In a bid to foster and develop new driving talent Valvoline Raceway has announced a new concept known as “Development Sprintcars” to compete over six nights in the 2017/2018 season.

The concept will be open to a maximum of 18 drivers per night and will be run over three heats in total (two heats per driver) and an all-in 18 car 20 lap main event.

“It’s a daunting process fronting up to run USC Sprintcars at Parramatta,” concedes USC Champion Robbie Farr, “it’s brutal racing against anywhere from fifty to seventy cars depending on the night. You only get qualifying and your heat to get it right or you can find yourself buried in the C or B-Main. When you’re just starting out or your operating on a small budget that’s a big challenge.”

The idea is to get track time for drivers who are selected on their current experience and track speed.

“You won’t be seeing any of the front running teams using this as a test session”, Farr explains, “This is specifically designed for drivers who currently struggle to finish beyond mid-pack in a B-Main. This idea gives them some laps in a less hectic environment and more importantly it will boost their confidence. Something like this benefits not only the drivers involved but the A-Main teams who race with them.”

With such limited practice and test opportunities in Australian Speedway across the board it’s not practical for a newcomer to just go out and do hundreds of laps before a race event to get up to speed at Valvoline Raceway.

The Development Sprintcars will run as a support program for the other categories racing on the night.

They are not the headline act and as such are really an extension to the program.

“This is just perfect for a team like ours,” says Global Racing second year USC racer Cordi O’Hehir, “confidence is such a huge part of racing these cars and if we can improve my confidence and my speed at the same time it’s got to be better for everyone. I’m excited about it.”

Drivers who race in the Development Sprintcars nights are not restricted from competing in rounds of the USC.

The dates for these Development Sprintcar nights are:

October 21
November 18
December 16
February 17
March 10
April 14

More information on the concept will follow soon…