The category will not only make its first appearance on the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series schedule, but also its first trip to Sydney Motorsport Park.
A regular on the Victorian Motor Racing Championship, the series underwent regulation changes at the start of 2025 to broaden the range of eligible machinery, expanding on the 2 Litre Sports Sedan formula.
Diverse fields generally contain in excess of 20 cars at events, including John Cooper Works Mini Coopers, Toyota 86s, modern hot hatchbacks, and 1980s machinery.
Sports Compact president Travis Talbot noted the news of the Sydney event had been well received by the competitors.
“Sydney is somewhere where the club has never raced before and having that opportunity to do that has the members very excited,” Talbot said.
“Something that I really wanted to do was put our club on a national stage at some point, AASA gave us the opportunity to do that, which for a club level racing class is almost unheard of.
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“AASA gave me the pick of the bunch; I could put my category anywhere on the calendar.
“Night racing on the full circuit. What other chance do you get to do it? That was the one we had to do in mine and the committee’s eyes.”
Talbot hinted that the grid would expand for the trip north, with the chance to race under lights on the national stage enticing additional entrants.
“We’ve got a few new additions that are coming along for Sydney, just because it is a special event for us racing under lights,” Talbot added.
“Something that we’re pushing and encouraging as a club is for the drivers to run the Fast and the Furious-style neon under glows on their cars, just to have a point of difference out there on the track.”
Split into five classes, Sports Compact promotes diversity of machinery, with minimum weight rules applied to create parity.
Class A is for highly modified space frame or factory floor pan cars, similar to traditional Sports Sedans.
Class B (1600-2000cc) and C (up to 1600cc) are for heavily modified production cars using the original factory floor pan.
Class D is for heavily modified production cars up to 2.5L, with a heavier minimum weight to align it with Class B.
Class E is specifically for heavily modified production cars with forced induction engines, again with strict minimum weight rules to promote parity.
“The great thing about the category, there is not one car that’s the same as the other,” Talbot said.
Sports Compact is also open to invitational cars that do not meet the regulations, however have similar performance to class entries.
The category hopes that racing with the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series becomes an annual tradition.
“I 100% would love to, if the members let me do it or not is another story,” Talbot said.
“I would absolutely love to do at least one event every year on the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series calendar, because they are just such great race meetings.”
Sports Compact joins the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series Sydney Sunset Showdown at SMP on July 17-18, a unique Friday-Saturday format under lights.
Headlining the event will be the TA2 Muscle Car Series, the Australian Endurance Championship, and the AASA Australian Formula Ford Championship.
Rounding out the undercard alongside Sports Compact is Formula RX8, Legend Cars Australia, Innovation Race Cars, and the Australian Drivers’ Championship.
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