Regularity

What is a regularity? Believe it or not, regularities have nothing to do with getting enough fibre in your diet! The idea is that you nominate a lap-time and then try to achieve lap-times as close as possible to that time. Bonus or Penalty Points are allocated on the basis of time difference, and the best overall score wins. It's a popular event amongst drivers as it rewards consistency rather than outright pace, where even the slowest cars on the track have an equal chance of winning if they drive consistently. There are usually more cars on track at once, compared to supersprints and club track days, which provides the opportunity for overtaking and being overtaken.

Members from the Mazda MX-5 Club of NSW compete in both individual and regularity relay team events. Please contact Stewart Temesvary for further information.

Regularity Relay Team Events

Regularity Relays are events where teams of four or more drivers participate in a regularity, taking turns on track to match their nominated time as closely as possible. With only one car from each team allowed on the track at a time, there are up to 50 cars together on the track! A complicated formula rewards consistency and heavily punishes those who drive too quickly. Strong performance in these events demands intensive teamwork by the pit crew who manage manual lap timing and communicate this information to the driver via pit boards only. Currently there are four regularity relay team events on our club’s motorsports calendar:

  • NSW 6 Hour Regularity Relay at the Sydney Motorsport Park Grand Prix Circuit
  • Mobil1 Sandown 360 at Sandown Raceway, Melbourne
  • Victorian 6 Hour Regularity Relay at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
  • Alfa Club 12 Hour Regularity Relay on the long circuit at Winton Victoria

 

NSW 6 Hour Regularity Relay

The NSW Road Racing Club held the first NSW 6 Hour Regularity Relay on the Druitt (North) Circuit at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2016. Held on the Easter long weekend, the event swapped to the Gardner (Grand Prix) Circuit for 2017 and has been run there since. The number of competing teams has grown steadily from 16 in 2016 to 33 in 2022.

The 2020 NSW 6 Hour was moved away from the Easter weekend, and has not coincided with the Easter weekend since then. Due to Covid-19 and the difficulty of hiring the circuit for two days, 2021 saw the event run on one day, with practice in the morning and the event run as a day-night event. 

The 2022 event returned to a two-day event with practice on 12th March 2022 and the event run on Sunday 13th March 2022. For the first time in our history, the 2022 event saw teams from the MX-5 Club of NSW taking a clean sweep of the podium with Panorama Mountain Men pipping Barge Racing in the last few laps to take first place, with Pissed ‘N’ Broke staging a late charge to secure third place. Read about it in Motorsport Australia - Speed Read.

History of Mazda MX-5 Club of NSW at the NSW 6 Hour Regularity Relay

  • 2016 - three teams finishing 8th, 11th and 13th
  • 2017 - four teams finishing 1st, 2nd, 9th and 12th
  • 2018 - nine teams finishing 5th, 7th, 8th, 16th, 18th, 19th, 23rd, 26th and 33rd
  • 2019 - nine teams finishing 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th and 15th
  • 2020 - cancelled due to Covid-19
  • 2021 - ten teams finishing 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, 11th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, and 32nd
  • 2022 - seven teams finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd,10th, 11th, 16th and 24th
  • 2023 - four teams finishing 1st, 3rd, 9th and 15th

2022 NSW 6 Hour Relay Podium

 

Sandown 360

In 2019, the Porsche Club of Victoria combined with the organiser of the Victorian 6 Hour Relay to run the inaugural "Victorian Endurance Series", combining the results of Sandown event with the results of the Phillip Island event to get an overall winner.

With the success that the Panorama Mountain Men team from the MX-5 Club of NSW has enjoyed at the Phillip Island event, it was a natural progression for the team to take on the Victorian Endurance Series.

In 2022, the team entered the event for the first time and much to their own surprise, won the event. Read the story here. The team backed up this unexpected win with victories in the 2023 and 2024 events to take out a hattrick and remain undefeated at Sandown.

Mobil1 360 Six Hour Relay 2022

 

Victorian 6 Hour Regularity Relay

The Victorian 6 Hour Relay grew in popularity after its inaugural event in 2006. The event was conducted during mid-winter at one of Australia's premier race track - the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. The Mazda MX-5 Club of NSW first entered one team in 2011, growing to six teams in 2018. At it's peak, the event was oversubscribed, with a strict entry process utilised to determine the teams that would be accepted.

Due to spiralling costs and reduced entries, in 2024 the event was cancelled and is unlikely to return. The event will be sorely missed.

Between 2011 and 2023, MX-5 Club teams have won eight podium finishes. Our club’s most successful team, Panorama Mountain Men was the only team to win three times, including being the event's only back-to-back winners in 2018 and 2019. More Info. See CAMS - Speed Read cover story.

History of Mazda MX-5 Club of NSW at the Victorian 6 Hour Regularity Relay

  • 2011 - one team finishing 39th.
  • 2012 - three teams and our best result of 2nd, 7th and 15th.
  • 2013 - three teams finishing 19th, 25th and 26th.
  • 2014 - three teams finishing 11th, 12th and 48th.
  • 2015 - five teams finishing 2nd, 11th, 12th, 29th and 38th.
  • 2016 - five teams finishing 2nd, 18th, 25th, 26th and 33rd.
  • 2017 - four teams finishing 12th, 33rd, 38th and 40th.
  • 2018 - six teams finishing 1st, 5th, 22nd, 32nd, 42nd and 43rd (story).
  • 2019 - four teams finishing 1st, 8th, 15th and 17th
  • 2020 - cancelled due to Covid-19
  • 2021 - cancelled due to Covid-19
  • 2022 - two teams finishing 1st and 2nd
  • 2023 - two teams finishing 1st and 5th

Phillip Island 6 Hour 2018 Presentation

 

Alfa Club Regularity Relay

Conducted at Winton Raceway, Victoria in mid to late October each year, the MX-5 Club of NSW first entered a team in 2015 for the 10 Hour Relay to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this Regularity Relay. In 2017, the event changed to a 12 Hour Relay, to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the event. This consisted of 3 hours practice and 5 hours regularity on Saturday, followed by 7 hours regularity on Sunday. After a two year gap due to Covid-19, in 2022 the event returned in a 10 Hour format with 3 hours of practice and the first 4 hour of the event on Saturday, followed by the remaining 6 hours of the event on Sunday. More Info.

History of Mazda MX-5 Club of NSW at the Alfa Club Regularity Relay

  • 2015 - one team finishing 15th.
  • 2016 - two teams finishing 5th and 18th.
  • 2017 - two teams finishing 1st and 13th (story).
  • 2018 - two teams finishing 1st and 10th (story).
  • 2019 - three teams finishing 1st, 15th and 22nd.
  • 2020 - cancelled due to Covid-19
  • 2021 - cancelled due to Covid-19
  • 2022 - five teams finishing  2nd, 3rd, 12th, 22nd and 26th.
  • 2023 - three teams finishing 2nd, 9th and 19th.

Alfa 12 Hour Relay 2018

 

Individual Events

Challenge Bathurst

The inaugural Challenge Bathurst event was held in November 2016 and was a successful event where more than 200 cars competed in five regularity fields of over 40 cars per field. While Mount Panorama is a daunting track it is arguably the best track in Australia and a very rewarding track to drive. MX-5 Club of NSW members achieved outstanding results with two members winning groups C and D, one member achieving a second in his group E, and one member achieving third in group C.

November 2017 saw the second running of the Challenge Bathurst event and a small but enthusiastic contingent from the MX-5 Club of NSW competed. The torrential rain on the Saturday and numerous red flag interventions didn't dampen their spirits. RPM Chapter achieved a clean sweep of the podium in Group C, while club members also took out second and third in Group D. For a detailed report on this event click here.

November 2020 saw club members take a clean sweep of the top step of the podium in all regularity categories, with one member becoming the first competitor in the history of the event to take out first place in two groups in the one year.

November 2021 saw Club members take a clean sweep of the Group B podium and the top step of the Group A podium.

More Info.

 

Motor Racing Australia (MRA)

Motor Racing Australia (MRA) was formed in 2005 to create a cost effective route to racing. Each meeting features races for Super TTs, Sports Sedans, MX-5s, Superkarts, and the latest category additions of Excels and Pulsars. MRA continues to operate cost effective and friendly motorsport, whilst maintaining a high level of safety and communication with competitors. Regularities are usually offered for those who would like to participate in the race meeting, but prefer to avoid the door-to-door racing. More Info.

 

Festival of Sporting Cars (FOSC)

The Festival of Sporting Cars has evolved from the desire of a small group of dedicated individuals to stage motor racing events where enthusiasts could compete simply for the sheer fun and pleasure of it. The regularities are popular with several Club members and we encourage others to join the fun. It's regarded as the closest thing to racing ... without actually racing. More Info.