> P2 is going to be a crazy class next year.
s/crazy/fun/ :)
> The CSP Type R probably won't even be a factor.
I tend to agree with you, as a CSP Type R isn't all that different from a
stock Type R - but I still hope one comes to play.
> Not with currently developed cars like the Tunnell M3,
> all the CSP Honda's, the CSP RX-3's, the ESP Supra's, and the SS RX-7's.
On paper (assuming equal driver skill, and that's a _hell_ of a big
assumption in my case) we should be able to handle the M3 once the car is
fully developed. The CRXs bother me, as they weigh literally half as much
as we do (I've started my diet :( ) I don't know much about the RX3, but I
do know that the RX-7s are pretty damn quick. The Supra is an ESP car, and
so should be an even match for the Talon, being an ESP car as well.
> Now this is a class!
You bet! I'd guess that P2 may well become the series centerpiece, not P3.
More variety, more "trendy" (P2 is a fast Riceb0y class)
> How do you think a stock DStar will fair in this mix?
A Stock Talon would get clobbered - but we're not stock, we're bringing an
ESP Talon to this fight.
I know full well that I'm going to get my buttocks kicked six ways from
Sunday for the first little while, as I'm hardly a star driver yet, and
everything on the car will have changed from last year. However, assuming a
well sorted out car and driver, the Talon should do well. Nobody can touch
us in a straight line from the start, absolutely nobody. The Supra and RX7
could probably catch us in the top 3rd of a 1/4 mile dragstrip, but we
don't see many 1/4 mile long straights. :)
We're pretty good in long sweepers too. AWD means never having to lift for
wheelspin. :)
Where we stink is in short choppy stuff where turbo lag and weight become a
problem. We also don't have the raw cornering potential of any of the other
cars in class in Stock trim, although I'm hoping that all the suspension
work we'll be doing will fix that. A Stock M3 corners much better than a
Stock Talon, but I'm hoping a SP M3 and SP Talon are a closer match.
As I see it, we've got our work cut out for us, and course design plays a
big part. We'd kill at something like last year's Peru course (long
straight, big sweepers) but a short+kinky course could cause us serious
problems.
Of course, if it rains, you can just hand us the champagne. At the Finale,
in the rain, on our dry tires, in Stock trim, we were mowing down Miatae
and Supras by 1.5 seconds a side, and I was being conservative to keep out
of the cones. :)
[although it's worth keeping my hubris down by noting that both my Talon
and Jeff Jacob's Eclipse got clipped by a Stock MX-6 "knife" in the same
event...]
So yes, I think the Talon can be competative, although it's an underdog in
my mind right now, at least until I see how much difference the SP mods
make to the car, and even then, the power/weight of the CRX is tough to
beat. In amateur competition, if we had to run CSP, we'd get killed
(straight starts rare, more time (due to longer courses) to catch up if we
do get a straight start) - we're going to have a rough enough time in ESP
there.
What I'm kinda hoping in the back of my mind is that at the end of next
season if there is a serious overdog car in P2, that Howard makes them
carry ballast the following season.
But that's another whole can o' worms....
DG
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