At 09:29 AM 9/21/2000, dg50@daimlerchrysler.com said:
>Rules, like it or not, are a necessary evil. And hey! Look! We did a pretty
>good job last year with SM.
Actually Dennis, I'd have to disagree with you on that. You had a good
year, and a few other people had a good year with SM, but I really can't
agree that it was a success.
Looking at the pro results, we find that 16 out of 17 trophies were won by
four models, and 12 out of 17 trophies were won by just two cars. I don't
see this as a success.
[The numbers in the table are the finishing trophy positions of the models.]
Pro
DSM Supra S4 Camaro Other
Ft Meyer 2 1
San Bernardino 1 2,3
Lemoore 2 1
Peru 2 1
Petersburg 2 1
Harrisburg 3 2 1
Wendover no SM cars...
Topeka 1 3 2
Looking at the tour results, we get a bit better mix, but 14 out of 21
trophies are still the same four models.
Tour
DSM Supra S4 Camaro Other
Meridian 1
San Diego 1
Ft. Worth 1 2
Ayer 2 3,4 1
Peru 2 1
Bremerton 1 2,3,4
Pikes Peak 1
Nationals 5 1,6 4 2 3
From the inside, yes, it was a success. You drove well, won some
trophies, had a good competitive season with Kent Rafferty, Dave Schotz,
and Karl Witt. You had fun. It was your "I-Class".
But from the outside, I see it as a private playground where just a few
cars are competitive.
I do agree with the need for an SM class, but I can't really say that this
year it worked very well or offered a chance for very many cars to be
competitive.
In your own words:
>Level playing fields are an absolute necessity in any successful
>motorsport. Other wise, why play? And "level playing field" doesn't mean
>that every single car on a given day has a chance to win; it means that
>every single car in the class, given enough time, work, and effort, has a
>**reasonable shot of some day being competitive**. As long as a competitor
>feels that they still have a shot at making themselves and their car
>competitive _some day_ within the scope of the rules, then those rules are
>Good.
At the pros and tours, if one of they four cars showed up, it won. The
only exception was at Ayer. That's 14 out of 15 events where there wasn't
a chance for any other cars. It doesn't seem like a very balanced class.
Was it because there were some excellent drivers in SM? Of course, but how
does that help improve the sport if the drivers leave other classes to
dominate a new class?
I still think that SM should be a regional only class, with no national
level classes. It should be a catch-all for people who show up to events
with cars not prepared to SCCA rules so they don't run DM/EM.
Just my opinion,
Brad
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