Thread: Write letters: B14/B15 SCCA Solo ST classification

The SCCA is looking at splitting the lowest Street Touring class (ST) into "old" ST (STC) and "new/slow" ST (STF). Our cars will stay in STC if approved, even though the EF Civic Si will never be beaten. That's not up for arguement, unfortunately.

The November 2011 FasTrack spells it out.
The Sports Car Club of America - About

The issue: in this move, cars not specifically named in a ST class will not be allowed to run in ST at the National level. Right now, only the B13 SE-R and NX2000 are listed in STC. By omission, the logically similar B14 SE-R, B14 SE, and B15 SE are not listed, thus not Nationally allowed per this proposal.



It's probably not intentional, but it's still not very thorough research. Remember when the B14 SE-R was left in DSP while the B13 SE-R went to FSP, or when the B14 SE-R got put in HS while the B13 SE-R stayed in GS? It gets old.

Even if you aren't angling on a National Championship, you shouldn't be barred from competing just because of neglected semantics. In some scenarios, a Nationals or Tour trophy position might pay contingencies or tires. Heck, someone might even want to drive a ST-prep G20.

Whether you run at Tours/Nationals or not, it's not a bad idea to keep the SCCA honest by making sure all the SE-R brothers are allowed. It's easy to write a letter and remind them. If you're a SCCA member, you can contact the Solo Events Board (SEB) through a simple form.

SEB Letter Submission Form

I wrote my letter this morning. Some things you might want to include:

- Be specific on make/model/trim levels that should be included
- Participant interest
- Mechanical similarity
- etc.

Update.

I got a message back from the SEB mailing system that my letter was reviewed by the Street Touring committee and will be reviewed by the SEB at its next conference call. A STAC member even dropped me a personal reply:



Shucks.

I take that as a possible sign that SR20 pilots will be able to play in ST from here on out. If a lower committee give a thumbs up, that will usually bless it up the ladder.

Even if the SCCA rule structure is a little procedural and slow, it's still a club run by volunteers, and the SEB Letter Submission system will make sure it gets due process. Always write a letter if you need to!

hopefully it works out. Keep us posted, Jim.

From page 17 of the March 2012 FasTrack.

http://scca.cdn.racersites.com/prod/assets/12-fastrack-march.pdf



Standing up for SR20dom. One love.

So does this mean one can run in STC for 2012?

The FWD SR20DE family of cars falls into STC for this year.

The class formerly known as ST in 2011 got split into two. The older/lighter/faster half became STC, and includes our cars. The newer/heavier/slower half became STF, and includes things like the Mazda2, Yaris, Fiesta, Acura TSX, etc.

Now I'm torn. In my area there is some fast older compacts, I may a have a better chance at hitting top spots running DSP. The one thing I don't like about STC is the 7.5" wheel width limit. Good thing I didnt pull the trigger and buy the 8"s I wanted.

I'm with you on this. Whereas I think my region is a little more relaxed, I don't want to run into the problems I could face at nationals. I too would like to see 8 inch wide wheels allowed. My car is on the teetering edge of STC and FSP ( we are now in FSP, not DSP as far as I know for 2012, competing against old Austin healey sprites and britcars, the AE86, and misc others. This is a weird jump to be as we go from a class where we are seriously screwed over by the civics, to really featherweight cars but we have the power advantage ( arguable with the AE86).

Download the 2012 rulebook and check for yourself. Im with you on this, it really might be possible to make a go in FSP with a well tuned and wide tired B13.

My previous statements are all based on the B13 (NX). The 200SX and newer FWD SR20 cars are still grouped with the dreaded civics in DSP. Why this is, I dont know. The 200s have the crappy rear beam that JimR argued to get them grouped all together in the other situation, so why they are split up in Street Prepared is over my head. They even weigh more.. Jim, is it time for another letter concerning this version of the rulebook?

I used Jim's form letter to get my B14 into FSP and I know others did as well, but they never even argued it as far as I could see and I scanned the Fasttrack that year pretty heavily. They're idiots. They were so quick to fix the STC problem because they knew that if they omitted the B14 and B15 they'd lose entry money for those folks. The SCCA has always been about money, whether you guys want to believe it or not. Look at the "weekend membership" thing they do now. That's a HUGE ploy to make money and boost membership to make more money. If there was another group that did a lot of Solo2 stuff here I would run with them exclusively and let my membership lapse.

All the advisory board members are volunteers, and FWD SR20 cars have such a small presence at upper-level Solo events that no one knows anything about them. The main fault here is ignorance. They aren't afraid of losing any B13/B14/B15 participation, as they weren't aware of much to begin with. The kind of responses (few) I got from this thread on the primary gathering place of FWD SR20 cars in America shows just how much motorsports interest among owners of these cars has dwindled.

It took four months to get from letter submission to publication. That sucked, but it worked. Much faster cars - in theory - are now allowed in FSP. It would be very easy to make a case for adding the B14/B15.

No one is getting rich at the SCCA. In fact, there's no one at the SCCA to get rich. Their staff is pretty small. Self-organized, club-structured, self-funded member-driven motorsports is a rough activity right now. The economy is down, and youth culture is increasingly automotive-indifferent. Cheap is up (sims, crapcan racing, etc.), established activities are down. Weekend memberships are part of the fight against that decline. I don't love them, but there's a reason.

The truth is that insurers are all about the money. When someone can't find the clutch pedal and crashes a Porsche 911 into the safety steward's own car, premiums go up. Litigation fear is huge. Passengers are still free in Solo events, but we're still required to sign a weekend membership to become "members" while they're in a competition setting. The mandatory gate waiver person is another recent liability rule. Beyond site costs, most of your local entry fee goes to insuring the event and all the abstractions and insurer mandates that entails.

Most of the local enthusiast boards are filled with people who won't go do anything that's not in their backyard and free. Amateur motorsports is drowning in a tide of apathy, entitlement, and cheapness. Drag strips, ovals, and road courses close all the time. If you want non-professional racing to thrive, you have to engage.