How do the Hi-Tec Super Series categories compare?

The Hi-Tec Oils Super Series contains a huge variety of categories from TA2, the V8 powered muscle cars, to the pocket rocket Legend Cars and everything in between, but how do they compare and what are the strengths of all?

From the V8 muscle cars in TA2, the nimble and light Legend Cars and buzzing Formula Vees, Dylan Thomas knows how to compete up the front in all.

Thomas won the 2023 TA2 Muscle Car Series and finished on the podium in Legend Cars and Australian Formula Vee this year alone.

But what is the most fun, and what is the best bang for buck category? Thomas discusses his opinions on each.

“Driving a TA2 car is one of the most enjoyable cars you'll ever steer,” said the former TA2 champion.

“Their high horsepower and on a cross-ply tyre so they move around, it is fantastic to drive, definitely one of the most fun cars.

“The grip is there for like two laps, and then suddenly it starts going away at a rapid rate, you break traction easy if you're liberal on the right foot.

“To get the most out of it, you've got to have the TA2 dancing. If you're a little bit cautious, or if you don't have it set up a little bit loose, you're not going to get the max performance out of them.”

The TA2 car is old-school with no driver assists, ABS or traction control to make the job easy.

“It's a pretty old gearbox in some regards,” he said. “You've got to be quite strong on your gear changes.

“The gearbox, being a manual H-pattern, is a four speed, but the nice thing is, you are quite often going all the way back to first.”

Legend Cars Australia is a category relatively new to Thomas, he entered the series in a one-off round at the Shell V-Power Motorsport Park in South Australia.

He enjoyed himself so much, he not only elected to continue to race in the series, he bought two cars!

“The legend cars are a heap of fun to drive,” Thomas enthused. “They sound great being a motorbike engine, they're high revving which always sounds cool, and you’ve got that sequential gearbox slamming up and down the gears.

“They're a very basic car, still running analog gages. You've got speed and some stuff on a dash, but still very basic inside.”

Thomas highlights that the thrilling wheel-to-wheel to wheel racing is what makes the pocket-rocket racing series so enjoyable to be a part of.

“It's pretty bustling at a start of a Legends race, you've got to have your wits about you and be pretty aggressive,” he outlined.

“People are more willing to touch wheels, touch bars, it's a more door-to-door so to speak than a Formula Vee for example, where they leave a bit more room.

“The Legend Cars move around more than the TA2, they are quite close in terms of driving styles. The little twitches, the little movements all the time, you're quite busy on the steering wheel, there's a lot going on.”

Formula Vee was established in Australia way back in 1965 and remains a very popular entry level open-wheel series.

The category is well-known for teaching youngsters great race craft, this is due to the low power produced by the engine and the incredible slipstream duals.

In 2024 the Australian Formula Vee Championship joined the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series for several rounds, and saw Thomas return to series.

“It’s called Formula Vee because it's based on some VW componentry,” he explained. “Although a lot of the componentry is from the 1962 VW Beetle 1600, most of the stuff that goes in a car are actually, brand new.

“They are all new parts, so even though the technology is still from a bygone era.

“If you look at a modern formula Vee, they're a pretty cool looking bit of kit and they're very cost effective to run.

“At One Raceway I did both Formula Vee and Legend Cars and ironically, both cars were almost identical in lap times, but you couldn't have had two cars that were more different to drive.

“In terms of driving differences, the Formula Vee, it's a Formula car, so you are a lot more precise, very smooth.”

Pack racing in Formula Vee is some of the most thrilling in the country, Thomas is loving every second being back in the category.

“Formula Vee in terms of racing, one of the most enjoyable categories you can ever do,” he said. “Because it's strategic, you have a plan of attack, you use a slipstream very wisely, you're always thinking two laps ahead.

“Formula Vee is very much a thinking drivers race car, which is always exciting. It's not uncommon for you to be interlocking wheels without touching and very respectful and very exciting.

“The close quarter action, that’s what makes the Formula Vee and the Legend Cars, the racing is unreal.”

While the TA2 shines in the department of fun and fast, the small Vees and Legends are incredible value of money.

“The cost to run a Vee at the pointy end is probably 1/10 the cost of TA2, but the Vee is probably the cheapest national category of all to do,” Thomas said. “The legends are pretty close in value, they're not a lot more.

“Cost wise, Formula Vee and Legend Cars are very accessible and affordable racing, I was saying to some of my Vee mates that the Legend Car is basically a Tin Top Vee in a lot of regards, the simplicity of running it, and the cost effectiveness of running it.

“The TA2 is certainly more, but its significantly more car, as well bigger engine and a lot more poke under the right foot.

“At the end of the day, you always get what you pay for in some regard, and you can’t beat driving a TA2.”