Australian HPV Super Series

Australian HPV Super Series
Category HPV Racing (Velomobile Racing)
Country or region Australia
Inaugural season 1985
Teams 230+
Last Teams' champion Team Phantom
Official website http://www.pedalprix.com.au

The Australian HPV Super Series is an annual championship held in South Australia. The series exclusively features HPV's (human powered vehicles) racing around enclosed circuits for 6 to 24 hours. It is the largest event of its kind in the world, attracting teams from around Australia and the World. The Australian International Pedal Prix is the third of three races in the annual Australian HPV Super Series currently held in Murray Bridge. The races have been running since 1985.

Contents

History

In 1985, what would become the inaugural Pedal Prix race was held in the car park of the Underdale CAE on Holbrooks Road with less than a dozen participating teams. This event was the start of the Australian HPV Super Series and it generated tremendous interest. Vehicles varied considerably in sophistication and quality but the potential to get students involved in designing, making and testing were readily apparent and planning for the next event proceeded.

In 1986 the event was moved to the Road Safety Centre on Oaklands Road, Marion to cater for the increased number of teams. Rules 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 grew 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.

1997 saw the event move permanently to Murray Bridge, where the Sturt Reserve will be sealed off and adapted 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.

2012 Dates

Racing Divisions

Division
Category 4 Open to any team, usually consisting of university and technical/re-entry college teams.
  • Up to 10 riders per vehicle
Category 3 Senior High School, consists mainly of high school students under the age of 19 before Round 1
  • Up to 12 riders per vehicle
Category 2 Junior High School, consists of participating high schools students under the age of 16 before Round 1.
  • Up to 14 riders per vehicle
Category 1 Primary School students only.
  • Up to 20 riders per vehicle
Division
Girls Division Categories 3, 2 & 1 each have a girls division
  • 12, 14 & 20 riders per vehicle respectively.

Round 1 & 2 - Victoria Park / Adelaide

The first two races, held in May and July, are six hours long and take place at Victoria Park, Adelaide on a closed-circuit track 1140m long. The fastest teams achieve distances of over 200 km during their races. The track uses the southern hairpin and start line of the current V8 Supercar circuit and also once used by the Australian Grand Prix. Prior to 2009 the track included an uphill segment of Wakefield Rd making the track 480m longer than its current layout with lap times being 40% longer.

Fastest individual Racing Lap at Victoria Park (short track)

Category 4

Category 3

Category 2

Category 1

Greatest Race Distance Achieved during Victoria Park 6 Hours (short track)

Category 4

Category 3

Category 2

Category 1

Round 3 - Murray Bridge 24 Hours

The series concludes in September with the main event, the 24-hour Round 3 race at Sturt Reserve in Murray Bridge, which attracts over 30,000 spectators yearly. This race has three school-level categories and one for private and/or non-institutional teams; the latter sees teams from all over Australia competing for top spot. The closed-circuit track is 2.150 km long and flooded with over 200 teams, the best of which may cover over 1,000 km (620 mi) during their races. The race starts at 12:00 pm on a Saturday and concludes 24 hours later, although in the 2007 race, gale-force winds caused the race to be stopped an hour early.

During the first race at Murray Bridge in 1997, the track by-passed the Northern Hairpin and "Crash Corner", resulting in the track being approximately 366m shorter than its present layout. In 2000 the Northern Hairpin was added and in 2004 the corner leading up to the main straight was remodelled to its current shape, now known as "Crash Corner". In 2011 the Southern Straight was resurfaced removing the roughest section of the track.

Fastest individual Racing Lap at Murray Bridge

Category 4

Category 3

Category 2

Category 1

Qualifying/Shootout

Greatest Race Distance Achieved during Murray Bridge 24 Hours (long track)

Category 4

Category 3

Category 2

Category 1

Winners of the Murray Bridge 24 Hours

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

AIPP HPV Super Series Championship Winners

The current format for the AIPP HPV Super Series involves 3 rounds where each bike receives points relative to its finishing position e.g. If a bike comes first and there are 214 bikes, that bike is awarded 214 points.The bike that comes second is awarded 213 point and so in a diminishing fashion so the last bike is awarded 1 point.The bike with the most point after the 3 rounds wins the championship.

2005 Series Champions

Category Bike/Team Round 1 Points Round 2 Points Round 3 Points Total Points
4 - Open Blueshift / Hamilton Secondary College
3 - Senior School
2 - Middle School
1 - Primary School

2006 Series Champions

Category Bike/Team Round 1 Points Round 2 Points Round 3 Points Total Points
4 - Open BALLISTIC / BALLISTIC 110 145 214 469
3 - Senior School Sagero / Heathfield High School 104 140 202 446
2 - Middle School Scorpio / Gleeson College 103 138 204 445
1 - Primary School Flying Hubcaps 1 / Aberfoyle Hub Primary 83 119 165 367

2007 Series Champions

Category Bike/Team Round 1 Points Round 2 Points Round 3 Points Total Points
4 - Open Team Ballistic / Murray Bridge Telstra Racing 130 160 223 513
3 - Senior School Sagero / Heathfield High 122 155 213 490
3 - Senior School [G] Blur 1 / Loxton High 99 127 135 361
2 - Middle School Scorpio / Gleeson College 120 153 212 485
2 - Middle School [G] WR1 / Walford Anglican School for Girls 0 106 192 298
1 - Primary School Flying Hubcaps 1 / Aberfoyle Hub Primary 103 133 185 421
1 - Primary School [G] Cruising Hubcaps / Aberfoyle Hub Primary 77 85 134 296

2008 Series Champions

Category Bike/Team Round 1 Points Round 2 Points Round 3 Points Total Points
4 - Open BlueShift / TAFE SA 139 172 222 533
3 - Senior School The Calais / Westminster School 135 162 214 511
3 - Senior School [G] Pink Panther / Modbury High School 84 114 159 357
2 - Middle School ICE / Immanuel College 126 160 198 484
2 - Middle School [G] WR1 / Walford Anglican School for Girls 0 113 164 277
1 - Primary School Flying Hubcaps 1 / Aberfoyle Hub Primary 111 144 183 438
1 - Primary School [G] Cruising Hubcaps / Aberfoyle Hub Primary 70 110 105 285

2009 Series Champions

Category Bike/Team Round 1 Points Round 2 Points Round 3 Points Total Points
4 - Open Son of Tiger / Tri-Sled Fresh Racing 149 168 227 544
3 - Senior School Blizzerd / Immanuel College 138 161 215 514
3 - Senior School [G] Blur 1 / Loxton High 119 144 182 445
2 - Middle School Raging Senior Hubcaps / Aberfoyle Hub School 128 155 203 486
2 - Middle School [G] SCR-1 / Scotch College 97 82 120 299
1 - Primary School Flying Hubcaps 1 / Aberfoyle Hub Primary 116 132 168 416
1 - Primary School [G] WR3 / Walford Anglican School for Girls 0 60 117 177

2010 Series Champions

Category Bike/Team Round 1 Points Round 2 Points Round 3 Points Total Points
4 - Open Tru Blu / Tru Blu Racing 145 171 214 530
3 - Senior School Vortex Ultimo / Heathfield High School 136 165 203 504
3 - Senior School [G] Blur 1 / Loxton High 112 153 184 449
2 - Middle School Blur 2 / Loxton High School 131 161 201 493
2 - Middle School [G] SCR-1 / Scotch College 105 134 164 403
1 - Primary School Highgate Hot Rod / Highgate Primary School & Flying Hubcaps / Aberfoyle Hub School 104/101 140/141 169/171 413
1 - Primary School [G] Handorf Hornets Silver / St. Michaels Handorf 54 82 78 214

2011 Series Champions

Category Bike/Team Round 1 Points Round 2 Points Round 3 Points Overall Points
4 - Open Aquila / Tri-Sled Fresh Racing 146 177 213 536
3 - Senior School Just Razzing / Bendigo Senior Secondary College 145 176 197 518
3 - Senior School [G] Victorious Secret / EDEC HPV Team 132 162 187 481
2 - Middle School Raging Senior Hubcaps / Aberfoyle Hub R-7 School 135 169 198 502
2 - Middle School [G] SCR-1 / Scotch College 120 150 166 436
1 - Primary School Flying Hubcaps / Aberfoyle Hub R-7 School 119 149 172 440
1 - Primary School [G] WR4 / Walford Anglican School for Girls 57 71 68 196

See also

External links