Lone Star Region Memorial weekend race

ITE, I'm still in the process of a slow conversion to a GT2 back marker. To much done to be legal in ITS but not enough done to be legal in GT2 (no fuel cell of fire system yet, and need a few more bars on the cage). I do However have a second car that may be built to a ITS legal car as a back up, and an inducement to get my son started a little earlier than I did.

How's yours coming?
 
It's getting better each time I go to the track....or the combination car and driver is getting better. I am still working on getting the weight down. Last race I was 2890 at the end of the race. I think the fuel cell still has 7 gallons in it. I removed the spoiler, the hatch shocks and some other odds and ends for about 20lbs. I started scraping the under coating but that's not a fun job. I am going to shorten the exhaust and remove a few other items to get a little closer to the 2750, but it's not going to be very easy.
 
Found a Pacesetter header cheap enough, removed the 200 pound hatch decoration, moved the battery to the trunk and a few others that I couldn't do in ITS. But had to add in the two more door bars for this years rules and going to 16" from the stock 14".

I'll roll it across the scales this weekend and see where I am at now.

Discount Tire has Konig Rewinds in 15X7 and 16X7, 4 on 4.5, 0 offset in stock. Yeah, I know they are not the best quality/lightest wheels on the market but how many other choices we got to fit our orphans?

And have you looked at the GT2 legal weight? 2180 believe it or not.
 
News flash! Unless the ITE rules have changed in SOWDIV, you can't move the battery. ITE is a catch all class in SOWDIV for cars that are not classed in other groups, that are no greater than 3 ltr displacement, and are built within the same safety and legal modifications as all other previously classed cars. There may be a grandfather clause in there somewhere as there is a particularly fuggly RX& running ITE, but it was built before the rules for ITE were finalized.
 
Just a refresher on Sowdiv ITE rules:
"Improved Touring E (ITE)

Cars eligible for ITE are production based cars with fenders and doors that are not currently eligible for any other SCCA club racing class.

Cars entered in ITE must meet minimum safety standards of the GCR and Improved Touring Category Specifications, including all items in Section 17, GCR and Section 10, ITCS. Suitability of any car for ITE is subject to the approval of the Chief Steward and Chief Scrutineer.

The maximum engine displacement for normally aspirated cars is 3,000 cc. Turbocharging or supercharging is allowed with a maximum displacement of 1,765 cc. Rotary engines are limited to two (2) rotors."

The RX7 you refered to, I believe, is the one run by the Paytons. He runs it in EP and She runs it in ITE. Like The Miata run by the Davis family, one runs it on slicks in EP and one runs it in ITE on DOTs. One car two classes.

ITE rules have been very liberal in the division. I guess if someone was serious about winning the class and started filing protests some of us would be in a wee bit of a gray area. As long as the Pro-prepared BMWs (read WC cars) are running in the class and taking advantage of the rules My chances of wining are slim. Most of the officials know I am on the way to GT2 (again I'll never win that class, won't be last but wont win in a tub bassed car in a tube frame class, but I will only have to do one double weekend to have enough races to renew my liscnse) and doing the build a little at a time.

But if anyone has a problem with it there is always NASA.

Of course the problem may be on the way to going away. I was griping about things going wrong with the car the other day and the wife said I should quit wasting time with this car and buy a new on that is a real race car. Women never cease to amaze you.
 
Thank you for quoting the rules that I tried to simplify. Point is, you still can't move the battery in ITE as it is considered a safety rule for IT (one I don't agree with, but that's not the point). The Paytons run one car. The GT/EP car is no longer racing, they share her car in ITE. I don't know how they get away running a 13B engine with Weber carbs and fender flares, but that's where I understand the grandfather rules to be coming from as the car was built prior to the formulation of such rules.
As to protests against an illegal car by a competitor. Not needed. A tech inspector's CFA is all that's required. I've seen cases in the past in SOWDIV, and elsewhere, where the ITE car had modifications beyond the rules of IT and the car and driver were disqualified for said infractions.
Your choice...just trying to save you from waisting your time and money.
 
It has been a year since I was at the track, looks like there have been some changes.

At one event the board "top 3 in each class to tech" was out. All three of the ITE car that finished the race went to tech as directed. I was the first ITE in line. Pushed the car up on the scales and the tech guys all had a confused look on their faces. The steward was called over and asked what to do with us. They discussed it for a few minutes and the announcement was made ITE is released. Seems they could not decide what to check us for. Minimum weight, none listed, tire size, none listed, ect. There are no spec lines for ITE cars.

So far the only things I have checked for in post race tech was for DOT tires.

You see they opened the door for all the mods allowed in GT and PROD when they started to allow cars classed and built to those specs to run in ITE for the second driver. The Genie is out of the bottle.
 
You see they opened the door for all the mods allowed in GT and PROD when they started to allow cars classed and built to those specs to run in ITE for the second driver. The Genie is out of the bottle.
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That has never happened. The only incident I can think of closely related to that is an IT car with the allowable safety modifications permitted to run production, as is the Miata in question. An IT car could not run GT or vice versa. If I'm wrong, give me a valid example, not one like the above quoted.
 
BTW, what did you mean by the ITE rules being finalized? The ITE rules have not been changed for at least 5 years. Notice the reference to GCR Section 17.

The Black BMW with the fuel cell and battery in the trunk that ran at TMS in 05. It was either a WCTC or BMW club Modified. And was very quick.
 
Do what ever you want. I was only trying to keep you from making a mistake. I'm not going to try to argue facts with someone who refuses to recognize them, much less apply them to reality. Have a good time running at the back of the field with the slow classed cars.
 
Chris,
Missed you this weekend, maybe Houston on the 9th?

Another one for you this weekend, Red BMW M3 BMW Club JP/ITE battery in the trunk.

"ITE is a regional only class, the GCR doesn't apply." Tech inspector that did the annual and concurred with by the Chief of Tech and Chief Steward.

BTW, the purpose of bringing the car up to GT2 safety specs was not to win the class it was to be have the option of getting enough race credits in one weekend to renew my national license.
 
How did the TWS weekend end up? Rain? Turnout? Last I saw DLB had about 80 or so registered.

Other commitments kept me away but I am planning on MSRH in 2 weeks.
 
To get back on topic of the race.

Wasn't the best turn out I have ever seen but no the worst either. A lot of the regulars were not able to attend with the end of school year activities going on and what not. SM were out in force. SRF was down a bit but still had good sized group. Wings and things had about 12 on track. Small formula about 20. We (IT group) Got combined with the GT1/2/3, SP, T1/2/3, AS, BP, DP group. That made it a little interesting. The SS group got combined with SM. A few SS guys loaded up and went home when they heard that.

Saturday was Damp for morning P&Q with a monsoon like afternoon race. (A silver RX7 is invisible in the spray until its brake light came on. Yes I meant brake light.)

Sunday the track was dry, the air cool, and the sky overcast. Made for some great racing conditions although I'm still not sure how the GT2 Panoz in our group managed to spin off track on the formation lap.

A good time was had by (most) all.
 
Mark,

I don't want to sound bitter or cheap but look at the schedule and the entry fees for that event. We get 80 minutes of track time (no P&Q at all on sunday, just the race) while the national groups get 120 and they are charging us the same entry fee.
 
Mark,

I don't want to sound bitter or cheap but look at the schedule and the entry fees for that event. We get 80 minutes of track time (no P&Q at all on sunday, just the race) while the national groups get 120 and they are charging us the same entry fee.
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I had not noticed that yet. I was overcome by excitement that we had a RR on Sunday and we weren't Group 1. You are right, they have us with 3 track sessions vs. the 4 sessions for National groups at either $295 before June 2 or $335 after. This is an excellent question, less sessions and less track time but why the same price? I will pose this question on SOWDIV forums.

NASA is at MSRH on 6/23-24. They are $305 for the weekend and while the schedule is not officially out you could count on most likely a practice, qualifer, race 1 and race 2 for Sat and a qualifer and race 3 Sunday - 6 different track sessions.

If it comes down between choosing between the two, it's an obvious choice. Not that there are any IT cars in the SOWDIV but those that are should make a NASA race and let SCCA have what it wants.
 
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