A long time coming...

[dc]

I have long been thinking about adding this here, and now that there are few holes in the amateur formula car representation here at ApexSpeed, I figured that now is as good a time as any to introduce a new location for formula car-oriented Solo racing. I know there are quite a few guys on this forum who ONLY race their cars with SCCA Solo II events, and now they don't have to feel left out.

Not sure how much traffic this well potentially get, but this should just about cover everything open wheeled racers need.





(new smiley, too)

[Stan Clayton]

Sweet! Rennie and I have many happy memories of autocrossing with our pals in Tucson!

[Lynn]

Very nice. And right at the top, too.

[ffrgtm]

Nice timing! I just bought an rf90 specifically for autox.

Ben




edit: !

[RussMcB]

Good deal.

I've been thinking about solo/track trials lately. The financial and effort level look attractive compared to W2W racing. I've always been envious that solo racers can have such good looking cars and keep them looking good (assuming the orange marks can be removed with polishing compaound. :-)

The problem with autocrossing is It's Hard! I have a lot of respect for people who can get 100% out of their cars with no warm up. When I made the jump from solo to club racing I remember thinking how nice it was to methodically (read, "slowly" :-) approach the limits of the car, and benefitting from tires with heat and substantial downforce from wings.

Will this forum include solo II, track trials and hill climbs?

[Jim Garry]

Will this forum include solo II, track trials and hill climbs?

Up until a few years ago hill climbs and track trials fell under the Solo I program. The Solo I and Solo II rules were in the same rulebook. But then the National Office moved hill climbs and track trials to the Club Racing program. If you go to SCCA.com and click on Club Racing you'll get to http://www.scca.com/hub.aspx?hub=1 . On that page you'll see PDX (performance driving experience), Time Trials, Driver's Schools, Regional Racing, National Racing, Runoffs, and more.

If you click on Solo, all you'll see are the various components of the Solo program (Divisionals, National Tour, Pro Solo, Solo National Championship, etc.).

So hill climbs/track trials are definitely not part of the Solo program anymore. I'll leave it up to the Carter's to decide how to handle this.

And just a nomenclature thing ... ever since hill climbs/track trials were removed from the Solo program a few years ago, there has been no such thing as Solo I anymore. In turn, there is no such thing as Solo II either. It's now just known as Solo. Sorry to be so obsessive/compulsive.

Oh ... and I think it's great that there's a Solo forum now. Thanks very much!

Jim

[RussMcB]

Jim, not obsessive/compulsive at all. Thanks for the clarification.

[dc]

Ah yes, but the SCCA is not the only game in town. There are still a few clubs running track days and Solo Is on tracks across the country.

I think everything historically considered under the "Solo" racing (individual car on a course one at a time against the clock) will probably feel safe to post under this heading.

[na94]

The cone marks are easily taken care of with WD-40, and yes, it's nice not to have a ragged looking car to go racing in.

Up in Canada Solo1 and Solo2 are classed differently and have different rule sets, but the events are run by some of the same clubs. If anyone wants to make it up to Mission for a Solo1 event, come on up, although they are usually during a sccbc race weekend, so most people would rather come up to go road racing.

[Gary_T]

Ah, not all regions in Canada utilize a different rule-set. I believe some of BC, Ontario, and the Maritimes still use Canadian rules, leaving some of BC, the prairies, and Quebec similar to SCCA.

Gary

[na94]

For autoslalom, quite a number of regions in Canada have opted to use the SCCA ruleset. Some of the die-hards still cling to their Canadian ruleset because it gives them a place to play with the cars that they have built, but they don't care much about competition in the US.

[lowside67]

If anyone wants to make it up to Mission for a Solo1 event, come on up, although they are usually during a sccbc race weekend, so most people would rather come up to go road racing.

Just an FYI, formula cars are not allowed to run in the Solo group at Mission. Sportsracers run in the Solo group but open wheel cars are not due to concerns with being on track with fendered cars at the same time. Unfortunately there is no Solo available to a formula car at Mission.

[TedV]

Good deal.

I've been thinking about solo/track trials lately.

and benefitting from tires with heat and substantial downforce from wings.

Russ, if you run solo you will benifit from a tire warming co-driver. Of course I will volunteer. 5'11" and 150 lbs will fit in your car no problems... right?

[tombu-mi]

Hey Russ,

If you are thinking about Solo, Solo Trials, and Time Trials, you might want to consider the Central Florida Region Solo Trials at Gainesville Raceway on February 14-15. It's the start of the South East Division Series each year, but Solo cars are legal for it. We'll have our Red Devil there. Here's a link to the flyer -

http://www.cfrsolo2.com/Flyers2009/2...ainesville.pdf

Tom

[pahillclimber]

We have a whole series of SCCA events in and around PA. Check out www.pahillclimb.org .

09 Schedule
May 23-24 Jefferson TT(clockwise), Summit Point, WV
June 13-14 Weatherly HC, Weatherly, PA
June 27-28 Pagoda HC, Reading, PA
July 11-12 103rd Giant's Despair HC, Wilkes-Barre, PA
July 25-26 Rose Valley HC, Trout Run, PA
Aug 8-9 Polish Mtn. HC, Flintstone, MD
Aug 22-23 Duryea HC, Reading, PA
Sept 5-6 Jefferson TT(counter clockwise), Summit Point, WVSept 19-20 Weatherly HC, Weatherly, PA

We welcome all GCR formula cars, plus solo Vee, vintage/historic, and specials.

Rich

[Stan Vann]

Doug,
Thanks for this. As a autocrosser, hillclimber, and occasional road racer and vintage racer, it's going to be great to have this forum. As someone who has tried all forms, autocrossing is the most difficult to excel in; hillclimbing is the biggest rush; and road racing is the most expensive. Oh yeah, HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!
Stan
1970 Caldwell D9

[teamfour]

Thanks for creating this area.

[snookwheel]

Great to see there is a Solo specific site! Thank you. I have a lot to learn and will be checking the site often.

Scott

[Speedfreak]

I'm shooting for some test time at a small track on Oct 10th. Then I'll have the winter to clean and sort the car for next years Solo2. Might also go for SCCA license next spring and eventually get some road course exposure. :-)

Thanks to Apexspeed for the knowledge shared here.

[farrout]

This year SEDIV went to a new format for the Track Trials. Thinking of TT as a stepping stone to road racing and wanting to give the drivers more track time for their buck, we revamped everything.

The Road Racers can think of it as similar to qualifying or a test day. We are running 15 minute sessions with multiple cars on track. Passing is allowed in designated areas - mostly the straights - with a point by. Passing is done with RR rules - driver being passed holds his line and the passer goes around. Timing is done using the AMB transponders, so your "practice" laps are timed.

At TGPR in April, we had drivers getting 135 minutes of track time over the weekend. Many ran out of fuel, tires, and energy. At Nashville SuperSpeedway, we had a few Road Racers come out for the track time and to get prepared for the Heart of Dixie SARRC at NSS.

Costs are pretty fair. Normally $225 for the weekend not just a normal Friday practice day. SEDIV runs flat track events at TGPR, NSS, Roebling Road, Carolina Motorsports Park and sometimes VIR.

[rickjohnson356]

Is the SEDIV TT schedule posted on the SEDIV web site as part of the racing schedule or is it posted somewhere else?

Sounds like a good possibility for me to run a FST car until we get more FST cars down here for regional racing events.


From the number of posts so far, it looks like Doug has his answer to his question of 'how much traffic this forum will get'

Thanks Doug!

================================================== ======
Well, as usual, I jumped the start! I forgot to look at the posting dates, most are from the start of 2009-- oh well, it is still nice to have this additional forum.

Like Russ said, with the current economic status, Solo/Autox/TT might be a better way to get my speed fix for a while.