The interesting Tour weekend has brought out some interesting
discussions regarding courses & car classing.
The Evansville courses were very similar to last years, (otherwise a
great event). Yes, they were fun/popular but it was an advantage to the
returning drivers. We need to remember cliché number one regarding
autocrossing, that the DRIVER is the most important part of the
package. How a driver reads the course & if he's 'on' that day weighs
in a lot more than what car he's driving or if the course favors it.
Brian plain out drove everyone to indexed FTD, even in the 'dirty' 1st
heat. He would have done well this weekend in any class/car he
entered. In my case I think I would have done pretty well Sat in a
Pinto while Sun I was more concerned with staying out of the heat and
the results showed.
Regarding car classing, the SCAC has a VERY difficult job to do. So
many similar cars, so few classes to put them in, & so many opinions on
where they should go. For instance, many folks saw the Civic SI's HP
number (160) and thought it would be a killer ES car, so far that hasn't
happened (only 110 lbs torque). Remember when no one thought much of
the Eclipse/Talon? Perceptions. It's kind of funny when we quibble
about cars with only 10 hp differences, etc.
Brian made some good points in his post, however I'll disagree with a
couple of things. He mentions 'ringer' HS cars (while many people think
his 91 MR2 is the ringer CS car. I guess I like the idea of the 1.6
Miata's moving to CS, although I wonder if this will eventually affect
the BS fields). I'll bet there are a couple more unproved ringers out
there, in HS, ES & GS, someone just has to drive them. I wonder what
next years perceived HS ringer will be. I'm looking for more power and
RWD. If I don't go FS, I wonder if I can make a Chevy S10/Ford Ranger
into the new perceived HS ringer (can't believe I'm considering a truck,
but it would be easy to haul the tires, etc.). If the Celica ST moves
to ES next year (Jim Harn, sorry buddy, but you're fighting a loosing
battle) it shouldn't be because of cost. Anyone can have my car after
Nats for $8000, extra wheels included. Is that too much for a top HS/ES
car? Wanna trade me straight up for your 'affordable' MR2? <grin>
"I guess it all depends on your agenda of what you drive and like to
drive that will sway your opinion in what you think is correct."
Amen, but that's why we have this wonderful forum for debate/learning.
--
Jeff Cashmore
http://www.execpc.com/~cashmo/wai.html = Wisconsin Autocrossers Inc
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