With all the different classes of desert racing,
newcomers to the sport can easily get confused by the class names and
terminology. The purpose of this article is to give you an idea, at a
glance, of those cars numbers and what they really mean. VW based, and Tube Chassis cars
have been a staple of Off Road Racing since the sport began, all those
years ago. It started out with stripped Volkswagen Beetles, using
fairly stock engines and suspensions. These cars were usually built in
someone's backyard for a local, non sanctioned race. That was
then..... Today, VW and Tube Chassied cars are a quantam
leap ahead of thier vintage counterparts. Although there are several
desert and short course racing series in which these cars compete, we
will Use SCORE's classifications here. VW's  Class
11(Arturo Velazco)
Class 11 harkens back to those days gone
by with simplicity being the norm. The VW is about as stock as
you can get. The only real mods allowed are a Full Roll Cage to
protect the occupants, Skid plates to protect the engine and
front end and as big a tire as will fit within the stock wheel
wells. This is an excellent class for first time and low budget
Racers to get involved in Desert Racing without going broke in the
process. Just make sure you bring a strong butt and kidneys !
 Class
5-1600 (Rick
St.John / Ross Craft)
Class 5-1600 (Sportsman) are true Race
Cars, offering higher speed, Increased Suspension Travel, a
heavier, more structural Roll Cage, Multiple Shocks, Increased Safety
and a stronger but limited motor. The class requires the use of a 1600 cc single
port, single carb engine. Still, 85 to 90 HP is common. Wheel travel
is on the order of 10 in. front / 13 in. rear, utilizing a
stock type suspension. The 5-1600's use the type-2 "Bus"
transmission , over the smaller Type-1, along with Type-2, up to
Porsche 930 CV joints for thier increased durability. While not a low budget vehicle, these cars
can be built and raced competitively for a fraction of the cost of the Funny Cars of the VW world, the Class 5's. This class is gaining
popularity, with over 20 cars entered in the '96 Baja 1000
alone. These cars can be punishing at high speed, but who said
winning was easy ?
 Class
5 - "Trophy
Bug" (Mike James /
Mike Kalicki)
Class 5 Unlimited Baja Bugs (and
in rare instances, Porsche bodied) that thrill the VW loving crowds at
races across the South West in SCORE, LaRana and the Fudpucker
Racing Series. About the only stock part on a Class 5 is the
steel sheet metal of the body, and even that has been cut,
trimmed, altered and augmented with Fiberglass pieces. The
suspension is upwards of 18 inches of travel in the front , and 22+
inches in the rear. On the widened front end, torsion springs are
abandoned in favor longer trailing arms (4 inch), and Coil
Over/Reservoir shocks. The rear consists of Multiple Reservoir
shocks, widened and lengthened Trailing Arms (up to 6X6in.)
Heavy Duty Torsion Bars/Spring Plates, and Air Stops to
help decrease the harsh impact of bottoming out (Yes even with all
that travel available, it still happens). The engines of these beasts are usually a
Type 4 "Porsche" based flat 4 cylinder, air cooled
engine, putting out somewhere in the neigborhood of 225 horsepower
or more. Thier Engines are allowed Dual Carburetion, Porsche
911 Fans , and a host of power and reliability modifications far
above that of thier little brothers in the limited 5-1600 Class. Transmitting all that power is a Type 2
"Bus Transmission that has been heavily modified. These
however are giving way to the newer "Hewland", "Mendola",
and "Fortin" trannys available today. The longer
heavier axles are augmented by Porsche 930 , 934/5, or
"Wright" CV Joints, that can operate and live at the
high angularity created by the enormous travel.
Tube Chassis
Buggies Offering everything from the cost
effective Sportsman classes to Trophy Truck rivaling speed of the Class 1/2 Pros, The Buggy classes have something for
everyone. Unlike the Bugs, however, the buggys aren't limited
to VW based power and suspension in all the classes. One of the
main reasons for the increasing popularity of the buggy classes it the
high cost of racing Trucks. Where the Trucks usually require some
form of high dollar sponsorship, a large pit crew, and support
vehicles, the buggys can, and often do prove competitive "with a little help from your friends and family".
 Class
9 (Andy Blue)
Class 9, like the 11's allows the low
budget racer a chance to shine. These single or twin seat cars are
severely limited by thier short travel Ball Joint front ends,
Swing Axle Type-1 Transmissions, Stock engines and pump gas. However, that
doesn't stop more and more first time racers from building them up and
hitting the dirt. Again, like the 11's, only those of high pain
threshold and bionic kidneys need apply!
 Class
1/2-1600 (Don
Lampus Jr.)
Class 1/2-1600, is the next step up and
it's currently the fastest growing class in the SCORE Racing Series.
These single or 2 seat buggies are limited in engine and
suspension, but not to the degree of the Class 9's. Here the newer
I.R.S. with Porsche 930, 934/5 CV's and the longer travel King/Link
Pin Front ends are employed with wheel travel in the 11 in. / 14
in. range (front/rear). The motors hover in the 85-90
horsepower range but are limited to single stock carburetion,
single port heads, and 1600cc displacement. Thier closest analog
are the 5-1600 cars with which they share many rules.
 Class
10 ( Jerry Penhall)
Class 10 Cars are a larger step yet with lengthened arms (2-4in.) in front with either A arm (see
class 1/2 below) or single /. Coil Over rear suspension, with longer
wider arms (up to 6x6in.) are the norm as well. The Biggest
difference is that this class allows engines other than VW/Porsche
make. 1650cc liquid cooled Toyota's are very competitive, and
other manufacturers are represented as well. For those air cooled VW
faithful, The CC limit becomes 1776 with single or dual carburetion,
dependent on wether it is a single or 2 seat car. Type-2
"Bus" tranny's are still employed here, but the majority of
racers have or are migrating to the "Hewland" or
"Fortin" Transmissions for thier added beef. Class
10 is another Growing class in Off-Road Racing, as it provides the
higher speeds and better handling desired, while still being
somewhat affordable (though at this level, not to everyone)
 Class
1/2 ( Doug Fortin jr)
Class 1/2 cars are the single or 2
seat equivalent of a Top Fuel Dragster. These "bucks up"
Tube Chassis Desert Monsters are the Unlimited class of the Buggy
scene and have in fact, beaten the Trophy Trucks for the overall title
on several occasions. A-Arm / Coil Over front suspensions ,
regularly push 22 in of travel, although the more traditional
VW style front ends with Dual Coil Over shocks haven't yet been
abandoned. In the rear, 22in. of travel is common, with longer
and wider arms being employed. The rear is fully suspended by several
nitrogen charged reservoir shocks per side, with 2-4 being of
the Coil Over variety. Porsche 934/5 CV's are pushed to the limit
with kind of movement, but have proven reliable thus far. The
Transmissions are of the "Hewland" or "Fortin"
type as the venerable Type 2 VW "Bus" Tranny is not up to
the task of handling the power of the engines used here. Those
engines are moving steadily away from the flat 4 cyl. air cooled VW/Porsche
type and into the realm of liquid cooled in-line 4 cyl., V4, and V6
power. The 1997 season has debuted several Aluminum block V-8 cars,
and have have won the overall at several races. Trophy Trucks beware!
Promoters
& Sanctioning Organizations  SCORE
International
 Fudrace
Online
 Short
Course Off-Road Drivers Association
 Best
in the Desert Racing Association
 Protruck
Racing Assoc.
For the latest pictures of
these and other vehicles, check out the VW'
& Sand Cars Photo Pages !
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