2 Litre Hot Rod were introduced in 1986 to bridge the gap between National Hot Rods and Stock Rods. The original class was called 1600 Hot Rods because they used the Ford 1600 crossflow engine. The Spedeworth rules were also used in Northern Ireland. The class was relatively successful up until the mid-90's when numbers dramatically reduced, at this stage in Northern Ireland the class was going well and they dominated the class.

To bring drivers to the class, reduce costs and move away from the ageing Toyota Starlet the rules were changed slightly in 1997, first the front to rear wheel conversion was allowed and then the following year the Ford Pinto engine replaced the crossflow. This did make the cars go slower but has made the class probably the best domestic hot rod class in the country. During the mid 90's Ringwood also ran the class and were represented at major championships. The racing has a good rivalry between Northern Ireland and England, both nations have had similar success in the championship meetings since the class has been under 2 litre power. The World Championship is held in Northern Ireland every 3 years and in England the other two, this year it's held at Hednesford for the first time.

Domestic meetings take place in normal graded order, because of the sheer amount of drivers racing some meetings have split grids for the heats. To keep interest in these domestic meetings small series like the Ludlow series take place. Other titles have been sponsored by BP and sent the winners to Daytona or South Africa.

Other 2 litre classes exist around the country, GMP and Buxton pinto based formula's are closer in specification to National Hot Rods, while Barford's are closer to Stock Rods. Rolling Thunder have changed their hot rod class to the same as the Spedeworth two litre. Drivers who come into the class normally have Stock Rod or SEGTO experience, in the early days of the 1600 Hot Rods it was drivers dropping down from the National Hot Rods.

The Cars
The car construction is similar to that of a National Hot Rod as full space frames are allowed, but the exaggerated body panels aren't, nor is the use of kevlar and glass fibre on the whole car. Most cars are a mixture of steel wings and doors with kevlar doors and bonnets. The cars run use one tyre supplied by Hoosier.

The variety of cars is larger than any other class of hot rods. Modern shapes like the Ford Fiesta are raced, while the class does tend to mimic the Nationals. The latest trend seems to be the Vauxhall Tigra. The Vauxhall Nova is the most popular car on the grid but Saxo's and Corsa's are catching up in numbers. Older style cars such as the Renault 5 and Peugeot 205 still have a home in this cars against the newer models. A few oddballs like a Nissan Almera and Suzuki Baleno also race. Ludlow and Haird are main constructors in the class while cars built by Kevin Randell and Tim Barnes have also proved successful

Tracks
Racing takes places on all the Spedeworth tracks plus the two Northern Ieland tracks. With Incarace being controlled by Deane Wood's Spedeworth the class ventured to Northampton in 2008 for the National Championship; for 2009 they have 3 meetings at Hednesford including the World Final in August.

Tracks Used: Ballymena, Eastbourne, Great Yarmouth, Hednesford, Ipswich, Northampton, Nutts Corner, Wimbledon For further information check out the track guide.

The Drivers
There are a large amount of drivers registered in England and Northern Ireland. A comprehensive guide to all the registered drivers and their cars can be found on the drivers page.

Championship Winners
The first title held was the Southern back in 1986, The World final was first contested at the 1989 Ipswich Spedeweekend and won by 57 Alan Dent. Downloadable files of the top 6 from all the major championships can be found on the champions page. The last six World Champions still race in the class.

Rolling Thunder Show
Hosted twice a month at Arena Essex the class originally started as an open class but gradually morphed into a 2 Litre class similar to the one Spedeworth promote. Although short on numbers at present the quality is beginning to shine through with former Lightning Rod World Champions Rick Pannell and Mark McKenzie signed up for 2009. If the two classes were ever to unite it would push the class onto a higher level.

The Future
The class is now well developed and one of the best formula's around. It's unlikely to spread to other promotions but the car specification will modify. The ageing Ford Pinto is being replaced by the Ford Duratec, testing will take place soon and the engine will become phrased out like the Crossflow was 10 years ago. This may produce a dip in numbers but is good that oval racing is taking steps to move with the times.

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.whistlinjacksmith.co.uk