On Mon, 9 Jul 2001 13:43:40 -0400 "Mike Cobine" <mcobine@earthlink.net>
writes:
>
> Am I the only one who thinks this doesn't quite click with the
> original
> intent of vintage racing?
You're right, I think, that allowing "new" vintage racers probably
doesn't click with the intent of 70's vintage racing. But that was a
long time ago, and the vintage racing has evolved. For the better?
That's a matter of opinion of course. My answer is "yes" because it has
opened vintage racing to people like me, who could not afford a "real"
vintage racecar, particularly, as Bill Spohn noted, as there would be a
great escalation in prices for those cars as the only mode of entry.
What would the vintage racing world be like if we returned to the 70's
intent? Much like the pre-1972 SCCA world you think was "too exclusive
and
restrictive." There would be a lot fewer cars, with fewer competitors,
fewer places to run, and probably prohibitive entry fees for the lucky
few that are allowed to race their special cars.
I certainly believe that you should be able to start with a vintage car
and make it a vintage racer as someone would at the time. A Grand Sport
replica? Well, I think I would be happier if the owner were less
ambitious, but if he does a good job and it looks good out on the track
dicing with similar cars of the era, I think I would get a kick out of
watching it. It could likely be as close as I could ever get to seeing
the real thing, and certainly as close as the driver will ever get to
driving it.
Besides, there are different venues for different views. SVRA requires
some classes to have race history, although not others, perhaps to avoid
being flooded with cars in some categories. Some other clubs are even
more restrictive, so if your opinion differs from mine, there are places
to go.
I'm speaking only as a member (not an official) of CVAR, but I think we
would be shooting ourselves in the foot to restrict entry to "real"
vintage racecars. I can think of at least 20 to 30 cars just off the top
of my head that wouldn't qualify (including my own) and probably a lot
more that I don't know about. That's out of a field of 80 to 120 cars at
an event and would equate to less entry fees of $4,000 to $6,000 in a
typical weekend. Also, we have a difficult enough time recruiting corner
workers. If we were to eliminate the spouses, friends, and acquaintances
of those car owners we wouldn't be able to run a race, even on the "short
course." Assuming we could even open the gates, the cars that qualified
would be running around the track virtually alone, or would have to race
with dissimilar cars. Where's the fun in that?
David Littlefield
1974 MG Midget vintage racer (built in 2001 to 1972 specs, must really be
confused!)
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