The Hyper Racer X1 Australian Drivers’ Championship

In 2024 the Hyper Racer X1 series was renamed as the Australian Drivers’ Championship, a prestigious title which has moved under the Australian Auto Sport Alliance (AASA) banner.

The open-wheel Hyper Racer X1 series first ran in 2022 and has grown almost round upon round with ever increasing grid sizes.

Primarily the category has been run in Victoria at Victorian Motor Racing Championship (VMRC) events. However this year, as the Australian Drivers’ Championship, the category has competed on the national stage for the first time.

A couple of months ago the series ran with the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series round at the Shell V-Power Motorsport Park in South Australia, and this week re-joins the national program at One Raceway.

The car was designed by Australian father and son duo Jon and Dean Crooke over several years, created to fill a space in the Australian Motorsport landscape.

“We wanted to do what Formula 3 cars do, but for less money and less maintenance,” Dean Crooke explained. “We weren’t trying to just reinvent the wheel of an F3 car. They have their place, and we have our place.”

“We're trying to achieve the high downforce open-wheel experience, but just in a slightly more sensible way.

“For 20 years, everything has gone to carbon fibre monocoques which means serious dollars.

“We saw a possibility to use a tube frame chassis and tube steel suspension, it's the use of carbon fibre in a non-structural way for all the body work. It brings the lightweight aspects to it, and it does all the right things, but it's stops short from an expense point of view if you crash it.”

Although it may not be a carbon fibre monocoque, it is up to the highest safety standards globally in Motorsport.

“The cars have got the FIA approved side intrusion panel, we're the only people in Australia manufacturing that panel,” Crooke said. “It’s a 10mm thick Carbon Kevlar panel.

“Then with the removable head restraints, removable overhead protection and Carbon Kevlar seat within the chassis, so that you're not exposed to tube work. The safety is as good as it can be.”

Customer finances have been at the forefront of many decisions made by Jon and Dean Crooke.

One example is the tyre compound elected is incredibly durable, only two sets are required per year, with a maximum of three sets mandated to complete the entire season.

“Trying to just make some sensible cost-effective decisions were important, like the F3 tyre, which is used all over the world, a proven thing,” he stated.

“The wishbones flip left and right; the brake calliper rotor and hat are the same on all four corners. The suspension push rods are the same in all four corners. So minimal number of spares are required to fix things.

“Lastly, modular bodywork, it's all modular, you can replace bits, you're not damaging a carbon fibre half clip.

“From our endless years of experience racing we knew we didn’t need a show car or a Time Attack car, but a really usable race car that you could go out and hammer on the circuit and keep it running.”

One of the great things about the Australian Drivers’ Championship, is that drivers are competing for the honour in Australian manufactured machines.

Like many motorsport categories globally it is a spec series in which every single driver is given the same equipment, Jon Crooke explains.

“The beauty to a lot of these guys is that they know when they're on the grid, they have got exactly the same car as Dean has got, even down to the wing angles, we've got a setting that we've set, you can't adjust the springs either,” Jon said.

“It's a spec series,” Dean Crooke added. “We're manufacturing locally, all Australian built.

“People aren't manufacturing their own cars to a spec, we're the manufacturer, so it's spec controlled class.

“The Suzuki Hayabusa engine in standard form is awesome, so we keep control of that, standard ECUs, all that kind of stuff. It's the way it needs to be.

“The engine produces in the ballpark of 500BHP per ton, it's a weapon. No other way to say it. It’s just a brilliant, proven power plant used all over the world.”

Unlike most open-wheel racing cars, the Hyper Racer X1 machines were designed with good quality racing in mind.

This means the machines are not the most aero efficient car in a straight line, but this is what contributes to the fantastic close racing that we have become accustomed to.

“Another thing about this car is it's quite a dirty aero package, we didn't want to go for swoopy modern F1 look,” Crooke explained.

“We wanted to go for aggressive angles and big scoops, just make the thing look good.

“Due to the shape, one thing that you get with that is awesome slipstreaming battles.

“One car punches a big hole in the air, so we end up with this mega competitive racing because no one can get away from each other. The competitive racing is getting better by the month at the moment, it’s really cool.”

Jon Crooke added that the aero deficiencies in a straight line have not slowed the car down in the bends. At The Shell V-Power Motorsport Park, the cars can take the fast right handers Turns 8-10 flat out just shy of 200kph!

“The aero is designed to make real downforce, it might be dirty in a straight line, which is great for racing, but it's also incredibly exciting in the corners,” he said. “Formula Fords and even F3 cars haven't got the grip that this has got in the corners.”

The talent is flowing to the Australian Championship, with the likes of Super 2 Race winner Brad Vaughan, as well as Formula 3 Championship frontrunners Noah Sands and Ricky Capo making cameo appearances.

There are soon to be 25 completed cars in Australia, making it the largest wing and slicks category in this country for quite some time. However, in America there is also a huge interest for the cars. Fifteen are now on US shores.

Big things have happened in this category this year, they have been shown on national TV for the first time on SBS, Kayo and Fox Sports, featuring on the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series bill, but also now travelling around the nation.

“It’s a great step for us, a key step for us to continue to ramp up a bit and as the field grows and tag onto bigger meetings and travel a bit more,” Dean stated. This thing started in Victoria, where we're based, only two years ago, now look at it!”

Dean explained what a privilege it is to have the Australian Drivers’ Championship name with the category.

A title that has been used since 1957 and has seen the likes of Mark Skaife, Will Power, John Bowe and Kevin Bartlett take the crown.

“That’s big news for us,” he said. “As other categories have come and gone, the AASA picked up the Australian Drivers Championship.

“With legitimately competitive racing and bigger names coming all the time. It's going to be fascinating to see where this is at in three to five years. It could be serious stuff!”