I was racing in ITA @ BW when all this happened. I alerted the officials to the illegal spoiler on the car after talking to many racers familiar with the RX-7. They told me that they have not seen an ITA RX-7 race with such a rear spoiler.
Before qualifying I alerted the chief tech official about the rule and spoiler and he agreed with me that it is indeed ilegal. After qualifying, the tech officials talked to Chuck Koos in my presence. He insisted that the rear spoiler is legal and that he will appeal the decision. His qualifying time was DQed.
Before the race I went to the SOM, paid $25 and filed a supporting protest and left. This was my first protest ever and I was not sure if the tech officials in the pits were going to followe through or not, so I filed my own. The next time I saw the SOM, he gave me my $25 and told me that Chuck will remove the spoiler and start from the tail end of the grid. It did not matter one bit, he still won the race. He was 3 seconds faster per lap than I was :eek:. He is a terrific driver with a far superior set-up to my SE-R.
About a week or two later, I got an e-mail from the COA notifying me of his protest. I, as well as the officials, expected him to lose the protest. The language of the rule is very clear.
I am glad that the COA gave him soem of his money back.
Last edited by nj1266; 12-22-2008 at 05:09 PM.
98 SE-R; 2008, 2009, 2010 ITA SoPac Champion
2002 Toyota Tundra tow truck
2007 Honda S2000
2010 Golf TDI
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