John Steczkowski wrote:
>>>One thing I'm considering is road racing with one of the Marque clubs
(PCA,
since I currently own a Porsche). They race with basically the same rules as
the vintage clubs, that is, if you have contact, you're on probation for 13
months, and if you have another contact while on probation, you're suspended
for 13 months.<<<
At the risk of getting too far off the topic of autocross, I also think that
Marque Club racing is a good way to go. The primary difference between this
form of racing and SCCA Club racing is that there are strictly enforced
rules regarding contact (cars, walls, or anything else) and spins/off course
excursions. It makes a lot of sense if you want to race wheel-to-wheel but
you drive a car that is of historical significance or you are just not wild
about the risk of contact in general.
At the same time, SCCA Club Racing does not involve as much contact as most
people think. Drivers don't routinely hit one another. It's just that the
"accepted" margin of error is higher (i.e., the racing is closer in terms of
the space allowed to other drivers). That being said, contact is still
discouraged and excessive contact is unsportsmanlike (can lead to a ban,
etc.). I managed to win the 1998 Southern Pacific Divisional championship
in Spec RX-7 without any contact in any of the championship events. It
wasn't like I ran away from the field either. The racing is very close, and
typically we see grids of 20-30 cars per race. Of course, luck played a
part too in those races. In other (non championship) events last year, I
was involved in a few minor shunts (in 30+ races) -- but nothing that
seriously threatened me or the car.
Donn Vickrey
San Diego, CA
'97 M3 Coupe
'83 Spec RX-7
e-mail: dvickrey@camelbackra.com
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