>Would those of you in SS, AS, BS, put up with an aprox. difference of
>163 hp spread in your class. H**L No!, Would you compete with FWD RWD &
>AWD Cars, Again NO!
Let's see, last year SS included my car (1999 BMW M-Coupe, 240HP),
the Z06 (380HP, 415 if you got an early 2002), the Porsche Carrera 4
(302HP, AWD). Plus the BMW M5 (400HP, but a sedan) and lots of other
cars that I don't know the specs on. But you'll see there was a
160-175HP spread, and both RWD and AWD were represented. Unlike GS,
Front-, Mid- and Rear-engined configurations are represented. There
aren't any FWD cars in this years SS or AS, and only the Audi TT
(that I recognize) in BS.
In SS this year I'm pretty sure that the Boxster S is lowest in HP
(250HP, mid-engine, RWD), while the Viper (now with ABS) is probably
high (450HP (490ft/lb torque!) front engine, RWD) with the
'mid-range' consisting of the RX-7tt ("288HP", rotary, front-mid
engine, RWD), M-Coupes and Roadsters (315HP, front, RWD), the
Mercedes SLK32 AMG (350HP, front, RWD, automatic only!), and Corvette
C5 (what, 330HP up to 415HP?), the Porsche 996 C4 (300HP (only 258
ft-lbs though) rear engine, AWD) and the Lotus Esprit Turbo (350HP,
mid-engine, RWD. talk about a car I would love to see at an event!)
Were there people whining about the problem two years ago? Maybe, I
wasn't on the list then, let alone tracking the speculations of the
SEB. I was just driving against the cars in my class and trying to
figure out how to get the most out of my car.
I am planning on going to nationals this year. I don't think I have
a snowball's chance, but it should be fun, and, unlike last year or
the year before, there is at least a mathematical chance I could do
well. (If a cloudburst happens after my first run. Both days. And I
run first. :-)
I didn't ask for the stock class re-org, but I'm enjoying the
results. I'm sorry if you think that GS (we won't talk about HS!)
looks uneven, but lets take a look at the results of the National
Tour events so far in that class.
Ft. Myers 12 drivers, 4 trophies
1 RCone 00 Toyota Celica GT 97.652
2 RCarpenter 85 Honda CRX 99.061
3 GHSharp 02 Toyota Celica 99.422
4 NTovsen 99 Subaru Impreza 2.5 99.454
[those first two places would have been 3rd and 4th in SS!)
San Diego 10 drivers, 4 trophies
1 DGreen 85 Honda CRX Si 124.111
2 MPotter 98 VW GTI VR6 124.294
3 APerucho 00 Toyota Celica GT 124.798
4 CNaylor 91 Acura Integra 124.910
[A power course, DGreen would have been 26th SS]
Houston 9 drivers, 3 trophies
1 EMartens 99 Chevy Camaro 99.287
2 RBlume 91 BMW 318 is 99.750
3 AStainbrook 01 Dodge Neon ACR 104.420
[EMartens would beat 11th SS (of 12)]
Atwater 16 drivers, 5 trophies
1 JLowe 99 Dodge Neon ACR 91.654
2 MDarby 98 Neon ACR 91.679
3 DGreen 85 Honda CRX Si 92.145
4 APerucho 00 Toyota Celica GT 92.265
5 CHartman 99 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS 92.374
[All 5 were faster than the slowest SS, but only that one car.]
Rome 18 drivers, 6 trophies
1 GHSharp 02 Toyota Celica GT Blue 83.592
2 RFoley 00 Toyota Celica GT White 85.781
3 BHertweck 00 Toyota Celica GT Red 86.254
4 TErnst 95 Dodge Neon from Hell 86.813
5 CHKim 99 Honda CRX si 86.906
6 ABoyd 98 Dodge Neon R/T 88.879 (Go Alan!!!)
[GHSharp's time beat SS, RFoley would have been out of the
trophies in SS by .034 seconds, Rome was tight and twisty, only
slightly less so on day 2. All of them beat my AS time; I would have
been 11th in GS.]
So in 5 events we've had 4 different makes and models win, 8
different models (9 if the ACR is significantly different from the
R/T) trophy, 3 individuals trophy twice, and have given out 22
trophies. I note that we haven't had any instances of co-drivers
both trophying, so it is far more the drivers than the cars, as you
would expect. The Toyota Celica GT appears to have an edge, but I
would say that the class is healthy, with a good mix of cars being
competative. Unlike some classes we could look at.
I'll let someone else look at the HP and other specs of the various
winning cars.
David,
longwinded today
--
David W. James vnendNOSPAM@adelphia.net
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"Ignorance is the mother of adventure." Hagar the Horrible
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