Joining Vintage FF

[scottjk]

My wife and I would like to join the vintage FF scene and we are looking at a 1969 Alexis MK15. After seeing my first open wheel race at Mid Ohio in the mid 90's I remember wishing I could do that. It was probably the Lotus 51 that hooked me. I'm sure the car we are looking at would be competitive in vintage events but I'm curious how it would fare at other events? My goal is to just get on the track and have fun. I don't need to run in the front. It's definitely a vintage vibe thing for me but I also don't want to join a more modern FF race and plug up the field.

It would probably make more sense to buy a Titan MK6 but the cigar shaped MK15 has me hooked... especially in the Green/Yellow livery.

Any suggestions, recommendations or direction would be greatly appreciated. We are starting out with very little knowledge.

[Garey Guzman]

I agree that the Alexis is one of the prettier cars!

The Hoosier tires are very good for equalizing the field but there are still some cars that are faster than others. For the 3 models you mentioned, the Titan is the most front-running chassis. There is almost always a front running Titan in different Vintage organizations around the country. There is a very fast Lotus on the West coast but not many others. The Alexis is a lovely car to look at!

Note that if you get a true VFF, you won't really have to worry about clogging up a modern FF field because your car wouldn't likely pass the current SCCA regulations/Tech. My March VFF was modified to be able to compete in SCCA but my Royale RP3A is not.

Getting farther up front takes driver skill as well as car development. Although the US racing isn't as intense as the UK, it can still come down to driver skill and good engineering decisions for podium finishes.

The best advice, I think, is to get to the remaining events this year and talk to the competitors. You'll probably start making friends right away and may even find a local car that suits you! And as always, speed costs money but in Vintage, coolness/provenance adds a little extra too!

[TimH]

It sounds like you're not going to run at the front for a while regardless of what you drive, so I say go for the car that stirs your emotions. You can always change later if podiums become important to you but meanwhile you're going to be smiling a lot in just about anything.

[Nardi]

As is the case with any formula car, make sure you can comfortably fit in it BEFORE you purchase.

[scorp997]

The local Seattle vintage group, Sovren, will welcome you and whatever car you choose. We do run treaded tires, but cars up through DB-1s run with us.

there are probably a few local FFs for sale, good luck in your search