Excel Rally Series is go !!

[whitey]

Excel Rally Series is go
Approval has been given by the NSW rally panel for the introduction of a new one make rally series, which could start as early as 2004. The series will be based on the popular Hyundai Excel X3 model which shipped over 300,000 units in Australia.
A committee of current Gemini competitors has evaluated various options and drawn up a draft set of regulations. Two cars will initially be constructed to finalise the rules and develop a build manual to simplify construction for other competitors.

The Excel series will compete at the same events as the current Gemini Series and Michael Ryan will join the NSW rally panel as the Excel Series representative. The cars will allow only restricted modifications to keep costs down, engines must be standard & will be measured and sealed. The regulations will allow competitors to build cars for the Excel series which can be easily adapted, later, for the ARC F16 rules.

Michael Ryan, the Excel Series Committee Chairman, commented "It was important for us to select a vehicle that could attract younger competitors and is relevant in today's market of front wheel drive and four wheel drive cars."

A series naming rights sponsor is already under negotiation and a number of other suppliers have expressed keen interest in supporting the series & providing control components. It is also hoped that QLD may adopt the new rules as previous attempts to start an Excel series in QLD did not come to fruition.

For further information contact
Mick Ryan
David White

[AV1611]

Who will be the first team to enter themselves as Fully Sick Motorsport?

Series Events:
Rally of Cabramatta
Lonsdale Street Marathon
Anyone know of any other events in the series?

Do the fuzzy dice have to be welded to the roll cage, or can they be of the fully floating type?

Is it true that Terraphones and Peltors have been banned, and replaced by navigators speaking to drivers via 12" sub-woofers?

Sorry, I just couldn't help myself!

[raybak]

Pity it isn't the ACCENT series for Jimbo

[smee]

We should get the series regs and other bits loaded onto this web site.
Wasn't there a pre-amble floating around a while ago. That would be a good start..

[MattHarriott]

Does anyone else think that an Execl would make a strange rally car??

[Spac]

Of course - but everyone said that Geminis were an odd choice when they were first thought up.

It will be very interesting to see how quick the Excels are. Mark Thompson had an ex-works one a few years back and got 3rd at Termeil in it. Not sure how trick it was (I'm pretty sure it wasn't standard though... ).

[Mark]

Matt,

Personally, no. If you're ever in doubt of how fast an Excel can go, then look at the results for Oberon 2000 with Mark Thompson driving one...though he can drive . He came third I think, yet the car couldn't get past 145kph cos of the diff ratio! You can pick them up cheap, twin cams, lightweight. Just the same as rallying a Charade or any other FWD under 1600cc.

Damn, Spac beat me to it.

Mark

[Daveee]

I remember seeing Mark in the Excel at the Lithgow Charity Rally in 2000? I think it was. He either got 2nd or 3rd O/R. It wasn't a dud field either, there were a fair few 4WD's there!

I seem to remember it having remote canister Proflex.

[graeman]

I remember seeing the excel at lithgow too.
The car was pretty damn serious

If my memory serves me correctly I think Wayne Bell built (or at least had a lot do with building) this car.

This was around the same time Wayne was running a Hyundai Coupe with some sort of factory backing.

I doubt the regs will allow for anything of this calibre due to trying to keep costs down.

[fro]

I'm sure that the Excel Series cars will not be like Mark Thompsons. I see them being a lot closer to just a transfer of the Gemini Series Regulations to a Hyundai (and it'd be silly not to).

So to me, that means:
- Standard or control ECU.
- Free exhaust.
- Struts and strut bodies free, but must remain same method, using same mounting and componentry, or translation of whatever the Gemini wording is.
- Control tyres.
- Control cams.
- Otherwise stock, with any part of any other X3Excel being available to use (like now with the Gerbils).

And they'll go faster than the original Gerbils did. The Hyundai motor has to be good for more power than the Gemi motor was, and the suspension design has improved by 15-20 years.

I wouldn't be surprised to see bluddy Excels in the top 10 at a state round (not that we didn't see that with the original Gerbils anyway).

[whitey]

The document floated around a few months ago was the Qld proposal which did not proceed.

The NSW series has been OK'd by the rally panel but needs to be approved by the State Executive.
Once this happens we can release the series and technical regs.

The gemini series was so popular as it was a huge selling car in its day.
For the same reason the Excel series will be big- there are thousands of them, parts are cheap and they are very popular with the 18-25's.

Hopefully we may attrack some of the doof-doof crowd to motorsport

The regs are for X3's single or twin cams with standard engines, ECU's & drivetrain. Can modify suspension etc. height adjustable coilovers will be allowed but with no adjustment for bump or rebound.

Control tyres

should be able to build one for $10-12K.

more info soon.

[beanpole]

Oh marvellous.

Specify a shock and spring package (no adjustable heights) NOW!

Specify an engine NOW!

Allowing stuff like Proflex (remember it has many guises) is silly.

Maybe I'm just a little annoyed at the massive devaluation the Gem I just picked up has just suffered.

[rowdytoot]

I'll be interested to see where it goes long term, and how a relatively un-strengtened XL shell lasts-cos not everyone is going to stitch weld and 12 or 14 point cage it At least you can guarantee that everyones going to have strongly plated control arms etc, cos the standard ones just fall apart with road use!


It'll be kewl to see how the top XL guys run against the top Gemini guys ... should be interesting, and yeah, no proflex, thats going to blow the cost to be competitive right out, not that I'd think about FWD rallying each to their own.

I take it they'll still be open diff'd?

Beanie-- worry not, people will be asking 8-10 K for XL series cars, and people who can afford that will pay it, we'll still be able to onsell our gemini's for 5 K.. cos 5 K and 8 K is a big gap!!

Hmm, I wonder take the gemini, add injection or webers, bigger brakes, nah just never back off

Rowds

[Jme]

I've navigated in the "Thompson Excel".... it's a good piece of machinery...... but a long way from standard.

It's an ex-Wayne Bell factory car (Wayne ran it in ROC one year and was very quick across Angle Crossing). Mark won his first rally in it out at Bathurst and pushed the Crokers in Datsuns, beating them at times in the ARN JRC. He got 3rd at Lithgow behind Gnomey, and Carlos Casmiri one year, 4th another, and went well in the SSS Rally- I think 3rd again behind Urqhart and Campbell Waller.

Adam Thompson drove it in a few events as well with success, I think Adam and I were 9th in the Bathurst State round one year, and Jeff Doggett did OK in it as well- might have even won a rally in it at Sunny Corner. Greg Carr won a class in Rally Oz in it..... but it was a "special" car. Mark went to fairly extreme lengths to get more speed out of it, and drove the thing bloody well.

The excel series cars will be vastly different- don't expect the same speed.

I guess to keep costs down restrictions will essentially be put on Motors, G/boxs, diff etc. Anybody know how reliable standard parts will be under rally conditions? I guess we will find out.

Proflex isn't really a big issue. If it's non adjustable it won't be overly expensive (might even be cheaper in the long run)...... except for maybe if ya wanna use rollers.....

It will be an interesting class to keep an eye on. The most exciting bit for me is the competitors with the intention of running the cars are all fairly talented drivers- and competitive, so it will make for an interesting series.

With regard to a control tyre, maybe a free market situation is better..... 13" tyres aren't overly expensive and competition between the tyre companies might result in a better deal for competitors.... Just a thought.

[gemrally]

Hi all,

Havnt been on here for ages but have been waiting for news on this series for about 2 years i reackon.

This has to be good news for NSW rallying. I'm pretty sure that it would attract the younger competitors more than the geminis do, mainly just from the age of the car.

Plus would definatly be funny funny pulling up next to a ricer at a set of lights in one.....i can picture the confusion now.

Also saw that excel of thomsons a few years back at oberon and its looked very quick.

Am still going to try for the gemini series next year but after that i can see this being a better option.

Cheers

Tim