Pro and Novice.

Pro Classes:
- Unlimited: Anything Goes
- Modified: Similar to MOD now maybe with more pts.
- Stock/Auto-x: The Auto-X BS racers could fit here, (Shocks w/ stock springs, front swaybar, r-compounds, etc)

Novice Classes:
- Modified Race: Similar to MOD now w/ R-Compounds and a lot of pts
- Modified Street: Similar to MOD now w/ Street tires and a lot of pts


Basically the pro classes are money paying and the novice classes don't get $ but will get trophies. Attendees get to pick Novice or Pro initially, but if your laptimes are with in a say 5% of the Pro Modified guys then you get bumped up automatically.

This allows us to separate the "fast guys" from the "less fast guys" while still maintaining completion.

My problem with the current classing system is it is based soley on mods and not at all on skill level. There are a lot of guys w/ heavily modded cars that aren't "that" fast and this would allow them to compete in a class of other people w/ similar lap times.

Using Laguna as an Example.

The fastest non-unlimited time was jzr w/ 105.4 sec (1:45.4) so 5% of that is 5.3 seconds. So anyone running a 1:50.7 or higher would be running in the novice class. That would have put Richard in first in the R compound class, "JH"? in second, and SilverSurfer in 3rd.

Just a mind upload. Please let me know if I make sense and what you all think.

-Ry

 

that's good thinkin.

 

What about Ardy's 1:51.455? Wouldn't he be in first place? (Trying to understand if classing had something to do with this?) I guess he would have been in pro class by choice?

 

Oh yeah theres him too in unlimited.. I didn't see it.

We still have to have an unlimited class, but ideally the pts would be structured so that even the "highly" modded cars could still fit in the novice class.

 

Hey - I had a 1:45.2 on Thursday!

My first two thoughts were "you think too much" and "haven't we been through this enough already" but then I saw those magic words: "the pro classes are money paying".

I think it's an excellent idea if SV accounting says it can be done. Unless participation changes to reflect such, I see no need for the Stock/Auto-x class. Especially if it makes the $ pool bigger for Pro Mod/Unlimited.

If there was the chance to win $$ (enough at least to recoup entry fee) we might see some highly skilled folks coming out of the woodwork. They may give us the beat-down, but in the end that's a good thing for all us hacks trying to learn to be faster.

 

The trouble is we'd be back to 5 or 6 classes. While 20-25 S2Ks might show up at Laguna or Buttonwillow, it's far less likely to happen at other SV venues, esp. the east coast and midwest, leaving little or no competition there.

I've really begun to think the 3-class proposal and the new points system are pretty much spot-on for where we are right now. Besides, it's good for those modded-out newbies to see what's possible with just driver skill. Gives 'em something to shoot for.

 

Would be back to the problem of too many classes and not enough participants in each to make them meaningful.

 

I'm inclinded to agree with twohoos at present. This year I think we should have three classes, but rather than have the middle class be based on the current MOD class as Rylan said, I think it should be based on the current PROD as I stated in the original post. This means we'd leave everything as it is now, but just erase MOD and have it incorporated into PROD, as I said in the initial post.

The novice idea is actually a very good idea that I think we should do for sure, I'm just not sure if we should do it this year. If we are going to do it, however, I think the same classing should apply. There are "novices" with UNLIMITED cars, and there are "novices" with completely stock cars. Why have them have a diff. classing scheme? Just replicate the one we've got.

Also, why is this in a different thread? Rylan can you move it back to the previous one? It seems on topic to me.

 

Maybe Rylan just wants to be able to call himself a "pro" racer???

Why not leave the classing alone, with the 3, and any event that draws 5 or more cars into a single class pays to the top finisher in that class? Alternatively provide free entry to a future SV event - that's a common practice in autocross when you win a class having enough cars. 1st place gets free entry w/5-9 cars in a class, 2nd place also if there's 10-14, etc. etc. Also provide free entry to TTD, that way the boys in Unlimited have something to aim for.

 

yes more classes but its also more competion. East coast and Midwest don't matter untill next year anyway as there are not enuf track days for there to be competition yet anyway.

There are plenty of enuf west coast attendee's to make the 4-5 cars per class work.

How long do the lower half of the mod guys stick around when usually the top 5 are me, jzr, aaron, doug and josh.

My goal is to create competition. The current classing system is too flawed imo.