James,
You made a few points that I would like to address separately below. I added one topic at the end!
IT7 Group - In addition to increasing participation (a good thing) the IT7 actually gives more flexiblity in arranging groupings. Imagine if we had 100 entrants in Spec Pinata (not too hard to imagine). We would have no way to group all of those cars into one group. Conversely, if we had 10 classes of 10 cars, we could group them in a number of ways.
IT7 Class Size - We have been running a reasonable number of cars in the class and are actively working to bring that number up. For example the IT7 group gets free breakfast at MARRS weekends! We have a core of people that have taken it upon themselves to encourage the group to get bigger. We have taken that a bit literally and make food for the group, but the intent is to continue to make a welcome environment for our fellow IT7 racers. We have even passed out flyers to IT7 drivers at non-MARRS events to encourage participation in MARRS events. I think it was mentioned earlier in this thread that IT7 is running more cars than 30 other classes at a typical MARRS weekend.
IT7 Speed - I know what lap Owen set that record on, I was running with him in my IT7 car and the two of us were drafting around the track at a good clip. While Owen and I are not perfect drivers in perfect cars, we have been running and developing these two cars for a combined 17 years of racing / track time. I know faster lap times are possible than the 1:29.1XX, I do not see a path to get anywhere near 1:26.8XX. IT7 exists along the entire east coast (SEDIV to NEDIV) and I suspect that folks feel the IT7 can not get to the front of ITA at most tracks in most cases.
Run Groups - If you stipulate that the goal is 8 run groups to allow more track time per MARRS weekend, then the grouping becomes a challenge. In the interest of full disclosure, I voted against the 8 run groups. I prefer the IT7 / SRX7 group we had in 08. The old grouping worked well since our cars (all rotary) had the same mighty 8 to 12 foot-pounds of torque. I think the IT7/B/C group can work, we will all have to be aware of who we are racing and take it from there. I also think that running a sprint race (12 laps or so) and a longer race in one weekend does add to the fun of a typical MARRS weekend.
Beer - Perhaps I could buy you a beer at the MARRS banquet and we can discuss more?
Have a Merry Christmas!
Jim Hess
IT7 Class Rep
Jim
11 IT7 - MARRS
2007, 2008 MARRS IT7 Champion
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