Oh my! I have been mostly happy to just sit back and read this, but now I
just have to type. In my experience the last...um...21 years that I have
been autocrossing (and for that matter, the same applies in racing my
snowmobiles, but that is another story), there are people who autocross
because it is a hugely fun sport, and there are people who only are happy if
they win. For those who are only happy when they win, when someone
unexpected starts beating them, they all too often look to compete somewhere
else instead of improving their own technique or equipment. This has very
often been the case of drivers in cars which in addition to open competition
have closed, marque club competition available to them. From my
observations, the reason you don't see many Porsches at SCCA autocrosses
anymore is that many Porsche owners got tired of being beaten by drivers in
other cars. Kind of the "I can beat all the PCA members, I must be the
fastest, so obviously the classes are slanted against my Porsche." The
Porsche drivers that stay with increased competition increase their skills
and stay quite competitive, thank you. I suspect these same drivers are
wildly successful at PCA club events. Personally, I always thought the 911
was fairly outclassed in ASP, right up until I watched Dwight Mitchell a few
times. Set a Porsche up to beat more than just other Porsches, drive it
better than the drivers of the other cars, and you will win. JUST STOP
WHINING IF YOU DON'T WIN! TRY IMPROVING!
What can I say. I autocross a twenty something year old Toyota pickup
truck. Of course, last I checked, the Hotruck is still competitive in FSP
(why do you think it's called Farm implement Street Prepared?). I was
barely ahead of Guy St. John's MGBGT at last year's nationals..hmmm, a
sports car that has kept up with development. There are precious few
uncompetitive cars in even street prepared, just underdeveloped.
As far as my personal pet peeve, don't let anyone say a first or second
gen RX-7 is uncompetitive in CSP. Tom Ellam and Tom Berry have been very
competitive in RX-3's, and a first gen. RX-7 in CSP can have more power (13B
rotary vs 12A), better front suspension (separate sway bar and strut rods),
better rear suspension (no leaf springs with really silly shock angles), and
way better brakes (decently sized discs vs very small, not even self
adjusting, drums), all at very nearly (if not below) the same weight. Just
because a first gen RX-7 hasn't won nationals lately doesn't mean they are
not competitive due to classing, it just means no one has prepared and/or
driven one as well as the Toms drive their RX-3s.
Oh, and to get me started on Corvettes! When the RX-7tt moved from AS
to SS and started winning, the C4 drivers seemed pretty unanimous in saying
the Mazda should be moved back to AS (which would mean with the pre-C4
Corvettes). Huh? How about asking for the C4 to be moved down to AS? If
the RX-7tt was too fast for Super Stock, wouldn't that make it way too fast
for AS? Personally, I would like to see the pre-1982 Corvette moved to F
Stock to allow a cheaper car to be competitive with the new Mustangs and
F-body GMs, but that's just me. They probably still wouldn't keep up with
the Camaros, but it would make a nice change of scenery...
I guess my point is, new cars are going to keep coming, just GET OVER
IT! The older cars have more experience to put to good use! Just keep
developing!
Matt Leicester
FSP Toyota Hotruck
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