Florida Majors

[andyllc]

Finally the racing season is here! There is a good field entered for Homestead this weekend in FF as well as next weekend in Sebring.
Any news or updates from folks in Homestead from the test day so far? Any class news, not just FF?
I can't wait for next weekend. Stout field to start the year!

[BURKY]

Congratulations JR2!

[problemchild]

FF, FV, and FC, all had good races within the group.
Burky looked really good. Where did you end up Mike?

[BURKY]

FF, FV, and FC, all had good races within the group.
Burky looked really good. Where did you end up Mike?

5th, it was jumping out of gear but should be good to go tomorrow.

[AGMelv]

did benson not start the race?

[BURKY]

Some pictures from Homestead.

[rickrep]

" the James Lee Gang"

[rickrep]

The "James Lee Gang"

[Steve Bamford]

How were the races this past weekend at Sebring, seemed like two photo finishes, one was only one one thousands of a second difference!

Any tire feedback from competitors in the field?

[andyllc]

How were the races this past weekend at Sebring, seemed like two photo finishes, one was only one one thousands of a second difference!

Any tire feedback from competitors in the field?

I got my butt whooped but had a great time and did a bunch of sorting on the car. I like the tires, I think they are good overall.

[Purple Frog]

It appears taking 7 years off had no ill effect on Cole's driving skills.

[jim morgan]

It was only 5 years.

Very strong racing at the front. Good racing for us older guys farther back.Tires still need some sorting for the fastest, but this backmarker ran a set for a second weekend and had no fall off. I guess my strategy of being slow is good for tire wear.

[problemchild]

I watched 2 of the 4 races and followed the other two. When standing beside the track, or watching the timing on a screen, the tires were a complete non factor. Who could tell the difference from other years. Perhaps there were even more cars!

[jim morgan]

Feedback from Cole first 3 laps on stickers a handful until tires came in. After that tires on out lap were as good as tires driven as hard as possible for 14 laps and visa versa. No change in handling throughout entire run. Also said 5-7 heat cycle used on test day felt just as good as new tires once they were scuffed.

As reported durable, consistent once people get adjusted to changes in their setup and find the balance most should be happy.

[Purple Frog]

I can't believe all these glowing reports about the new spec FF tire... After all, if one reads Apexspeed everyone knows the FSRAC and CRB are a bunch of ill minded folks just cramming bad rules down on us.

[reidhazelton]

I can't believe all these glowing reports about the new spec FF tire... After all, if one reads Apexspeed everyone knows the FSRAC and CRB are a bunch of ill minded folks just cramming bad rules down on us.

I like to think this tire rule was an example of how the system is suppose to work. Right here on apexspeed the FF group gained consensus and wrote the CRB. The CRB listened, responded, and despite A LOT of attempted maneuvering at the top, the FF class was successful. It only works when there is clear, consistent pressure from the class. Without that, there are too many internal and external forces at work in SCCA that can change the class's desired path. With a total lack of consensus on FB restrictors, P2 weights, etc there is only one outcome to be expected.

Happy to hear the reports are positive from the class members.

[problemchild]

I can't believe all these glowing reports about the new spec FF tire... After all, if one reads Apexspeed everyone knows the FSRAC and CRB are a bunch of ill minded folks just cramming bad rules down on us.

Well ..... yeah ..... if you disregard that the class needed a good spec tire solution 35 years ago ...... and that they waited until there were two awesome choices, then totally disenfranchised a huge segment of the community, by choosing the option that costs 3X the other option ..... then .....

Great job SCCA!

[Steve Bamford]

The tire is a decent tire, this will keep those that required a slick tire happy. Can't argue with Greg about the price point.

There was other options as we know in other threads so I wouldn't say the process was great or exact but in the end there is at least a spec tire.

My experience for the first few laps is as Cole's, nasty for 2 or 3 laps but comes in well after and stays consistent. The tire then doesn't fall off a cliff like the bias ply did but after 4 or so heat cycles lap times start to fall away. At least that was my experience.

[jim morgan]

Positive as always

[S. Frebert]

Damn!!! Already??? My Car isnt even back together....


This Event is something I want to take a trip for Next year. 2 week vacation to FL from MD AND Race? Sounds like a Win-Win to me. Here's hoping!


Glad to see you got to race Burky!

[BURKY]

Damn!!! Already??? My Car isnt even back together....


This Event is something I want to take a trip for Next year. 2 week vacation to FL from MD AND Race? Sounds like a Win-Win to me. Here's hoping!


Glad to see you got to race Burky!

If you decide to come down. Bring a pair of headlights!!!You never know...

[S. Frebert]

If you decide to come down. Bring a pair of headlights!!!You never know...

I sure plan on it. Wish I could fill all the days down there with racing! haha

[billwald]

Glad I stuck around to watch the Finale. Close racing up front, and maybe the best race group all weekend. Also very cool to see two generations of Morgan's on track. I saw some good photos by a fellow named Mark Russell on Facebook on the Florida Region page. Hope he posts them here. Congrats to all it was a great show!

[AVR_Shane]

Anyone have a results sheets to share, or link to results?

[Lotus7]

Anyone have a results sheets to share, or link to results?

http://www.scca.com/events/1981150-m...miami-speedway

http://www.scca.com/events/1981148-m...tional-raceway

[problemchild]

Perhaps there were even more cars!

I count 17 vs 12 in 2015. Considering the Runoffs were moved out of conference, and the upfront costs of new raintires, etc, that was an excellent turnout. All those Swifts managed to get enough camber to be competitive. An old kent car had the fast lap one day and a new Honda car the next. Photo finish both days!

Great 2016 start for FF.

[Brian Graham]

This was our first trip to the "winter nationals" in a very long time and we really enjoyed ourselves. It was our first time on slicks in over 10 years and I will say that this latest tire is a huge step forward from what I remember for durability. We ran one set per weekend and I think we will be able to stretch that further once we get a handle on the set up. Still not as cost effective as our tires at home (toyo's), but definitely a big step forward. It was fun seeing some old friends and for me seeing some of my old cars running. Great racing up front between 3 different chassis and 3 very talented drivers. Trophies and winners flag now proudly displayed in the shop which I had to dig my way into upon my return home! Looking forward to our next trip down in February and the winter series with the F1600 Championship.

Brian.

[jim morgan]

Good seeing you after all this time Brian.
I would have finished up front if not for team orders to take me out early

[Brian Graham]

We looked at the entry list and judging on your Homestead showing we knew we had to deal with you right off the bat !! Great seeing the Lee gang and even Cole........LOL,
Brian.

[Cole Morgan]

Had a great time running the DB-6 last weekend. Like Brian said, it was great to be back at a racetrack and to see old friends. It was awesome to have two great drivers in Peter and Skyler to run wheel to wheel with every lap.

The tires feel fine to me. They are fun to drive, they come in very quickly*, and I could not feel any performance drop off on 8 heat cycle tires and brand new tires. I think our best time of the weekend was on test day on 7-8 heat cycle tires (2:17.4) and our qualifying lap that had us on pole was a (2:17.8) on tires that had done 6 laps the day before. During the race, I beat the living hell out of the car, and the tires. They held up fine. The balance stayed the same from start to finish.

In conclusion, if you want a spec tire that is consistent, fun, durable, and still pretty fast for a hard tire, I think Hoosier hit it out of the park. They're only going to get faster as more people sort them out and get their setups tuned better towards the new tire.

Here is onboard from Peter's BGR Piper on Sunday. Most fun I've ever had in a racecar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixIM...ature=youtu.be




*I think scuffed tires are better than stickers. Based on the durability and consistency over multiple heat cycles, I wouldn't start a race or meaningful qualifying session on brand new stickers. Obviously this could be specific to my car and our setup, but I think it's probably a generic issue.

[Cole Morgan]

Onboard from Skyler Robinson's K-Hill Mygale. Hell of a race.

http://youtu.be/bSlHLGQ0NkQ

[rallaer]

Such an awesome race. A few things I take from watching that and one thing I already knew -

1 - The skill of the drivers was incredible and it was amazing that they were so evenly matched.

2 - The respect all three drivers showed to each other is something that the SCCA should use in a handbook and give to every single person that races any class of car.

3 - The cars were made by 3 different manufactuers and yet, they were evenly matched due to the quality of the drivers.

and finally, the thing I already knew - Cole Morgan is a superstar. Hasn't even sat in a car in at least 5 years and then hops into his dad's machine and has THAT race against 2 guys that are superior talents themselves. Wow.

I wish I had known that was going on in the same race I was in because I would have probably pulled over to watch. Thanks so much for posting those videos guys. That was awesome!!



Rob Allaer
FC #52

[Steve Demeter]

In response to number 3, (actually number 2) I think that is the most pertinent statement made on this forum this year.

And about Cole: Money talks, talent walks . He should be in Indycar.

[Cole Morgan]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

[old 59]

I've said it before...no wings=brilliant racing!!

Great job by all of you.

[swiftdrivr]

Better race in 30 minutes than an entire season of F-1. That was really awesome. It looked like Cole was dealing with some significant oversteer at times, but the flow, the positivity of power-inputs, the handling of traffic, the consistency, all the passing; that was a great race. Thanks for sharing the video!