Car eligibility

[AVR_Shane]

I have a question regarding eligibility for the Royale series. As per the rules online, the third class is "post 1981 third generation with inboard suspension front and rear, no aero.

My question is, what is the cutoff? It does not mention an end date, just specifies that it has to contain a Ford engine. And what is considered "no aero"? Current formula fords are very slippery, but they do not have any downforce generating devices, so what classifies no aero?

If I were to build a brand new car myself, drop a Ford engine in it, and make sure there is no aero, would it be eligible for this class?

I'm not asking this question with any haste. I have very little stake in the game, and in the end, it doesn't really matter! I'm just asking out of curiosity on the intent of the class, that's all.

[BorkRacing]

Please wait until the General Meeting at Watkins Glen. New, unified and clear rules will be coming forth. It's all good!

[GregPeluso]

Is a 1984 Reynard FF eligible?

greg

[Bernard Bradpiece]

Greg:
See below - rules are on the website www.ffchallengeseries.com

POST-CLUB FORMULA FORD (PCF) REGULATIONS


I. Definition
Eligible cars: Third generation raced through the 1986 season using front and rear inboard suspension and vertical dampers not activated by bell cranks. Specific list of eligible chassis. Other post 1981 cars may be accepted at the sole discretion of the FFCS Executive Committee.

The PCF class cars are required to meet the 2015 SCCA FF GCR preparation rules, shown below, with the exception of tire and weight requirements as listed in the general rules at the beginning of this document. For Post-Club cars built before January 1^st 1986 substitute D.12 for D.6, D.7, and D.8 only.

The following commercially constructed cars are known to be eligible. Any chassis not listed must petition for eligibility before being included.

Crossle 50F/55F/60F/62F
Lola T640/T642/T644
Reynard FF82/FF83/FF84
Royale RP31/RP33/RP36
Van Diemen RF82/RF83
Zink/Citation Z16 (inboard rear)

[S Lathrop]

The 1984 Citation would meet these rules. The car was rocker suspension at both ends. There might be one or 2 still with rockers at both ends. Many were converted to push rod suspension, first front and then rear.

[Bernard Bradpiece]

Steve,
Thank you for that note. We probably should have talked to you as we were making the rules up. The idea of Post Club for FFCS was to create a home for those post Club Fords that were obsoleted by the DB1. We felt that if we allowed in the DB1 we would end up with the same issues FF had back in the day and do not want the series dominated by one make at the expense of everyone else.

As it is, we have great success with Z10 and 16, Crossle 30 & 40 series, Lola T340/540, PRS vying with some well prepared and driven Merlyn 20's and Crossle 20's, the treaded tires being a great chassis leveler. As Scott Fairchild, a quick Z10 pilot noted, there is little difference over a lap between the best Historics and the best Club, but the Club are easier to sustain that level of performance over the length of a race. We also have occasionally had a quick RF82 join the mix.

So our initial definition of PCF caused some problems as it was very loose - we knew where we wanted to get to but not how to get there! We then determined that the easiest way to define what made the next generation of performance was bell cranks, and that is how we ended up with the definition.

Any observations and advice would always be welcome