Star Mazda @ Petit Le Mans

[glenn cooper]

So I'm up there yesterday, having played hooky from work, cause you know, being at the R/O's all the week prior was just NOT enough time off!

Anyways, I'm watching Petit LeMans on TV right now, was up there yesterday and Star Mazda's were only doing 1:19.5. Weather and conditions appeared perfect, maybe a tad warm.
I heard it costs up to 500k to arrive and drive this series now, w/ some rumored to have spent 700k? (Daly).

FB lap record is only 2 seconds slower than that, and WILL fall quite considerably the next time we get to run in good weather.

Talk about value for money!

[jim morgan]

Coop,
Those numbers seem a little high. You would have to tear up a lot of parts to spend that. That said almost any class is a better value.

[bill gillespie]

Hey Glenn,

The PFM's were in the 18's a couple of years ago ( Rahal)....can't wait to sse the next round of FB qualifying......your Runoffs/ Geartronics video is sweet.

Regards,
Bill

[glenn cooper]

T3 entry, lap 1, it was!

I know they went quicker awhile back, strange they were off as much as they were.

[mousecatcher]

Anyways, I'm watching Petit LeMans on TV right now, was up there yesterday and Star Mazda's were only doing 1:19.5. Weather and conditions appeared perfect, maybe a tad warm.
I heard it costs up to 500k to arrive and drive this series now, w/ some rumored to have spent 700k? (Daly).

FB lap record is only 2 seconds slower than that, and WILL fall quite considerably the next time we get to run in good weather.

Talk about value for money!

You can't compare the cost of pro racing to the cost of amateur racing. Run a pro mazda in SCCA and the costs are similar (I argue less, actually) than FB.

[formulasuper]

You can't compare the cost of pro racing to the cost of amateur racing. Run a pro mazda in SCCA and the costs are similar (I argue less, actually) than FB.

Ya, right. Ha!

[glenn cooper]

The point of the whole thing was to point out the lap time comparison vs. cost.

In closing, what Scott said (above).

[jim morgan]

Coop,
I agree my other point in addition to the lack of performance for $ spent is also the ,track time and crash fest. Performance per dollar Fb,racing per dollar has to be the F2000. While Star Mazda produces good young drivers the bulk of the field is wasting money.

[mousecatcher]

The point of the whole thing was to point out the lap time comparison vs. cost.

Which you can't do when you're comparing pro dollars to amateur dollars. The pro cost is inherently much higher regardless of performance.

If you want to compare you would have to look at (eg) SCCA FA, not pro Star Mazda.

[mousecatcher]

Ya, right. Ha!

The pro mazda is a spec car with sealed everything and good drivetrain longevity. The gearbox is bulletproof. It's pretty cheap to operate at the amateur level.

[glenn cooper]

It appears that what I had mentioned in regard to "rumors" are quite possibly just that!

My OP in reference to Daly was no slight, I don't even know the young man, but I do know or at least feel, judging on history, that he will be the next guy up the ladder that is STAR Mazda/IRL/ALMS/F1 (S. Speed).

My confidant also assured me that the 400k figure was pretty much tops, and of course factored in all sorts of testing, tires, etc...

It probably would have been better to compare the lap time of an SCCA FA class Pro FM driven at National level, but alas we have none of that here, maybe once in a blue moon, not enough data to go on.

GC

[Rick Ross]

In the club racing world, I am confident that a Pro FM would be cheaper to operate than a top-level FB. And prices of used PFM's have come down, so you should be able to get a decent one (with spares, data, etc.) for less than the cost of a similarly equipped new Firman/Citation/Stohr/Phoenix/etc. The PFM is essentially a spec car, so there will be no need to ever upgrade the engine, bodywork, wings, gearbox, shifter, etc.

The problem is that in SCCA the PFM's must race in the FA class......where they are simply not competitive in most situations. So they are unfortunately not the best car for someone who is concerned with winning races in SCCA.

[Blair Robertshaw]

To replace a PFM, new with a couple of sets of wheels , jacks and the basic equipment you need to run the car would cost about 165 - 175K.

The cost to run the car at the club level is no more than an FC with the exception of fuel.....they like the fuel! About 2:1 when compared to an FC. Tires live very similar to an FC and the drive train is very dependable.

A season in the Star Mazda series will run about 325K inclusive of the cost of the car. Of course that number can escalate with off's and other related racing accidents / mishaps.

It is a spec series so little changes within the series as far as cars specs but that does not mean things dont change. For '09 / '10 a new update package was offered by Star that was inclusive of;

carbon wings, new 3 way adjustable Ohlins, new suspension geometry, optional cooling fan, ECU update and some other small bits.

A person can expect similar times to a well prepared club level FA but will be slower than a late model well prepared FA. Operating costs when compared to a late model, well prepared FA will be much much lower.

The cars hold together very well and are quite robust in design. They are very cool cars, carbon tub, no lift shift, adjustable fuel mixture system and traction control are a few of the features on the car.

[Rick Ross]

Thanks for the info, Blair. I have seen used cars with spares advertised for less than $60K. Also, for club racing purposes it may not be necessary to purchase every update kit that is offered by Star.

As you pointed out, the PFM's are modern, safe cars with carbon tubs, sequential shift, etc., and operating costs in the FC range (less than FA or FB). I think they are a good option, as long as the driver does not expect to be competitive with the top-level FA's.

[jcolegrove]

Having hung around the IMSA series (Star is usually on the bill) as a photographer for a few weekends over the last 2 years...

I've heard 250K per season.

They are beautiful cars though!


Does anyone know how much of the season pricetag is picked up by a good sponsor?

[Fred Michael]

Sponsors pay for 0 to 100 percent of the bills. Depends on the sponsor.
The car pictured above is for sale on this sight.

[glenn cooper]

that sounds very low, as I recall the last year I ran w/ the older cars ('03), that was about what the top guys were paying, maybe 200k.

[Alex Pate]

I don't know if anyone noticed but the Mazda looks quite similar to the firman rfr 1000. Possibly because Ralph designed it...
At the rose cup in Portland an event that featured the madras, and was supposed to be televised 6 cars showed up and the top fb's were faster. It also seems strange at how close fb lap times are to fa, yet the cost doesn't come close. You can convert an fb for close to the price of an fa engine

[jim morgan]

250 low, full effort 300-400

[mousecatcher]

not including the car

[Dave Hopple]

So I'm up there yesterday, having played hooky from work, cause you know, being at the R/O's all the week prior was just NOT enough time off!

Anyways, I'm watching Petit LeMans on TV right now, was up there yesterday and Star Mazda's were only doing 1:19.5. Weather and conditions appeared perfect, maybe a tad warm.
I heard it costs up to 500k to arrive and drive this series now, w/ some rumored to have spent 700k? (Daly).

FB lap record is only 2 seconds slower than that, and WILL fall quite considerably the next time we get to run in good weather.

Talk about value for money!

Actually Coop, we did a 19.3 during the test day (I work on Connor De Phillippi's car) Krohn did a 19.2 on the same day before the AMLS rubber got laid down on the track.

At some tracks we run on we are faster with the new PFM aero,susp package and at Rd At we are not as fast as the 08' track record set by Dempsey (not sure why ). -Dave

P.S. Mr Morgan is correct with his PFM budget figures