What are the car specs, or rules

Still on the fence about building a car.

It is a lot more fun when the cars are equally matched,
if every car is in a different class, and there is only one car per class,
It is a waste of time and money.

Why can we have just one class, similar to the JCW challenge,

Victor

 

Right now there are only 2 classes between the 5 cars reg. for the Vegas race. Group 1 cars, and Group 4 cars are coming. Check out the rules at www.minidriving.com

 

They have no one to chase . No fun being in a one car class...

 

Madness is bringing 3 cars to AMVIV, but I don't know how many (if any) will be racing.

 

if the MC Squared tuner face off got more sign ups than the race..... somethings gotta give....

Matt

 

Build a group 4 car. It only takes 2 or 3 cars to make a good race. I hear there might be another group 4 car(that makes 3) being built by a certain someone in the east...

And as for the cars being even, a difference of 5-10hp is still a close race with these cars. I beleive the speed comes from the set-up and the driver.

Also, Phil will eventually be switching to a JCW/210 spec class. Likely in 08.

-Brian

 

Is this event still on ?

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

You know it! And it is going to be goood... Sounds like MAVtv will be supplying the Race babes too.

-Brian

 

I am glad to hear it . I was at a car meet today and someone said they had read on Motoring file that it had been cancelled. I was bummed as there is a local car planning on being there that should do VERY well : ) Look forward to seeing you there.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

What was cancelled was the Racers Wanted track days on Saturday and Sunday. The Phil Wicks School and the race on Friday are still happening.

Steve

 

That is great news thanks for the post. See you there.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

If it is the same one I am thinking of Randy (maxmini), that would add another group 4 car to the mix..

 

It is the one and the same . Make that a group 4+

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

Cool. That makes five that I know of !

-Brian

 

Count me out. I've only got a '06 MINI Cooper - stock. I would look more like a wanna be than a racer!!!

 

What kind of bumper car meeting was that?

It would have been more fair to let us know upfront we were going to have to deal with UK style dirty tricks. It was obvious that Gareth Nixon was used to large fields of identically prepared cars where wits and a few strategic pokes separate the winners from the whiners. He dragged his wing all around the pits in the morning, sandbagged qualifying, passed pole-sitter Bob for the lead on the inside in the first race, then took pole at the re-start while the tow truck cleaned that abominable "instructor" Porsche off the wall, then lost his position when Bob passed him cleanly inside in return. Bob suffered a broken shifter cable coming onto the front straight and had to go fishing for a gear. Instead of pulling alongside and drag racing for Turn One, which he could have done, Gareth turned left and neatly pushed Bob's rear quarter panel into his rear tire, forcing Bob's retirement.

I begged Bob to let me drive his car in the second race so I could put Gareth on his roof. It's really easy if you have the fastest car and pick your spot. But Bob's used to the US style where you race hard but don't have to play demolition derby to win and wouldn't go for it. Damn!

When a protest was lodged, Phil's rather cavalier reply was "Rubbin' is racin'". Rubbin' is one thing, intentionally turning into your opponent to put him out of the race is another. Gareth was driving someone else's car and was imported from UK to "show the Yanks how to do it." He had a lot to prove and nothing to lose. If the series is going to be about the last man standing, then I'm not sure how many owners are going to be willing to expose their cars to it in the future. Conspicuously absent were last year participants MINI Mania, MINI Madness and Randy Webb.

 

Here's my take, as Dr. Mike and I were standing on the Grandstand right before the front straight, watching the cars come through the last series...

The race leader came into the last series on a slightly different line and missed the downshift - not once, but twice - obviously due to the tranny issue. Gareth closed very, very fast (on the very, very nice line he was running through that sequence). Right or wrong, the leader stayed on line - he was all the way out near the curbing on the runout of the last turn onto the front straight. They came together. Gareth did not "turn left" - he was hauling the mail, on the racing line, and the leader ended up in the way, unfortunately.

You can certainly paint the picture any way you want. For instance, you could just as easily say that the leader was blocking and got punted justly.

The point is that with fairly evenly matched rides, a mechanical issue or miscue can potentially put you in harms way and especially if you stay on the racing line. I know there was talk of dirty pool, but I didn't see anything particularly disagreeable at all. It's a racing incident. Even if the series is supposed to be "gentleman's racing", the potential for contact exists in any race...

I heard plenty of extremely rude comments in that Grandstand about the Porsche driver and his incident... for shame, I say, and very, very tacky. Are we down to wishing harm on anyone or anyone's equipment on the track that doesn't have a MINI badge?

 

Thanks for posting. I am glad to hear another view point. Racing incidents are rarely one sided.

 

From my point of view the MAV tv Babes were really HOT and were the most attractive cosmetic MODS that I've seen in awhile to come out for our little MINIs....
Also to bad about Waylon and Brian bumping up.Waylon got to finish,but Brian had to pit.
BTW,Happy 20th Birthday !!!BRIAN.........

 

Thank you.

-Brian

 

Oh well. Had to happen some day. It was actually my first car to car accident ever, track or street. Thanks for the well wishes. I was treated well later that night, so my b-day wasn't a total flop.

-Brian

 

Just calling it like I saw it... For people to say that Gareth could have magically "changed his line" or "taken the inside for a drag race down the front straight" shows a patent disregard for the physics of hauling major butt around the track. You come out of a corner where you're going to come out of a corner (good or bad - in this case, bad), based on entry speed, apex, etc. Likewise, if ever someone spins right in front of you, there's a pretty good chance you might collect them.

I saw no time for anyone to make a major correction = contact = upset folks.

 

Just to add another voice, I'll second this. I saw a racing accident involving a missed shift (which was pretty obviously a mechanical problem even at that instant), not a case of malicious or deficient driving. The grandstands at the last turn complex were a very good place to see what happened, and I had my eyes glued to it as the race was VERY close up to that point, and it was nose-to-tail for the first four places when this accident happened. I'm still surprised that more people didn't see contact in that turn before they got through.

As far as people heckling the 944 driver, I wanted to break out the duct tape. I cringed in embarassment and wanted to duck down and separate myself from those people. My first thought was that, hey, he's on the track racing, and I'm up here watching. Good for him, and I wish I was out there too.

 

The truly over-the-top part of the whole thing? The guy's wife and daughter were in the grandstand with us, listening to the commentary of the few who chose to open their mouths as such...

I know that I've never been as ashamed of the MINI community as I was after that little incident...

 

what the crashes really illustrated is that the race series isn't mature. There are no "officials" to watch the racing, and there is no formal way for a driver to lodge a complaint and have it treated objectivly. I was at the start/finish line, and from there, (a long way away) nothing looked suspect, hence the "that's racing" reply.

If Phil wants his races to really succeed, he'll need to make sure there is a way to lodge a complaint (sometime there are disagreements, even among gentlemen), as there is no "offical" view of the race, no video, no nothing. With that type of organizational prep, things are bound to get much worse than they need to be.

And as for the Porsche driver, he's a nice guy, was one of the instructors, and had a problem (just the very same one he had warned the new drivers on the track about). It was sad to see his car get bent, as he races with several groups, and his next race is this weekend. It will be tough to get the car back together.

Anti-anything-not-Mini is just a sad, sad way that many are. Those of us that have been into other marques know the Mini is just a car, with it's pluses and minuses. Sure it's a fun car, but it's just a car. If someone wants to be mad that car was on the track, point the finger at Phil who does that in make the field bigger.

I really hope the series get the organization, infrastructure and support it needs. It a bit of a start, but still has a bunch of growing to do.

Matt