Tom,
I saw a few posts about approvals on SP and S for next year , and was wondering if you have any updates on P for us ?

Talked with Dave Jaremko and was excited about building a Z up , but I told him to
wait until the new rules came out .

Mike

 

Well... as a matter of fact I do have an update. I hope you like soap operas.

The SCCA BOD approved the proposal as submitted by the SEB back in late August and it was published about a week ago on the SCCA website... Then, at about the same moment that it was posted to the web, the BOD reversed their decision. As I understand it, a strong coalition of old school D Prepared drivers (aka non Miata/Mr2 drivers) launched a letter writing/phone calling campaign to the directors and raised hell. At the next BOD conference call, the subject came up. No one from the SEB was on that call to defend against the complaints, so the BOD reversed their decision.

What does it mean overall? Not sure... I suspect the SEB will resubmit their proposal with some minor tweaks. Probably to include the multivalve weight penalty and maybe some other stuff to appease the British car crowd. This was all included in the original proposal from the Prepared committee, so they should be able to do that without any real delays. If they don't do that, we will likely continue for another year under the current rules.

What does it man for the Z's? Probably nothing. We will either get to run lighter or at the same current weights, but otherwise no real change. For FP adding more weight adders for multi valve/VVT etc will likely cause Chris *** to move his M3 to AP. He's already getting hit with 150+ pounds. Adding more doesn't thrill him. Personally, if the SEB does resubmit the proposal this year, I would like to see them keep FP unchanged from what was approved. Put the weight adders in DP only. We can't afford to chase away any cars.

I would also like to help figure out a plan to get the Miata's/Mr2 in FP. The current weight formula doesn't work. The Miatas are well below the FP class minimum. If it can be figured out, I think it would be a big shot in the arm for the class. Z's and Miatas already road race together in EP. They also both share similar origins as low cost, medium powered, lightweight sports cars that were hugely popular with enthusiasts. ...but thats just me talking.

Go ahead and build the car! The rules aren't going to make a negative change for the Z. It's only going to get better for us, unless no one new shows up... Even then, if there is a major restructuring, the Z's are well positioned to continue to be competitive regardless of where they end up.

Tom

 

I don't follow the solo scene as much as I used to, and this is getting a little off the topic here, but what are the main differences between AP and FP? It seems a bit unproductive to have the same car eligable for two different groups in the same class.

 

Tom,
I just took a look at the DP weights and specs for the Miata and the MR2 .
I am looking at the 2003 book and not 04' and the Miata is listed at 1925 ,
and 2175 depending on engine . Those numbers don't seem to light . The MR2 is listed in the at 1775 . The bad thing is if they mive to FP with weight adjustments
then the Honda would really be all alone in DP. I do agree that fresh blood has to be
pumped into Prepared or else you will see it die out.

 

As a follow up, the SCCA BOD approved the new rules for Prepared... again. Everything that was previously approved for FP is reapproved without changes. Virtually all of the changes were centered around DP. Some of that is still in flux... So, for FP there is no weight penalty for multi valves, variable valve timing, mid/rear engine. The Z weights will be 240 - 1900 lbs, 260 - 1924 lbs, 280 - 2070 lbs.

Full details are here http://www.scca.com/_Filelibrary/Fil...1-fastrack.pdf

So get busy building and we'll see you all in Topeka in September!

Tom

 

Tom,
Those weight numbers must be based on the factory shipped CC .
I was totally lost on that one when I kept thinking that the 240
was 2400 cc , the 2600 cc , and 2800 cc. When actually they are
not

Mike