HCMC Events

HCMC is primarily a club-level motorsport club with an emphasis on fun and learning car control skills, and most of our events are held on either grass or gravel. Members of the club tend to be oriented more to Rallying rather than Circuit Racing, but we do have at least one weekend of racing per year at a race track within New Zealand, and we can boast some prominent circuit racers as past members of the club. Following are descriptions of the main type of events we run:

TRIALS: Trialing involves following a set course with a navigator in your car, following a pre-determined route from instructions, adhering to time schedules and 'spotting' check boards or signs along the way. Trialing can be enjoyed by anyone, in any car, as it is not a speed event. We have even occasionally had crews where the kids old enough to read fluently have navigated successfully for Mum or Dad! We try to run at least a couple of these each year.

MOTORKHANAS: An excellent way to start motorsport, a Motorkhana involves driving around various short courses marked by plastic cones. The time is recorded and penalties are added for knocking over the cones or not completing the course correctly. Usually smaller cars do well, but it is more the skill of the drivers car handling that provides the winner. We run several of these each year, drivers do not need helmets, overalls, or special MSNZ licences and Motorkhanas are open to all types of cars.

AUTOCROSSES: These are three laps timed around a short racetrack marked out with cones. Usually held on either grass or gravel, but occasionally on seal, the longest straight is less than 200 metres, and the cars run one at a time. The Driver needs to be a member of a MSNZ affiliated Car Club and have cotton overalls, a helmet which meets the minimum standards, and a fire extinguisher. Newcomers can compete twice before joining a Club. We run several of these each year, and they are very popular, especially for competitors on a limited budget!

HILLCLIMBS, SPRINTS, ETC: A Hillclimb is a Sprint up a hill, usually on gravel or tarmac. These are a popular event, especially with the more novice drivers. Sprints can be straight or bent. A straight sprint is a drag race, but a bent sprint can be either once over a course, or several laps of a track.  These can be run on closed roads or proper race circuits. Cars run either one at a time, or two at a time if the course is suitable (in which case the event is sometimes referred to as a dual sprint or dual bent sprint). They can be on closed public roads, a race track, or a farmers paddock! We usually have a "Weekend away" each year when we hire Taupo racetrack, and run a series of different sprints, (along with a great social night in between!) The majority of our Sprints during the year however are run on a gravel course. Sprints have the same safety and licence requirements as an Autocross.

RALLYS AND RALLYSPRINTS: For this level the car must have a roll cage fitted and there is a list of required safety modifications to be carried out. All vehicles are carefully checked for safety prior to an event. The very popular Woolf Mufflers Rallysprint Series is run in conjunction with five other Car Clubs in the top half of the North Island area. Also many of our members participate successfully in the Top Half Rally series, although at this stage we do not actually run a rally ourselves.

CIRCUIT RACING: This is the one type of event that our club does not organise or get involved in, we leave that to the bigger clubs which have an interest in a circuit, we concentrate on the grassroots level event that suit the majority of our members best! But regardless of what form of motorsport you are interested in, there is bound to be someone in the club that can answer your questions about it.