Suzuki Swift Cup: one-make fun and games

One-make racing doesn't always make good spectating. That is unless you're spectating from the best seat in the house -- in the thick of the action.

With a standard 92kW engine the Suzuki Swift Sport barely qualifies as a warm hatch -- let alone a hot one... But add a roll cage, fettled suspension and a race-grade brake make-over and you have a recipe for fun.

Yours truly's introduction to the Australian Swift Sport Series came as part of larger plot -- to race Fiat Abarth Assetto Corse 695 in the 2014 Bathurst 12-hour. Bathurst requires a full national CAMS racing licence, which in turn stipulates a minimum number of race meetings be completed each year. My national rally licence didn't cut it.

And so the Suzuki Swift Series organisation was drafted in to assist the effort. And thus the first part of an ongoing Bathurst adventure began.

The HiTech Oils Australian Suzuki Swift Cup is a seven-race series that attracts up to 15 competitors from up and down the coast. Races are a mix of sprint events and longer 1hr races that are conducted in conjunction with the Australian Manufacturers Championship -- a production car series.

The Swift racers are incredibly standard. No changes are allowed to the engine or gearbox and a standard clutch is used. The rules allow for 17-inch wheels to enable the fitment of control-tyre sponsor Achilles 123S race rubber. Race-spec brake pads and braided lines are the only changes allowed to the stoppers. The exhaust is opened up and most importantly, a Monster Sport mechanical limited slip differential is fitted.

Other changes are specifically prohibited.

That means the racing is incredibly close -- at least when the good guys are behind the wheel.

My first laps were at Phillip Island and I was ONLY 12sec a lap off the pace. Only! Let me tell you in any racing that's a lifetime!

By the end of our last meeting in the Suzukis -- a pair of races at Sandown including a one-hour event, the margin between yours truly and the fast guys in the class had narrowed enough to make me competitive (albeit in the second half of the field!). It’s a measure of the user friendliness of the Swift Sport racecars that that's the case.

Along the way there were a few adventures -- including a bonnet coming adrift and smashing the windscreen at full noise on Eastern Creek's main straight -- and a mile of smiles...

Take it from me, if you're after an accessible form of enjoyable, close racing, the Suzuki Swift Cup is worth a look.

Talent shines through in these cars, for one because they are sensitive to technique but never malicious. Good front-drive technique requires proper racing lines, and strong positive throttle use. The Swifts reward this but allow enough forgiveness for newbies to build their skills and pace.

The Achilles tyres help in this respect. Although not providing ultimate levels of grip, they warm quickly and are consistent across a race – even the one-hour event. By the same token, if you're too rough, they overheat and slow your times. Again perfect for good drivers to show their best.

With the Japanese-sourced limited slip diff and suspension geometry changes the Swifts are taily enough to get around a racetrack quickly. They slide early and often, but the brakes as modified are very strong.

At Eastern Creek, the Swifts were easily the fastest cars in Turn One when compared against the Under 2.0-Litre Improved Production cars we race against. In one wet race, our flock of Swifts were giving the 180kW Civics, Integras and the like plenty of curry.

And in a field containing seriously fast production cars at Sandown, there was only one car (Grant Phillips’ Pedders Toyota 86) that matched the Swifts for pace at the two squiggly bits at either end of Sandown's big-power straights. On the straights, well that was a different matter!

In a word, the Swifts are a hoot!!!

Series promotor Sean Keeley reckons the Suzukis are also extremely tough. In three seasons of racing, competitors have had few mechanical issues. Driveshafts are a week point (understandable given the hiding they get) but the cars use standard clutches and engine pulldowns are rare.

Given the brand building value of the racing, its incongruous Suzuki Australia plays no role in the series. Although Queensland Suzuki distributor Mayfair assisted the series organisers with parts pricing, there is no parts or dollar support from the factory-owned organisation.

With the Swift very much part of the Aussie small car landscape, Keeley and his partners are hopeful the Series will continue for a few years yet.

In 2014, the series will be an integral part of the Shannons Nationals and race alongside the Australia Production Car Championship. A number of the current competitors have already signed on for another dose of Swift action. In our experience, they're welcoming, helpful and, though they race hard on Sunday, are only too happy to show newcomers the fast way around.

A number of options are available if you're keen to join in on the fun -- be that with a brand-new racer that you own or on a lease per race basis.

Motorsport is never cheap, but the Swift Series proves it can be both affordable and fun. If you've ever thought you might like to take the plunge, don't wait... Dive in!!!

Find out more about the Australian Suzuki Swift Series at www.swiftracing.com.au

For information contact: Shaun Keeley 0409 134 290

Special thanks to Rob and Allan Jarvis for their advice and assistance during our Swift racing adventure. The father and son team are frontrunners in the series (Allan was 2011 and 2012 champ) and are great supporters of newcomers to the series.

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