Australian HPV Super Series

In 1985, what would become the inaugural Pedal Prix race was held in the car park of what was at the time the Underdale Campus of the University of South Australia on Holbrooks Road. There were less than a dozen participating teams. This event marks the start of the Australian HPV Super Series and at the time it generated tremendous interest. Vehicles varied considerably in sophistication and quality but the potential to get students involved in designing, making and testing the vehicles was readily apparent.

In 1986 the event was moved to the Road Safety Centre on Oaklands Road in Marion (later turned into a wetlands) to cater for the increased number of teams. Rules and standards were developed to guide teams in building vehicles so that they were safer. This site was considerably more complex with many corners and a hill to test riders and their vehicles.

The popularity of the event continued to grow and it soon became apparent that the number of entries was growing beyond the capacity of the Road Safety Centre. As a result, in 1992 the event was moved to the Adelaide International Raceway at Virginia. This site easily catered for the increased number of entries. The wider, flatter track saw records for the distance travelled in the 24 hour endurance race increase. A major disadvantage of this site has been its openness and exposure to weather. Wind, dust and an uninteresting track layout had the committee looking for alternatives. 1996 marked the last time that petrol driven hybrids were allowed to participate. At various stages throughout the history of the 24 hour race there have been categories for petrol and solar hybrids as well as a commuter category where more than one rider was in the vehicle.

1997 saw the event moved to Sturt Reserve, Murray Bridge, where for the first time public roads were sealed off specially for the event. It was felt that the new venue would comfortably accommodate the number of entries anticipated, provide a greater challenge for teams and provide a better atmosphere for all competitors, spectators and visitors.[1] The field at the first Murray Bridge totalled 90 teams. The record size for the competing field at Murray Bridge was 228 set in 2009.

In 2003, The HPV Super Series began, with a championship season that spanned four races. They included two 3 hour sprints on the same day and later a 6-hour race all at Victoria Park and then concluded with the 24 hour Murray Bridge event. The two 3 hour sprints were then replaced with a single 6 hour race. A 9-hour race was trialed once during 2009 for race 2 at Victoria Park.

The 2013 Murray Bridge event was the first to include teams representing five states/territories with teams from South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales and the Northern Territory present.

In 2014, a street circuit in Loxton, South Australia was introduced as the new opening race of a four-race championship. In addition, the McNamara Park circuit near Mount Gambier and a street circuit in Busselton, Western Australia were introduced as non-series events. The Murray Bridge street circuit remained as the final race of the series and the two Victoria Park races also remained unchanged.

In 2017, the McNamara Park circuit was upgraded to a series event as the opening race of the series. In 2018, the race in Busselton was also upgraded to a series event as the penultimate race.

On 14 December 2017, it was announced by the Australian HPV Super Series and the Victorian HPV Grand Prix Series that National Vehicle Specifications had been adopted for the 2018 season onward, subjecting both series to common vehicle specifications and making it easier for teams to compete across both series without needing to change their vehicle set-ups; in previous years, both series had their own specification guidelines to comply with.[2]

For the 2016 and 2017 seasons, in all races apart from Murray Bridge, race days were separated for Category 4 (Saturday) and the remaining categories (Sunday). This was scaled back to only include the two Victoria Park races for the 2018-19 seasons.

the 2020 season abruptly came to a halt due to covid with most races' ether being canceled or "rescheduled."

the 2021 season was cut short after just a few races again because of covid. the Adelade 6 hour was held on a shorter course due to the covid testing clinic at Victoria Park.

the 2022 season saw all races held for the first time since covid with only the Adelade 6 hour being split between 2 days. Saturday was community teams and Sunday was school teams. the 2022 season also saw the return of the Murray bridge 24-hour race for the first time since 2019. sadly, at the end of the season aroura racing said goodbye after a season win.

the 2023 season saw the addition of the main sponsor University of South Australia entering the races with their trike evo. all races where held this season, and the Victoria Park long track came back into play.

The four categories are divided under two classifications of "School Categories" and "Community Categories". Introduced in 2006, all school and community categories have further sub-categories for All Female teams.

The following category criteria are accurate as of the 2020 season.[3]

From 2014 season each team's best two rounds from the 6 hour races are added to their result from the 24 hour race to determine their Series Championship total. From 2016, points are allocated by category result instead of overall result.