IT should really think about welcoming Older SM's....... Without a new class..

[Dano77]

Look Im not trying to start a fight. I just dont see a need to change a set of rules or even the philosiphy of the rules to suit a certain car that is prepped to a different set of rules. The IT rule set works as designed. Certain cars have warts. The 1.6 Miata is one of them. I get that.

I also get that without the Miata the club would clearly go broke. I am actually surprised that the SCCA made it this far without the Miata from day one in 1948.

The Miata is eligible in SM,SSM,SM2,STU,STL,SMT,ITE,ITEZ all without a conflict of rules. With minor changes its also in SPU. A few more changes and it goes to EP FP GTL, GT3,GT2. Thats almost 50% of the closed wheel classes, Why do we need to Change an entire rule set to allow it to be Compliant in ITA and ITS as well. Run it as it is, take your chances in IT. IF some one does throw paper,and its non-compliant, take the lumps and move on.

And its way more than a PS rack being de-powered, or a rear diff from a different spec line.

Sorry Greg if I seem pissy, just tired of having this conversation every weekend with some one who thinks their car is being unjustly discriminated against is all.

[Greg Amy]

...just tired of having this conversation every weekend with some one who thinks their car is being unjustly discriminated against is all.

LOL! I hear ya, brother. But you just can't keep pressin' down and pressin' down on the back of the oppressed...it's time for JUSTICE!

[Ed Funk]

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.

[Wreckerboy]

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.

[Knestis]

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.

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

[Z3_GoCar]

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.

[joeg]

Miatas should be eligible for all classes--even open wheel. Just take the front fenders off.

We can then have unlimited double dipping.

[seckerich]

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.

[lawtonglenn]

I vote we just change the rule and let people loop the damn PS if they want