Al,
First, a thoughtful post.
The dynamics of Solo 2 has changed since the nineties (as had a
lot of our lives!). SS is no longer the "big" class. Other stock
classes are equal in numbers of participation. Look at the ST/SM
numbers. Who woulda thunk it.If we lump the Vetts together (as
you opined), why not lump non-turbo 911s?
Matt Murray
I remember when the CRX was in A Stock.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chan, Albert" <albert.chan@owenscorning.com>
> Out of lurk mode that I've been in for the past few years, as
autocrossing
> has taken a back seat to other needs. Apologies for my late
contribution.
>
> Some comments as I've looked at various postings on this topic:
> 1) What the SS/Corvette community wasn't happy about was having
the Viper
> adopted for SS during the second quarter of the year. Remember
the context
> that back then SS was one of most highly subscribed classes at
Nationals,
> and the effect could be obsoleting the entire class. One can
always debate
> in hindsight about the validity of that opinion.
>
> Also, for the record, the ZR-1 Corvette - similar in price and
rated
> horsepower to the Viper - was on the exclusion list for a
number of years -
> far longer than the Viper, and kept on the exclusion list after
the Viper
> was allowed to play in SS.
> 2) For all of those who have discussed that it seems that each
model of
> Corvette have had their own class - may it be politely
suggested that other
> vehicles be looked at? From a historical basis (early to
mid-90s, same time
> frame as this Viper discussion, it always amazed me how many
classes that
> Honda Civics ran in, with all of their Si/Dx/Hf/CRX variants
(1300 cc and
> 1500 cc).
>
> 3) It's true that each generation of Corvette is specifically
classed in the
> SCCA rulebook - but that doesn't guarantee its competitiveness.
It should
> also be noted many other vehicles also have each one of their
generations or
> platforms listed as well.
>
> Also, to all the Corvette cynics, please note that SCCA hasn't
given class
> breaks to models within a generation of Corvettes (unlike the
Honda Civic
> example listed above). C4s of all model years, whether a 405 HP
ZR-1, a 250
> HP tuned port, or a 205 HP cross-fire, all play in A-Stock.
>
> 4) While some people may not like that both the C4 and C5
Corvettes have
> performed well at the highest levels, it should be noted that
with such a
> large enthusiast and club following, it only accelerates the
development of
> the vehicle for solo/autocross use. The C4 was such a popular
vehicle that
> many of the tire companies specifically used Corvettes for the
development
> of their competition tires - a nice advantage to have. I would
speculate
> that if the Mitsu Evo has such a wide following and different
competitors on
> the west/east/midwest all developing their vehicles, it should
trounce the
> C4 in future years.
> Regards,
> Al Chan
|