ITAC changes. Chairman resigns.

[tnord]

????

That phrase assumes that we have unworkable methods.

easy muchacho.

i meant methods like using displacement are currently unworkable, but with the elimination of cars people don't race anyway.....they just might be.

to no one in particular - no matter what method you come up with, they're all going to have issues, including the ever popular process. reasonable people can disagree on what constitutes acceptable risk.

[Catch22]

The main issue here, REGARDLESS of who says what and where, is that something that was fine for 5ish years suddenly was unfine late last year. Further, nobody has produced a better idea OR proven why what was being done was wrong.

Don't believe me? Go pull some fasttracks. Its in there in black and white.
The ITAC has been classifying and changing classifications BASED ON STOCK RATED HORSEPOWER for years. This is a plain old fact.
Fact fact factity fact fact fact.

And suddenly this is unacceptable?
Really?

OK. So what IS acceptable?
Well, there really hasn't been a straight answer to that one yet. And good luck getting one.

Finally, as a Honda guy... Sure. Go right ahead an classify cars by displacement. I think thats a GREAT idea.
Except thats not exactly how it works. Is it?
If we classified strictly by displacement the ITA CRX would suddenly be about 150lbs under weight. So I guess we'll classify by displacement and then add some arbitrary "Honda Weight" because we "know" it needs it.

Oh yeah. Thats a crapload better than using stock horsepower.



And it just continues to baffle me how some folks can on the one hand argue that IT is strong and better than ever and then on the other dismiss the actions and principles of the group that MADE IT THAT WAY.

Just... Just...
Wow.
Its a colossal pile of FALE.

[Bill Miller]

And it just continues to baffle me how some folks can on the one hand argue that IT is strong and better than ever and then on the other dismiss the actions and principles of the group that MADE IT THAT WAY.

Read that again and let it sink in a bit more.

[Eagle7]

Just sent this letter, with a follow-up letter to my BOD rep who is the CRB laison.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wrote to you in September to express my support for the Improved Touring classification process that had been implemented by the ITAC. Since then I have been dismayed to see that the CRB's actions have been to ignore this process, rather than to embrace it. We have seen cars' weights set with apparently arbitrary rationale, inconsistent with cars with virtually identical attributes, with no explanation nor documentation. Reports are that key member(s) of the CRB categorically reject some of the fundamental principles of the process that the ITAC has developed. This has led to mass resignations by ITAC members, which in my judgment is a travesty, and a great loss to the SCCA and to the Improved Touring category.

I have come to the conclusion that SCCA Club Racing has grown larger than one group can effectively administer. I ask that the BOD transfer official responsibility for administering all Improved Touring specific classifications and rule changes to the ITAC. The reason I believe this is important is that Improved Touring is fundamentally different than every other category in SCCA Club Racing. It is composed of more than 300 spec lines manufactured over nearly a 40 year time span. These cars only compete at a regional level, so there is never an opportunity to “level the playing field” based on direct on-track observations such as the June Sprints or the Runoffs. The ONLY way that I can see to manage this category is through a system which calculates weights based on documented physical attributes of the cars, with adjustments to the calculations only permitted when supported by documented evidence. This is the process that the ITAC has developed, and which over the course of the last few years has corrected many of the arbitrary misclassifications of the “bad old days”. IT has seen a resurgence because of those corrections, but now that seems to be threatened by the CRB's return the the methods of the “bad old days”. Methods which may work effectively for all other categories, but do not work for IT.
Key tenants of the ITAC process are that all classification decisions are vetted by confidence votes of the entire ITAC membership, all evidence and decisions are documented, and they were working hard to reach the point where all could be published. These are principles that have been repeatedly demanded by the IT community via the ImprovedTouring.com forum and other internet forums. If our SCCA administrators do not heed the wishes of their membership, then one (or both) of two outcomes is inevitable – either the administrators are replaced by those who are listening or the members choose not to participate. PLEASE take action on this issue.

Thank you for your service to our club,
Marty Doane
#321263
WMR GLDIV
ITS RX-7 #13

[Ron Earp]

Good letter Marty. It is direct and to the point. Make sure you also send it to [email protected] and [email protected].

If your unhappy with the recent CRB/ITAC situation and have not written a letter, then please take the time to do so.