Longer session times for run groups 1&2

[jlwhorf]

The lap times your atom turns, there would not be too much that would pass you anyway. The best part is pay and drive, no prereg, no tech, no drivers meeting, and often only 1 run group.

[breakaway500]

It does sound like fun,but NHMS seems to change their schedule at a moments notice, and you can't really count on test days being open to cars it seems...

[jlwhorf]

Yeah I know, it sucks. I would have been up there yesterday for sure. I definitely need some seat time in the new car.

[breakaway500]

I was perusing Apexspeed the other day...looking for something to squeeze a supercharged Zetec into on the cheap. Nice one seater,under 1k lbs...add 235whp..hmmm.. I better get back to "real" work...

[brucesallen]

I was perusing Apexspeed the other day...looking for something to squeeze a supercharged Zetec into on the cheap. Nice one seater,under 1k lbs...add 235whp..hmmm.. I better get back to "real" work...

the hot setup these days is Formula B. 1,000 lbs with driver, 1 liter motorcycle engine. Some convert an FC and make a SCCA legal FB. Rob Laverty of NER welded up his own and is doing well this year after teething problems.

[breakaway500]

I haven't quite warmed up to bike engines powering cars.

Used to be the other way around. E.J. Potter;
The Michigan Madman!SBC power.Direct drive No tranny. His whole story is amazing. Loved to stuff big engines in small things.

Although,this Stohr is nice.. for bike engine power;

[breakaway500]

[6PAK72]

So let's see....when I was bike racing, my Kawi 1.1L produced 118hp, the bike weighed 630 wet, and I weighed 155...hmmmm....

That's crazy, and today's bikes are worse!!! Last I looked, the ZX13 produced 134, weighed 600 wet in track prep....

Glad I got out of that.

[breakaway500]

Todays hyper-fast bikes are beyond useable performance for most.Anywhere.

The ZX10R is 165hp and 460lbs. ZX6R is lighter. Gobs of power. Or..the GSXR1000. Out of the box race bike. 1198r Ducati..mmm

If you were racing a 630lb. bike,you weren't racing...


Many of these small race track only cars use the Hayabusa engine or R-1 Yamaha and can accomodate most any modern bike powerplant.

I'll bet that red Stohr F1000 would sound real nice powered by an 1198R engine!

I wonder why no one has tried a modern Goldwing engine? Lots of torque,and good useable rpm range.. probably too heavy.Shaft drive..

[paultg]

Isle of Man: http://dukevideo.streamburst.tv/catalogue

Has to be the craziest racing know to man.

[chaos4NH]

Isle of Man: http://dukevideo.streamburst.tv/catalogue

Has to be the craziest racing know to man.

Nah, paying for the footage is the crazy part

[6PAK72]

I was at Isle of Man in 1983, as a spectator. Hammered most of the time on great whiskey.....but what an incredible race, town and people. It was a blast.

That downhill straightline into the sharp left..those guys are nuts. Someone was racing a Vincent Shadow even then, and to watch him throw that thing around....

[horizenjob]

I used to COM from '73 to ''88. I'm curious when rules like no passing on a warm up lap or required point bys started?

We used to be very clear about not requiring a point by or even allowing passing on the other side then pointed to. These are pretty big changes and I'm trying to get this new stuff straightened out before I show up for the last event. It's a little disconcerting...

If people want lots of track time, the open track days are good for that. I don't see a big need for longer practice sessions at events, how many seconds do you improve during a day? I think we used to mostly run two groups though, so we may have had more sessions.

[horizenjob]

I believe at one time COM had no passing zones and point-by's were optional -- combined with no standing yellow, you could pass anyone, anywhere, at any time after exiting pit lane...

I posted my note above before I noticed the several pages in this thread.

Yes, we did not have passing zones. Yes, we did not require point bys and it was emphasised that they did not need to be obeyed. Perhaps that seems odd now, but both ideas are sensible.

Obeying a point by means that a person being passed, possibly a novice or at any rate a slower driver or car - is directing high speed traffic that they may not understand. They may not see all the cars behind. They may not understand the car behind is closing at 50 mph and may not want or even be able to go inside or outside or whatever. It was always emphasised that the slow car should stay on the line and be predictable. Never swerve or make allowance for the passing traffic.

Passing was allowed anywhere, but discouraged in corners. The old Bryar track had corners on the straights, so this may have been part of the reason.

This meant people had a little more room, sometimes you would complete a pass going in to a corner. Sometimes you would run wide or high to let people under you. I don't recollect any car to car contact in all those years.

It was not a free for all nor are the open track days. It was emphasised that practice is practice, not racing. I think it actually helped, everyone understood that judgement was important. Knowing you could do something and bore the responsibility was sobering. Ultimately that's a good thing.

We should consider doing it the old way. I think it was thought that it was proper training for racing. COM used to be the primary feeder club for SCCA and even professional racing in the north east.