Nationals and reclassification

[Coati]

Quote:

Originally posted by Garfield

Where does this bring us? Well, I've already got a letter in to the SEB about reclassing the Cooper S to G Stock (as well as bringing the Celica GTS down to GS WITH the Celica GT).
There are plenty of competitive cars for D Stock, but none of them are FWD non-LSD cars.

Funny you should say that. In San Diego, it's a Celica GTS that regularly wins against a lot of WRXs and S4s in D Stock, although there's a really fast guy with an S4.

The WRX ought to be moved back to G Stock with the S. Talk about not having enough room to get to the meat of the powerband...

[Garfield]

Four words: Local Doesn't Mean Squat.

I regularly set Fastest Stock TD in my '99 Miata. Any National driver can drive an H Stock car faster than most local Corvette drivers.

D Stock is the first traction class coming up from the bottom feeders. To say that a WRX doesn't compete in D Stock has to be considered, BUT, has a power AND traction advantage over G Stock. And, it's the winning car in Pro Solos.
The Celica GT-S, RSX Type S, and Cooper S ALL have great power to weight (especially the Celica's HP), but none of them have any way to put it down coming out of the turn.

The only way I see the Cooper S competing at a National level in Solo II is if all courses were about transitioning.

Last month, I lost my first local event in 1.5 years on a course that was simply back-to-back sweepers. Every turn I came out spinning.
This month, I went back to beating the class on a great transitional course. So good, that at this event, for the first time EVER I coned all of my runs, but still won (by .2 seconds).

G Stock currently doesn't have cars quite as nimble and powerful as the MINI, so it may still not go there. But I feel, after running it Nationally, that it's still not the top of the pack in G Stock, simply because of traction.

Some dialing in could still be done, so there may be a better way to run the Cooper S to compete in G Stock, hopefully we'll be able to find out...

[squid]

Ths SCCA forum on re-classing the MINIs is at
http://www.sccaforums.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/000302.html

If you want comments from the Focus and Civic
drivers, go there.

My favourite quote:

Quote:

I got to drive my first H/S mini on the 4th of July,
while teaching an Evolution school in Peru. I must
say that without a doubt the H/S mini is definately
classed correct. The car may be the slowest car that I
have ever driven... On the other hand it does turn in like
a S2000.

-- an Evo instructor.