At 07:52 AM 12/24/00 -0500, Larry R. Metz wrote:
>My two cents worth......Pro Solo in my opinion as a soloist since 1965
>and having never driven in a pro solo........
>
I have driven MANY Pro Solo events in a CMod FF so here is "my two cents
worth":-). No flames, just a perspective from one guy who drove a few Pros
in a Lotus Europa in California and Salina and then has driven a lot of
them in a Formula Ford.
>Pro Solo turned away from the "club" modified drivers. Most modified
>drivers have made a rather strong commitment to soloing with special
>cars, but then when Pro came out it only tolerated the faster of the
>modified cars, and the others only got token involvement when they
>combined the classes.
In the 90's for a couple of years CM fields were large enough to be "stand
alone" at numerous events. i.e. we had a class. As recently as the last
couple of years at the Peru, IN event there was a full CM class if my
memory is correct.
>
>I have attended as a spectator several pro solo events over the years .
>The particular way they were setup here in Indiana, I found them much
>less interesting and harder to be an observer. I found the tension much
>higher among the drivers, and really saw few people that seemed to be
>enjoying the event.
I absolutely LOVE Pro Solo in a FF . . . sometimes more than other times
obviously (like any other autocross it depends on how I am doing and what
the weather is).
>
>I found that I did not necessarily understand the timing factors, and
>tend to believe it tends to be more chance than actually in the drivers
>skill etc. As with the PAX that is not a perfect system, that is how I
>understand the timing factoring system with the pro.
Believe me, with a total of six runs on each of the two courses, usually
the top drivers like Peter Raymond, Tommy Saunders, Gary Godula, Josh
Sirota, etc. (sometimes even me) generally win. Chance is usually much less
a factor than it is for big traditional events like Nationals simply
because you get so many shots at the courses. True, when turn out is low in
a class, then the Pro Solo indexes have sometimes been used. Other times it
has been simply bumping. In a "heads up" situation which has been the case
for CM at Peru and probably can be for FM (your class if I recall), Pro
Solo can be LOTS of fun. Do the Practice Starts. Rev the engine, leave when
the last yellow comes on. Go like #%^&.
>
>Just an objective view from a long time soloist. If those of us who are
>soloist do not understand, how can we expect the public to grasp and
>understand??
Beats me. I always looked at the "spectator" goal as wishful thinking.
However, as a participant it is some of the most exciting and demanding
autocrossing I have ever done. When I have watched a Mod car run against a
slow class car in Challenge competition (i.e. try to make up a 3 second or
so headstart) and actually beat the slower car, that has been fun. It is
even more fun when I have been the Mod driver who caught and beat the guys
with the 3 second head start . . . just before the finish line!!!
Since the "public" doesn't understand traditional autocrossing, I actually
think that the "drag race with a handicap eliminations runoff" may actually
be easier for new potential participants and others to understand.
Simply tell them it is a "combination of a drag race with a very short road
race". Since "lane choice" would be too big a factor compared to drag
racing lane differences, Pro Solo simply adds up the best run in each
"lane" to get a total time.
Try it. You might like it!
Dick Rasmussen
CM 85
85 Van Diemen RF-85 Formula Ford
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