VHKC Development Blog – August 2026

Hey everyone! Ben O here.

The VHKC has now been operating for almost two years, and what an awesome two years it has been. We’ve run more than 20 events and hosted hundreds of drivers from across Victoria. We now operate three championship divisions, along with a welcoming entry point through our Rookies Division.

It goes without saying that we’re extremely proud of what the league has become in such a short time.

Starting today, we want to share more information with our drivers and community through a new series of development blogs. These blogs will outline changes, developments and ideas for the future of the VHKC.

We hope this gives everyone greater insight into how the VHKC operates and how we make adjustments to the league as it continues to develop. We aim to release a development blog following every two or three championship rounds.

In today’s development blog:

• The next VHKC season

• The next VHKC Endurance Cup

• Website updates

• Transitioning from incident points to warnings

• On-day stewarding

• The role of Division Managers

• Division allocations based on driving standards

• Grid errors in recent rounds

  
  

The Next VHKC Season

We have two rounds remaining in the fourth VHKC season, which means it’s time to start thinking about what comes next. We’ve carefully considered what we want the future of the VHKC to look like, assessing different ideas and consulting the results of our end-of-season feedback form.

For the first time since starting the VHKC, we are not currently planning to run a championship season over the summer period. Instead, we are considering beginning the next season in early 2027.

Our current focus is a nine-round season beginning in February, along with a mid-season endurance event and a post-season endurance event.

We believe this adjustment could provide several benefits:

• A longer season, giving drivers more opportunities to remain in or return to the championship fight

• A longer off-season, reducing fatigue for both drivers and volunteers

• More time to explore special events such as endurance races, awards nights and other special ideas

• Greater flexibility when selecting race dates

• The opportunity to expand the division lock period from two rounds to three, giving us more time to assess a driver’s skill level before confirming their division for the remainder of the season

  
  

This is a change we’re excited about, however, we also appreciate that it would be a significant adjustment.

Before making a final decision, we want to hear from our drivers and community regarding the proposed calendar change. We want to make sure the next season works as well as possible for everyone, so if you have the time, we encourage you to complete this form and share your thoughts.

The Next Endurance Cup

We’re looking at hosting another Endurance Cup event sometime in November.

Following the 3 Hours of Bendigo, we received plenty of questions about when the next event would take place. We’re happy to share that we are now exploring options for the next Endurance Cup and looking at ways to build on what was already a great event.

More information will be shared once the details are confirmed.

Website Updates

Our website is a never-ending project, with the aim of representing as much information about the VHKC as possible.

We’ve recently begun assigning helmet images to drivers on the championship standings pages.

So far, we’ve only completed a small number of helmets, as it takes time to locate a suitable image, process it for the website and connect it to the correct driver.

If your driver entry does not yet have a helmet image, or you would like your current image updated to include customisations such as visors or stickers, you can complete our helmet image form. This helps us get your updated helmet onto the website sooner.

We are also adding a dedicated results report page, which will eventually contain all VHKC race reports.

Previously, only the most recent race report was displayed on the homepage. The new page will make it easier to find reports from previous rounds and seasons.

Transitioning from Incident Points to Warnings

Following Round 1 of this season, we made the decision to remove the incident points system and replace it with a more transparent warning system.

The aim was to reduce the ambiguity and confusion surrounding incident points and introduce a process that is more direct, transparent and immediate.

Under the previous system, drivers received incident points when they breached our driving standards rules. If a driver accumulated enough points, regardless of the types of incidents involved, they could receive championship point deductions or a suspension.

Under the new system, a driver will first receive a warning for the type of incident they were found responsible for. This would usually, but not exclusively, be communicated by email and may include video evidence.

If the driver is found responsible for the same type of incident again within a period relevant to their division, they may then receive a penalty.

The exception is extremely intentional dangerous driving, which may result in an immediate suspension without a prior warning.

So far this season, we believe the new system has had a positive effect on driving standards and has reduced confusion for drivers who have breached the rules, particularly where an incident was accidental rather than intentional.

Nevertheless, we are constantly evaluating how the system works and its impact on the championship. As with everything we introduce, we welcome feedback. If you have suggestions about how the system could be improved, please feel free to send us an email at admin@vhkc.co.au.

On-Day Stewarding and Incident Disputes

As of the previous round, we have made further changes to our incident review process.

Warnings will now primarily be issued on race days when an incident is brought to the attention of a Division Manager by a steward, venue staff or another driver.

Where possible, we will discuss the incident with the drivers involved and issue a warning if it is considered appropriate.

These discussions will not always result in everyone agreeing on the outcome. Where further review is needed, we are happy to investigate the matter after the race day.

We are now less likely to issue first-time warnings after an event unless a driver has submitted an incident report through our website. When an incident report is submitted, we will take the time to review the available information and issue warnings or penalties if it’s appropriate to do so.

These changes are aimed at promoting openness, communication and relationships. Whilst some of these conversations are bound to be heated, we hope most of them can end in a handshake. Building a healthy community of drivers is a big goal of ours.

These changes are also intended to make the stewarding process faster and more efficient. Prior to the last round, it was common for our volunteer team to review approximately 80 incidents after each race day. Following the introduction of the new process, only five incidents required further review, with other matters discussed and resolved on race day.

This is a significant improvement in efficiency and allows our volunteer team to spend more time working on other areas of the league.

The Role of Division Managers

During the second half of Season 3, Division Managers were introduced to oversee the operation of individual divisions on race days.

This change was designed to assist with driver organisation, enquiries and other matters relating to each division.

We believe this has had a positive effect on race-day operations, although we have also identified areas where the role can be improved.

All Division Managers are volunteers, and they also compete in the VHKC.

To reduce potential conflicts of interest, we initially assigned each Division Manager to oversee a division in which they were not competing.

While this arrangement helped maintain separation between the manager and the competition within that division, it also created practical scheduling difficulties.

A Division Manager may need to compete in their own division at the same time they are required elsewhere. This can mean missing part of another division’s check-in, pre-race preparation, post-race period or medal ceremony.

We are planning to adjust this structure for the next VHKC season, where Division Managers will be selected from within the division they compete in. This should allow them to be present throughout each stage of their division’s race day and make them more accessible to the drivers they are assisting.

Where a matter directly involves a Division Manager, such as a reported incident or dispute, it will automatically be referred to another Division Manager or the Race Day Manager.

Division Allocations Based on Driving Standards

Following the end of Season 3, we adjusted the division allocation process, putting a bit more focus on a driver’s racing etiquette and driving standards.

At the time, the new warning system had not yet been fully tested, so we wanted to retain another method of encouraging and rewarding positive driving standards.

After four rounds, we have now seen the warning system operating in practice and are happy with its effectiveness.

However, we have also found that placing too much weight on driving standards in our division allocations has resulted in a few drivers being placed in a division that does not accurately reflect their pace.

This has contributed to an imbalance in skill levels, particularly in Division 2.

For future seasons, we will use this experience as a lesson to improve the division allocation process. The goal will be to return more emphasis to a driver's pace, in order to create more evenly matched divisions.

We will address poor driving standards through the warning and penalty system, or simply by not promoting drivers out of the Rookie Division until their racing etiquette improves.

We hope this will produce balanced championships, whilst still maintaining healthy driving standards.

Grid Errors in Recent Rounds

Following Round 4, we became aware of an inconsistency in the grid procedure, with pole position being placed on different sides of the grid throughout the day.

This created an unintended disadvantage for some drivers when pole position was placed on the right-hand side.

After reviewing the situation during our race-day debrief, we identified all of the factors that led to this error being made. We concluded that the factors were either out of our control or hard to foresee during a race-day environment where a lot goes on. Nevertheless, we will try to learn and work with venues, volunteers and drivers to achieve a better outcome in the future. We apologise to the drivers affected by this issue.

That wraps up our first VHKC Development Blog.

We hope this gives our drivers and community a better understanding of the work that takes place outside of race days and the thought that goes into developing the league.

If you have feedback about any of the topics discussed above, or anything else relating to the VHKC, please send us an email at admin@vhkc.com.au

We will also be publishing an end-of-season feedback form, so please keep an eye out for that!

See you out on track,

Ben O.