Stockhatch racing is the fastest growing motorsport in Ireland. When it was introduced here less than two years ago just 14 cars raced that season. This season upwards of 50 cars will take to the track.
Stockhatch is a class within Rallycross, which is rallying on a closed circuit where the track is at least 35 per cent tarmac and 35 per cent dirt or gravel. The secret of Stockhatch's success is ease of accessibility for competitors, facilitated by a strict and very short list of permitted modifications to the cars. This keeps the cost of getting into the game very low.
Graham Lenehan of the Co Kildare Motorclub, who brought the class to Ireland in February 2002, says it's possible to get racing for as little as €1,500: "The average amount spent on buying and preparing the cars is about €3,500. Some of the lads have spent as little as €1,500, others have blown their budgets and spent up to €7,000."
Stockhatch cars must be front-wheel drive, hatchback vehicles with an engine capacity of between 1400 cc and 1600 cc and not more than two valves per cylinder. As a result, a number of cars have become class standards.
The Peugeot 205 GTi is very popular among racers as are the Citroën AX GT, the Vauxhall Nova GT, the Ford XR2 and the 1.4 dual carburettor Honda Civic. These cars are all from the late 1980s or early 1990s and can be picked up for €600 or €700 from the classified section of the motoring papers.
Most of the outlay, according to Lenehan, is in the safety features required for the car to pass scrutiny before a race. "The car must be fitted with a roll cage, fire extinguisher and racing seat before it will be allowed near a track," he says. "The driver's helmet and race suit are also checked to make sure they comply with safety regulations. That's where a lot of the start-up money goes, reducing the risk of injury to ourselves."
The overriding principle driving Stockhatch is that the car must be constructed from standard parts approved by the manufacturer of the body shell. It's permitted to remove all the interior of the car except the dashboard. Seats, panels, carpets, anything that can be ripped out is ripped out, stripping the inside back to bare metal and reducing weight in the process.
Any engine, gearbox or drive train can be fitted provided they are of the same marque - an XR2 can only have Ford components, a 205 only Peugeot and so on. The suspension, and the exhaust system as far as the manifold, must be standard.
Without getting into the minor technicalities, that's more or less all that can be done to the car before entering it for racing.
The season stretches from October to March. Race days, all at the Mondello track in Co Kildare, consist of a series of short heats of about 10 laps in quick succession. The top two from each five-car race progress to the next level and so on until the final.
The cost of entering a day's racing is €135. The faster you drive and the higher up the grid you finish the more races you get to drive and the better value for money you get.
One of the beauties of Stockhatch cars, says Lenehan, is their multi-functionality. When the season is closed many competitors try their hands at hill climbing. These events are held the length and breath of the country and have classes for most types of cars. Also popular off-season is rally sprint, a single stage event in which cars are let off at five-second intervals.
Having spoken to Stockhatch racers in Mondello, you get the impression that the fun element is high on the list of priorities for them. The racing is serious and competitive, but the thrill of driving a hot-hatch flat out along the main straight at 100 mph before braking sharply and turning into a tight right hander comes across as being more important than any first prize.
The more competitive end of bargain basement Rallycross is the Fiat UNO class. In this category, cars are allowed far more modifications than the Stockhatch class, and the competition is fierce. A race-ready car costs between €4,000 and €5,000.
This year's championship leader is Simon "Sid" Knott. He says the cost of buying and racing a car for a year can mount up. "The UNO class is more expensive than Stockhatch," he says. "The cars cost more to buy and maintain and, as you're allowed more modifications, you can find your bill for the year excluding the cost of buying the car tipping in at around €4,000 or €5,000." Sponsors can help to ease the pain, but it's not easy to come by, particularly for teams starting out.
A recent survey by Ford showed that, in Britain, Germany, France and Scandinavia, Rallycross was the third most popular form of motorsport just behind Formula One and International Touring Cars. High spectator admission fees and astronomical racing costs characterise both these classes.
The cost of getting into Rallycross is minimal in comparison and, as Graham Lenehan, assures, it's cheaper again to get into Stockhatch racing. "Putting together a Stockhatch car is a great way of getting into motorsport," he says. "It's all the fun of racing at a fraction of the price other Rallycross classes."
So, get scanning those classifieds and we'll see you on the track in October.