Stockcar (Europe)
Stock car , also stock car or stock car , describes a type of car race that emerged in German-speaking Europe in the 1970s, in which jostling and collisions are permitted and encouraged. Older used cars are mostly used. The first stock car races were held in Germany. B. from 1973 in Heudorf im Hegau or from 1976 in Bramsche near Osnabrück .
These races are not recognized as motorsport by the FIA and therefore also by its national member associations, which are responsible for sports sovereignty. Sports sovereignty is held by the DMSB in Germany , the OSK in Austria , and Auto Sport Schweiz in Switzerland .
The stock car is driven on an approximately 500 meter long oval course with uneven ground. There are six to twelve vehicles per race on the track. The start is in different racing classes, which differ according to the type of drive and engine power of the vehicles.
Because of the numerous, deliberate collisions, the vehicles must be safe for the drivers. A roll cage is indispensable in the car, as it cannot overturn or turn. As a rule, cars that are no longer suitable for road traffic are converted for this purpose. For many fans of the stock car, the fascination is certainly to go to the limits of their driving skills in a legal way.
Night races are rather unusual in racing, especially in the case of stockcars, as these are usually not (no longer) equipped with the technology required for this and therefore have to be specially retrofitted directly before the race. The vehicles must have at least one headlight and a tail light (at any point).
The sport achieved particular popularity when Stefan Raab organized the big TV total Stock Car Crash Challenge on June 25, 2005 , in which 30 celebrities competed in ten teams. The race presented all facets of German stock car sport, as there are no national regulations. Much has been achieved for the popularity of this sport. The show was a great success. The eleventh and final edition took place in 2015.
Germany
Bavaria
In Bavaria, more than 50 clubs have formed the Bavarian Stock Car Association (abbreviated to BSCV) and have been driving under its rules and regulations since 1978. The association is divided into two groups, the northern group comprises the areas between Regensburg, Munich, Ingolstadt, Nuremberg and Weiden. The clubs around Regensburg, Straubing, Landshut and Passau form the group south. During the year, between five and six races are held in both groups, whereby - depending on the class - only a certain number of drivers and teams qualify for the finals. In this final, the Bavarian and German champions of the respective classes are determined. This always takes place annually alternately on a north or south route.
Great importance is attached to security. A suitable racing suit, sturdy footwear, a ruff and wearing a helmet with a shatterproof visor or protective goggles are mandatory for the driver.
Everything that has a risk of splintering or fire must be removed on and in the vehicle; Expediently, everything in the interior is expanded to include a permitted sports seat. In order to minimize the risk of injury, the driver's door must be stiffened in accordance with the rules and a roll cage installed. The trailer coupling and the original tank must also be removed, whereby this is instead attached between the axles and must not exceed the maximum tank volume of 30 liters. The window panes in the driver's area are replaced by a grille to protect the driver from falling rocks, for example. A racing license is not required.
It will start in the following classes:
- Unobstructed class: Bavarian Championship (up to 1300 cm³, up to 1800 cm³ and over 1800 cm³)
- Junior Cup (max. 1300 cm³ and 44 kW, from completed 16th year of life to completion of 18th year of age)
- Built class men: Bavarian Championship (up to 1800 cm³ and over 1800 cm³)
- Built-in class women: Bavarian Championship (no engine capacity limit)
- Built-in class men: German championship (no displacement limit)
- Built-in class women: German championship (no engine capacity limit)
- Special built-in class: Bavarian Championship (no engine capacity limit)
- Cross-Run: Bavarian Championship (up to 2000 cm³)
- Super class self-made: German championship (from 147 kW; self-made in a visually beautiful condition)
- Super class body: German championship (from 147 kW; series vehicles in optically beautiful condition)
Since the super-class vehicles are manufactured in many hours of work and are also heavily motorized, there is an absolute crash ban in these races, but leaning against is usually allowed.
No welding work may be carried out on the body in the unobstructed class, the exterior of the car remains in its original condition, although the above safety regulations must still be observed.
In the case of the built-in class, however, the trunk, for example, may be removed in order to offer a smaller surface area. In addition, welding work on the body is allowed, so it is possible to remove certain parts of the vehicle and remodel them with 1 mm sheet steel. Nevertheless, the engine area must neither be stiffened nor reinforced.
On May 5, 2007 a stock car event took place in the Munich Olympic Stadium in front of several thousand visitors. This was the first major official stock car event in Bavaria.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
There are currently three locations for stock car races in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Grimmen, Stavenhagen-Basepohl (also known as Reuterstadt-Stavenhagen) and Sanitz-Wendfeld.
The races in Grimmen have a special character. The Stock Car Race in Grimmen is in the Guinness Book of Records with the “largest field of starters”, which consisted of over 600 drivers. The origin of the race in Grimmen is a motorcycle meeting in 1992. At that time, around 30 cars were driven and the event was only intended as a show.
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania the following classes are driven:
- Open class up to 60 hp
- Open class over 60 to 80 hp
- Open class over 80 to 140 hp
- Open class over 140 hp and all-wheel drive vehicles
- Open class rear-wheel drive vehicles
- Trabant class original 26 hp
- Trabant class tuning
- Self-made buggy class with Trabant engines
- Caravan
this is followed by the junior classes:
- Junior class buggy 13-17 years old original 26 HP
- Junior class Trabant 13-17 years old, original 26 hp
Especially the commitment of the many clubs in the conversion of the vehicles, in the education and instruction of young people and the introduction to the sport under the motto: "Affordable for everyone" play an enormous social importance. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania there are around 100 clubs whose origins are stock car racing. The cradle for it was in Grimmen. And the response from several thousand spectators at every event at the places mentioned proves the unbroken popularity of this sport in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
Lower Saxony
In Lower Saxony there is the Uhlenköper-Ring near Uelzen . The Heide Cup is held on this permanent earth track (which has existed since 1978) . Over 150 participants start here over two days. The start is in ten different classes. In the full contact class "Stockcar" you can jostle, push and roll over the opponent. Deliberately attacking the driver's door is prohibited. The winner is whoever is the first to complete the required number of laps. Anyone who causes their opponents to roll over receives coveted extra points.
The Heide Cup is unique in Germany to present the Bangers . In Bangers or Banger Racing , opposing vehicles may be pushed and attacked while standing. Sometimes the direction of travel can be changed and serviced. Banger races began in England in the 1960s and were later driven in Germany in the early 1980s (e.g. by the ASCN in Kaldenkirchen / Nettetal and on the Vestlandring in Recklinghausen).
The following classes are used in Lower Saxony:
- Youth: 1 - 60 hp
- Stock car class I: 1 - 60 hp
- Stockcar class II: 61 - 90 hp
- Stockcar class III: 91 - 120 hp
- Stockcar class IV: 121 - 150 hp
- Class V stock car: 151 hp - open, including all-wheel drive
- Bangers / Banger Racing
- Speedway
- Speedway Girls Race
- Long Distance
Saxony
In Saxony, too, “stock car races” or “crash car races” have been very popular for many years and were very widespread until recently. Race tracks in Grimma, Hartha, Altenburg, Dolsenhain, Nentmannsdorf and Seiffen were the venue for the races several times a year.
The following classes are driven in Saxony:
- Class I - up to 1300 cm³
- Class II - over 1300 cm³ to 1600 cm³
- Class III - over 1600 cm³ open (no all-wheel drive)
- Class IV - Trabbi
- Class V buggy
Origin of the stock car races in Germany
From around 1970 the stock car racing scene began in Germany, for example in Bonn with races for everyone, probably infected by the proximity to the Nürburgring. Anyone who had made their car more or less suitable for racing was allowed to compete, but that was limited to removing the entire interior including the windows. Stiffeners or roll bars were considered unpopular cost guzzlers, as were belts, and a crash helmet had to be enough.
Luxembourg
Stock car races were also held in Luxembourg in the 1950s , at that time on the tracks in Bruch and Medernach . In 1968 the national association Fédération Luxembourgeoise du Stock-Car (FLSC for short) was founded , responsible for the sport of stock car .
Today the races in Luxembourg take place alternately on three tracks in Alzingen , Schüttringen and Buschdorf . For the 2013 season, a total of 9 racing teams were registered with the FLSC. There are basically seven races a year, which are alternately organized by one of the participating racing teams or by the FLSC itself. There are two classes of driving:
- Class I - up to 2800 cm³, only two-wheel drive: Two races of 20 laps each are driven, in which the first 10 pilots qualify for the finals. After that, depending on the decision of the organizer, one or two hope runs of 15 runs each , from which a further eight drivers qualify for the final. A total of 25 laps will be driven in the final.
- Class II - up to 2000 cm³, only two-wheel drive: Here two decision runs of 15 laps are driven, the points of these runs are added. The first 28 drivers will be qualified for the final.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Andreas Reichelt: Stock Car - passion for motorsport. In: Tele Regional Passau 1 (TRP1). Retrieved December 11, 2018 .
- ↑ Welcome to the Bavarian Stock Car Association ( Memento from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), BSCV homepage, accessed on November 9, 2011.
- ↑ The Heide Cup. Retrieved July 30, 2018 .
- ↑ Stock Car Race in Bonn 1970 Not for the faint of heart: Zwischengas.com (last accessed April 13, 2016)
- ↑ In Memory of Stock Cars Team Medernach ( Memento from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)
- ↑ www.stock-car.lu - Reports ( Memento from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ FLSC: Racing Regulations 2002, 2013 edition ( Memento of July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF)