Following a meeting at Spedeworth House between Deane Wood and a representation of the 2.0 Hot Rod drivers, the following rule changes have been agreed for 2013:

Technical Changes -

Steel Flywheels: Due to safety concerns reference a recent engine blow up, and increasing safety guidelines, it was suggested that the cars be fitted with a standard weight Spedeworth steel flywheel. Standard flywheels are getting hard to find, and the material being removed by some are making them extremely dangerous. It was decided that from
Spedeweekend 2013 all cars will be fitted with a Steel Flywheel supplied by Spedeworth, governed by the O.R.C.

Door tops: In the current rules it states that no material is allowed to be removed above the waistline of the car. All cars that have removed the tops of their doors must refit them so the full door is present by Spedeweekend 2013.

Grills: All cars must, if fitted with a grille as standard, have either the standard grille fitted or a replica panel incorporating the headlights made of fibreglass which must remain the same dimensions, so the vehicle silhouette is unchanged. EG - if you were to remove the panel then the standard grille and headlights would fit in the remaining aperture. Drivers have until Speedweekend 2013 to alter this.

Light Apertures: Light apertures front and rear must be covered, either with a fibreglass panel, aluminium cover or steel. If steel is used no thicker than 1.0mm. NO MESH OR HOLES.

4.7 cwp: It was suggested the 4.7cwp should be banned as it is a competition ratio. This was overturned as the rules state the ratios are free, and everyone agreed that people who are running the Hot Rod gear kit would then be forced to spend approx £800.00 to change gearbox plus replace all their diffs. This is not cost effective so the 4.7 stays.

Door Bars: This rule is not clear and will be re-written with a drawing. To Clarify - drivers door bars must be two continuous bars constructed of cage material (38mm x 2.5mm) or (32mm x 3mm) with a minimum of 2 connecting braces made of cage material also. All other bracing is free. Passenger side may either be the same as listed above or a cross formation. EG - One continuous bar from hoop to front leg with two connecting bars forming a cross. This cross must go from the waste of the vehicle to the bottom of the hoop so as to fill the door aperture.

New Rules

Axle retubing: It was agreed that retubing of a current Ford Escort will be allowed from January 2013. This is to prolong the life of your axle and reduce costs. A size, thickness and type of material will be listed in the rule book to prevent any advantage concerning weight over a standard case. The length may not be altered.

Halfshafts: It was agreed that from 1st January 2013 if you so wish you may run after-market Quaife two piece
halfshafts. There is no performance gain from this and it is not compulsory, if you want to carry on running standard shafts you may do so. If you do not have access to standard shafts and would rather purchase new you can do this also.

Seat Position: From 1st January 2013, a seat position from rear axle measurement will be enforced. It is likely it will be set (as are the National Hot Rods) at 15” from centreline of axle to any part of the seat. Current cars will be measured before a final decision on this measurement is made.

Rear weight percentage: From 1st January 2013 a rear percentage weight will be introduced. The percentage has been talked about and the current cars will be weighed before a decision is made. These measures are not being taken to create a load of work or to make cars illegal, it is to secure the future of the sport, especially
concerning the encouragement of introducing the newer shape cars.

Transponders: From 1st January 2013 the transponder position will fall in line with the National Hot Rods - 1.8metres from the furthest forward point of the car.

Crash zones: It was discussed that some people would like to run a bolt on crush zone front and rear to save chassis damage. With the current rule (the chassis legs must pass 10” past the axle centre lines) this does not give room to legally bolt a suitable front or rear “clip”. We suggest reducing this measurement to "X" to allow if you so wish to run a front or rear collapsible bolt-on clip.

New Cars

The subject of new cars was talked about in depth. Obviously we want to encourage the newer shapes into the formula. With the new cars being larger in construction, and heavier, we have agreed on some ways to hopefully encourage these cars to be built, hence introducing a seat position and a rear weight to stop things getting out of hand.

It was decided that any car with a greater floor to roof measurement than "X" will be allowed to remove the inner skins above the waistline of the vehicle. "X" will be decided by measuring all the current cars. The Corsa C will be classed as a new car as it is considerably taller than the rest on track.

Because the new cars are generally larger in construction it was suggested and agreed that the new cars must run their original wheelbase +/– 50mm as the current rules but any car with a standard wheelbase greater than 97.5” will be given a engine position measurement of 74.25” rather than taking it off their original wheelbase. This gives them an engine position the same as the smaller lighter cars, thus encouraging new shapes rather than them having no advantage but a list of disadvantages.

While on the subject of new cars, there are two current cars which do not qualify for any of the above but after lengthy discussions it was agreed that they have broken the rule reference the silhouette of the original car. It was agreed that they have until Spedeweekend 2013 to make a new front bumper/grille panel so the car resembles the silhouette of the road car with the drop nose and the rear of the car brought back to vertical rather than wedged. If the cars are not altered then they cannot be raced after this point.

Any Drivers who have ideas or concerns about any of the above or their own idea to share to move the formula forward, please do not hesitate to contact Deane Wood.