I didn't find Kyle that condescending, either; I saw him as simply stating the facts as the rest of the Club sees it (outside of present company, of course).

It's a simple fact that SCCA Club Racing has clearly mandated that Improved Touring be a Regional-only class from its very inception. There's no equivocation in there at all, it's been codified from the start. And, given I know IT's history well (I was there at the start) the only reason it was ever put into the GCR was so that different regions across this great country had a standard set of rules so that a competitor could drive from New York and Southern Cali and be able to run his car with no changes.

IT was put into the GCR simply as a favor from Englewood CO (SCCA's HQ at the time) to regions for consistency of rules. Unfortunately, the publication of a nationally-approved set of rules carries with it the implication that it was potentially a National class, which is why they added in the express note that it was never intended to be that way. Further, its publication in our Club regs gives it the visibility to make it attractive to everyone (it was the first - and continues to be the only - Regional-only category within our club to be published in the national General Competition Rules*). I suggest that if the IT regs were not published in the GCR that three things would be different:

- The cars would run widely-varying rules nationwide;
- There would be no talk of IT going National; and
- The class would not be nearly as popular.

If you think of it that way then it's easy to accept that IT cannot - and should not? - ever go National. One can mentally accept that if we were to, for example, create a separate Regional GCR ("RGCR"?) supplement with an expressed purpose of publishing a consistent set of rules for Regional-only categories (e.g., Super Production, Improved Touring, Spec Neon, Spec RX-7, Club Ford, Club S2000, etc). The preface for this RGCR would be clear: the only reason we're doing this is for nationwide regs consistency; nothing more, nothing less. With that we kill two birds with one stone: state the the purpose for these regs is to offer an agreed nationwide-consistent set of rules, and to make it clear from the get-go that these classes are not, and will not, be considered for National status.

But as long as the Improved Touring regs exist within our main document (that happens to describes how one can gain National status) this argument will continue in perpetuity...

GA


* SM held that status for a short while, as - I seem to recall - did American Sedan. But those were extenuating circumstances; in both cases the Club expected both to eventually go National. Of course, SM had that same verbiage as IT - Regional-Only Category - which gives some within IT misguided aspirations that it can happen here, too. Personally don't think it'll ever happen.
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