or resources to race a sprintcar can purchase a Formula 500 and know that the costs will be lower, especially when you consider that the car and components are lighter and do not need heavy equipment like engine hoists and large transporters.             Don’t think that the racing is any less competitive. It has become a bit of a running joke among the class as we often hear the comment that our class was billed as the support but put on the better show.             If you are considering racing you should give Formula 500 a serious look. These are real racecars that give plenty of racing for the dollar.