Future Eligibility of FF cars
What do the rules of SVRA and other vintage sanctioning bodies say about the future eligibility of "current" FF cars? Are the vintage rules based solely on age of the chassis? Or is it in the discretion of the organizers?
For example, will the DB-1 and other all-inboard cars be eligible for vintage racing anytime in the near future? Some are approaching 25 years old, and I am just wondering what the future has in store for my Swift.
Thanks
Tom
Vintage rules - aka Monoposto
Tom:
You can pretty well forget about expecting the vintage organizations to change their stance on what is allowed as a vintage formula ford. An organization called Monoposto Racing formed these rules some years ago. Many members of the various organizations - like SVRA, and others - as well as the Monoposto members have much invested in these cars and in the stability of these rules. As someone already noted, vintage ff's command anywhere from $15k for a beater to $25K and higher for a really nice one. Yes, you can buy a decent Club FF for a lot less. You can also race a CFF in these organizations. Monoposto went to a fair amount of trouble to create a Club Ford class only to see participation turn out to be really low. Because of this, a number of people had their reputations somewhat burned and will never support any changes to the cars allowed in VFF. Count on it.
You can race a CFF on slicks in SVRA and some others. You can race a CFF on treaded Dunlops in VDCA. VARA in CA has much more inviting and enticing rules. You are in NY, so I assume you are stuck with the various East Coast bodies like - SVRA, VRG, HSR, VDCA, VSCCA, etc.
I'm not terribly current on any recent proposals, but I doubt seriously that the rules for vintage FF's will change anytime in the foreseeable future. The fields are still pretty decent a the better events, so they see no advantage in change. I do my Club FF racing in SCCA. I do my vintage racing with an FV - and it wasn't cheap either.
JG
Specific groups for focus
I'm a big fan of what the SRRC guys have done for S2 racing in the vintage scene. At Roebling Road last weekend we saw a good grid of S2 cars within an overall vintage focussed event. That can by duplicated by club ford, later ford, etc, should there be a driver/owner group that wants to create a reason for a run group or grid.
A lot of "Vintage" groups - SVRA comes to mind, as does VSSCA - are so successful with their particular focus that they have no need to try to attract more participants. Their grids are already too big, and they can't fit more into a day. But there are two keys to vintage racing - one is the more gentlemanly approach to on-track conduct, and the second is creating a place for people to have fun with that they brung. Keeping the focus on time periods and not letting newer cars creep in and render older cars obsolete for a second time is a big part of letting people have fun with what they have in their garage.
Brian
CF - Vintage Eligible (coming in 07')
"...Most of the clubs that I race with-RMVR,CVAR, VARA,SVRA,VSCDA,CSRG have set the cutoff at 1972- that would be last year of manufacture that is Vintage eligible. Some organizations -VARA and HSR West allow newer FF's to compete as "Club Fords"...."
Recent rumors from SVRA, are that CF will be allowed to run with VFF cars heading into 2007. This is a huge leap in the vintage community and one that will force Monoposto to revise thier current Rules & Regulation on CF (if that happens I am sure many clubs will follow as these rules are the basis for many clubs). One huge comment is that the CF cars will be required to run on the same tires as the VFF. In 2006, VRG and VDCA (NorthEast) allowed these cars to run as a seperate class with the VFF and we have seen increased car counts (20+) for regular event (not just the festivals).
If you need any information, please do not hesitate to reach out....see you at the races in 2007!
Dunlop/Sumitomo Comparison
Stan,
If you are looking for some comparison between these two I suggest you contact John Mihalich of RMVR. He was going to run the Sumitomo tires this past season on his Lotus 61. You can reach him through the Lotus Formula Ford Register at: www.lffr.org
He had used Dunlops in the past and was looking for a cheaper alternative.
Rob
SVRA approves 1973 FF onwards
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jgaither
This would be a big step for SVRA. In vintage racing, only the podium means anything to the competitors (as opposed to the "paraders"). When the guys with big bucks tied up in their vintage FF's are no longer getting on the podiums, I suspect they will raise holy h#@l. I guess we'll see. Maybe I need a set of Dunlops after all. What are you gonna do, Doug?
jg
Look up SVRA.com - the new eligibility is posted, 1973 onwards with treads (like they raced in the UK). Lets not start another Miata thread. As a regular competitor, the more the merrier. Its probably the right place for older cars rather than trying to put a square peg in a round hole at SCCA. The vintage FF grids in the NE have been smaller this year and I for one would welcome larger grids - in the UK we used to successfully race an earlier and later class so everyone had a chance - similar to the SVRA posting. Most of us are there for the fun, whether we are professionally run or run ourselves. Sure we like a good competitive race, but there is a tendency to leave the other guy enough room. The fastest guys are pretty quick, 2min 9.45 around Watkins Glen Long circuit - Ian Bass 2005 (not bad for 35 year old cars on treads), but do not tend to push each other off. Its not the value of the cars, its the cost of repairs, the wasted journey and the desire to want to drive home in one piece. Frank Williams will not be calling any of us any time soon. And it does not make for good friendships with people we race with year in year out when you develop a reputation as a wild aggressive driver - if thats your bag, better stick to SCCA. So bolt on those treads and come have a relaxed time with folks who want you around, and lots of track time. Thursday test day 4 sessions, Fri/Sat 2 sessions each day, Sun 1 session.
By the way, its usually the FB's that get the podiums so don't hold your breath for one.
BB2