Not to champion large fields, but, you guys obviously arent used to them. The first 3 years I raced, I predominatly ran the ECR's (with the Double SARRC/MARRS being the main exception from that routine), which routinely fielded 80+ cars on a 3.27 mile track at VIR. We even had 1 race where the stewards waived the field requirements and allowed 109 cars on the track at once (the end result was one of the cleanest races I have seen from behind the wheel)!
You complain about the mix of ITA, IT7, ITB, SPEC7 and ITC rides... throw in the ITS, SRF's and Spec Miatas, then you'll learn how to deal with large fields. These guys will pass you like a pack of dogs running around the heard!
From my cars position at the back of the grid (hey, it is a C car afterall) I have been fortunate to avoild these circumstances while having an excellent view. To me, most of the problems at VIR appear to involve the driver's that arent familiar/comfortable with the track layout.
At the back, the problem I run into most often comes from the cars that haven't run VIR enough. Usually they are intimidated by the flat or climbing esse's, or they trail brake all the way down through hogpen... only to be blindingly fast down the straights. Now to offer the benifit of the doubt, perhaps they are having handling issues and are holding me up 3-5 seconds per lap in the corners only to pull and pass me on the straights (my car lacks the proper final drive). This is an issue that I seldom run into in the ECR's.
That being said... I have enjoyed the SARRC/MARRS event over the pst 4 years. It has given me an opportunity to learn a lot about my car and driving skills while running against a large ITC group. It was too bad I didnt discover my handling issues until sunday, or my car would have been a bit faster on saturday.
It's hard for the SCCA to be all things to all people. A few years ago, we ran the Grand Course, and everyone complined about the cost, or the fuel, or something. People got tired of the 3 day event, and stopped shoeing up, now it's a 2 day event and people complain that it's too much!
hoop
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