If the Miata had never been produced, would SCCA have died? Hell no! People that want to race would race something else. The Miata is the easy button, a ton of development has been done on the car by Flatout, Planet Miata, Kessler, et al. Buy a Miata, rent a Miata...easy. But we sure as he'll don't need more classes for them to run in! Or cater to their every whim.
Ed Funk
NER ITA CRX, ITB Civic, ITC CRX (wanna buy a Honda?)
Smart as a horse, hung like Einstein!
As the owner of a 1.6 SSM car I think this is not a good idea. I like the IT rule set and core values because it leads to stability. One of those IT tenets is "warts and all." I built my car for a specific class, just as the IT folks built their cars. If I want to run IT I have to accept all of the IT rules, "warts and all". There is no reason to give me any sort of special dispensation or "exemption." Line item exceptions are the road to Prod.
Rob, who built his car for a specific class in a specific region, and recognizes the "warts and all" that approach brings.
Hero To The Momentum Challenged
This.
SCCA is good at eating its own young, classing-wise. Pretty much all of the current SM stalwarts - those teams that rent fleets of them - left another class smaller when they departed. Based on what I know from three freaking decades of this game, only the tiniest handful of new racers would have opted to, say, buy a bass boat instead of racing something else, absent SM.
K
So-Pac Division already allows SM's to race in IT in the divisional races. It's called out in our regional class rules. The sky's not fallen and the really serious SM guys only run SM anyway. It's mostly the mid-pack and back racers who do both or even SM-STL-IT.
STU BMW Z3 2.5liter
Miatas should be eligible for all classes--even open wheel. Just take the front fenders off.
We can then have unlimited double dipping.
The depowered racks should have been done in IT a long time ago. For the ITAC to even think they consider that in classing is a joke. Nowhere in the process is parasitic drag of accessories considered. And this is from someone with a lifetime stash of non powered racks.
People with this hatred of Miata and the classes they can run need to get a little perspective. As a race chairman the numbers do matter. True what Kirk says, most of these drivers would just be back in the IT car they left if SM never happened. It is also very true that Mazda has pushed many other manufacturers to step up and offer contingency because of their support program. Those double dipping entries you make fun of help keep the numbers up and your entry fee down. I love it when OPM, etc rent the SM to another driver for ITA/ITS, it pays the bills. Now if you really believe that the 1.8 diff beat you you have some soul searching to do.
All past discussion aside, it sets a precedent to allow it and the ITAC has resisted that for good reason. That said never seen a driver protested because of it.
Steve Eckerich
ITS 18 Speedsource RX7
ITR RX8 (under construction)
Agree. This can be dealt with on a Regional level. Specifically allow them in your regs and it's done. The issue is that there is no guarantee that he SMAC won't continue to tweak the rules to make those cars 'faster' to keep up with the 99's. Basing a rule on a spec level of another class that you can't control is not smart from the 10,000 ft level. Deal with it locally until it doesn't work, then fix.
I vote we just change the rule and let people loop the damn PS if they want
Glenn Lawton
GSMmotorsports
#14 ITS RX7
NARRC ITS Champion 2012
NERRC ITS Champion 2013 12 11 10 09 08
NERRC STU Champion 2010
__________________
Since when is more classes the answer to a problem? Doh, SCCA. Carry on. Off to find out what SM2 is.....
Yes, more of this please.
Probably the best course of action is to create an initiative proposed by drivers that everyone in the region agrees to. I haven't spoken to a driver who doesn't want to see this change, but Chip indicates the ITAC and CRB won't be on board with it. For such a proposal the simplest form would be requiring that the PS pump remain and not be removed.
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