What does ITA/ITS look like in 3-5yrs?

[tnord]

Curious about what people think ITA & ITS will look like over the next 3-5 years. What cars will be competitive that aren't currently being run right now? What cars might fade out? Will IT go national? What happens with car counts if it stays regional/goes nat'l?

Feel free to throw in a broader response of what SCCA as a whole looks like over the same time period.

[Knestis]

I still wouldn't count out the idea of IT ending up a National category. It's just too good for that program to ignore, even if some current Regional IT drivers - and a BUNCH of current National drivers in other categories - think it's a bad idea for them. I have my own hyptheses about how that will shake out but they've been discussed in depth here before...

We'll have to address the ABS/stability control/etc. question more seriously than we have to date. There will come a time sooner or later when those technologies WILL end up on the track in IT cars.

As performance envelopes of new cars inch up, expect to see brands appear in ITA that are generally considered "lower market" (e.g., the Koreans) than what we're used to.

K

[tnord]

i think i know what the utopian answer to this question is....but how will including TC & ABS vehicles into IT affect the competitiveness of non-equipped cars.

<----also anticipates IT going national within this timeframe, but still fears a similar life cycle to SM.

[Doc Bro]

I think the landscape of ITA will certainly continue to evolve into a predominantly Miata class. Our NE regional weekend ITA entries approach the 50% count, Miatas to all other ITA entries (this weekend 8 out of 20). The car is popular enough for the "blueprint" to be known or close to known, thus eliminating countless hours and dollars of independant development to the ITA newcomer. This makes the car very atttractive. I also think ITS will see a growth of Miatas as folks become more aware of the potential of the car in IT trim. It wins, its easy to drive, parts are readily available, its nicely classed:cool:, the mysteries have been discovered, and its economical....the perfect racecar, and a great place for the IT newbie to start.

As far as national vs. regional. I think it really depends on what the climate of the leadership is. If the leadership wants it then it will be national.

R

[lateapex911]

As far as national vs. regional. I think it really depends on what the climate of the leadership is. If the leadership wants it then it will be national.

R

I dunno about that. Leadership has shown the ability to cave to the memberships pressures and complaining time and time again. And I would bet that any "vote" on IT going national would be negative. Most National class drivers would rightly see it as a threat to their turf (be it a top 10 class run group at the Runoffs, or more classes that hasten their class's demise) and would vote against it instantly.

Of the IT guys, many will apply thought processes that will paint the sky falling, and vote against it...

Net/net, lots of negative votes will make it difficult for the BoD to go along with it. They just don't want to piss off their friends, even if they think it's for the greater good.

[JeffYoung]

I agree with a fair amount of that, but wil point out that the "fast" Miatas are coming out of top prep shops with top level drivers (Flatout/ISC, etc.).

I'll also note that an RX7 beat MVS by a nose at Daytona on Sunday, and a E46 handed it to the rest of the field that day. On a "handling" track, at Barber, MVS and an E30 had a great race running top shelf times, and the E30 (an E30!) won.

Jake, we've known each other for a while and you know I respect your opinions. I think some of the anti-national IT sentiment is sky is falling stuff, but I think some of it -- I hope my thought -- is legitimate. I'm afraid of diluted fields if we don't end the regional/national discussion all together, and I am afraid of much more serious rules creep by more powerful political players if we go national. I'm afraid we'll lose some of the "outlaw run by racers" class mentality that we have now that I love.

I think the landscape of ITA will certainly continue to evolve into a predominantly Miata class. Our NE regional weekend ITA entries approach the 50% count, Miatas to all other ITA entries (this weekend 8 out of 20). The car is popular enough for the "blueprint" to be known or close to known, thus eliminating countless hours and dollars of independant development to the ITA newcomer. This makes the car very atttractive. I also think ITS will see a growth of Miatas as folks become more aware of the potential of the car in IT trim. It wins, its easy to drive, parts are readily available, its nicely classed:cool:, the mysteries have been discovered, and its economical....the perfect racecar, and a great place for the IT newbie to start.

As far as national vs. regional. I think it really depends on what the climate of the leadership is. If the leadership wants it then it will be national.

R

[Doc Bro]

and I am afraid of much more serious rules creep by more powerful political players if we go national. I'm afraid we'll lose some of the "outlaw run by racers" class mentality that we have now that I love.

Amen.


R

[lateapex911]

Jake, we've known each other for a while and you know I respect your opinions. I think some of the anti-national IT sentiment is sky is falling stuff, but I think some of it -- I hope my thought -- is legitimate. I'm afraid of diluted fields if we don't end the regional/national discussion all together, and I am afraid of much more serious rules creep by more powerful political players if we go national. I'm afraid we'll lose some of the "outlaw run by racers" class mentality that we have now that I love.

I hear ya man!

My comment was based on lots of comments I've seen/heard from IT racers who respond off the cuff with silly comments. Critacal thinkers can come to different, but respected conclusions, but polls often return the reactions of the polled rather than carefully thought out responses. I was just suggesting that, along with the overwhelming negative response the non IT people will have, the amount of IT folk who respond off the cuff would doom such a concept.