Well, while I agree that it might be a good idea in certain cars to add reinforcement, it is opening a can of worms....
When is the bunch of bars reinforcement for the tank, but adding some chassis stiffening? At the very least it is a grey area.

I re-read your scenario, but in a protest situation, I don't think the official will care if there is a cel going in, or has been taken out. If the car is being raced in an illegal condition it is going to be considered illegal. The officials will always boil it down to black and white.

That said, it would be interesting to write a proposal detailing the issue, and a suggested solution. But it will be a bit of a balancing act to write a rule that effectively allows gas tank protection without allowing chassis reinforcement. As a racer, I can assure you that if they allowed me to add structure to protect the tank, I will search high and low to find a way to have that same structure stiffen as much as possible and add weight where I want it, and I'm sure most others will as well. Perhaps the rule would be most effective if it were applied on a car by car basis, but historically, the rulesmakers are loath to handle things in that manner, and for good reason.

I would like to see such a proposal, but I expect the response would be that we currently have the opportunity to reinforce if we run a cel, so there is no onus on the CB to add such a rule. (all IMHO, of course!)

------------------
Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]