[Dr K]

Originally Posted by Potomac-Greg

That's why some SCCA regions created SSM -- to try to get back to what SM used to be.

Maybe they need to institute a $30-40,000 "claiming" rule. Any SM can be bought and must be sold for $30,000 after the race. No doubt, there will be a LOT of discussion over the winter.

As Greg knows but some of you may not, SSM ("Showroom" Spec Miata) is not a national class in SCCA. Different regions have different rules, and when I last checked about a year ago, the National Capital region was alone in their very strict rules of a sealed engine (97 HP!!) and spec suspension with no options. The other regions are all envious of the 40-car-in-class races in this region, but none of them have yet followed suit with the strict rules. It's still more flexible than the true SCCA spec cars (e.g. SRF) where the entire car is SPEC, but it's close and it's less expensive. And therefore, it's very popular.

I'm looking forward to trying a race next season--I would have raced the weekend before this past except for the religious holiday. The races apparently have less contact than SM, but considerably more than PCA. We'll see how tolerable that is after "gentleman racing" with our club. The cars sure are a blast to drive, and stick like rubber cement! But they make a 944 look fast on the straights...

I like the idea of the "claiming race" or "engine claiming race" in SM, or they could go back to their roots and seal the engines (perhaps at a more reasonable HP than 97). Sure, there's a cost to getting a dyno, but it would be a WHOLE LOT CHEAPER than the arms race that is currently occurring in SM, and the huge fields in SSM attest to that.

Peter