prg

Mark, your new car is a thing of beauty. I really wanted a sports racer, but there weren't any cars to run against in DSR in my area and a CSR budget seemed really scary to this newbie. (Honestly, cars with near Formula Atlantic speed are probably not a good choice for someone at my skill level anyway.) Plus there are a half dozen FM's to run with locally. My race this weekend is my first in this car and my second race ever (first was in a spec racer ford.) I didn't care for the SRF, but the racing bug has definitely bit. I really enjoy DE's but its just not the same as racing.
I'm going to run the series at my local track (Hallett in Oklahoma). They created their own sanctioning body called COMMA. They have a race a month through October. Their motto of lots of track time, little hassle suits me well at this time. I will probably do the SCCA school and race in the regionals in mid April and May so I can get a SCCA license. May do a Southwest FM series race or two if the scheduling works out. Right now my goal is just to improve my driving and racing skills here close to home.

prg

Mark, From the looks of those photos, it appears that the car is in your driveway. I don't think that I personally could resist a quick blast around the neighborhood if I had that thing sitting in my garage.
P.S. Can I drove your car? Can I drove your car?

SundayDriver

Thanks. I am not all that far away - I recently moved to KC so we may see each other at some point. I will probably do a race or two at Hallett this year. And yes, the Sports Racer count is not very high. The interesting thing about CSR/DSR is that the majority of the D's are faster than most C's so the D's are getting pretty scary.

Now as far as the local test drive, it is very tempting but the 1.5" ground clearance and roads recovering from winter make that less appealing than it would otherwise be.

If you come up to Heartland, let me know and I will do the same for Hallett.

SundayDriver

Here's my $0.02...

I really enjoy driving open wheel cars but prefer racing Sports Racers. I grew up oogling Can-Am cars so they are where my heart is. Also, I prefer staying a bit more connected to the ground, if I can. I don't think you will find much difference in the skills needed to drive a CSR/DSR vs. FM. Similar lap times, speeds and cornering abilities.

I would expect costs to be fairly similar. They are both going to consume tires at a similar rate (very few heat cycles if you want to be as fast as possible, but they last forever if you are willing to drive them as they harden). Mazda engines last forever - not sure about costs. DSR motors are all over the place. If you run a stock motorcycle engine, then your cost is around $2k and they last forever. Build the motor and the price goes up and life goes down, but there are always very fresh, used race motors around and the cars are not that much faster with a built motor. Crash damage is similar - they are all very fast cars and you break stuff when you crash into each other. Driving is reasonably calm at the Regional level in SCCA but gets pretty wild at National level.

Finally, why did I switch? I bought the Radical to do track days and some racing as I was already running in SRF. It was too much fun to drive and race, so that is what I raced for a year. The Radical SR-3 is not competitive at the National level. I had a choice - try to make the SR-3 into a 'real' race car, competitive in CSR, trying to overcome the compromises of a trackday/race car or start with something better suited to what I wanted to do. I think I made the right choice and sold the Radical.

Anir

Mark,

Thank you for the explanation. I loved the open wheel feel of the Skip cars, and will do the FM test drive day at VIR. I may also try to find a similar rental arrangement for a DSR car, so I can compare the two.

Anyone know whether the fields are well represented for FM and DSR at Southeast / Midwest events (e.g. Road Atlanta, VIR, Barber, Mid Ohio, Putnam)?

Am I crazy to think I can do regional FM or DSR after 25 DE days in a 993TT, and a couple of racing schools? Actually, don't answer that! I'll find out for myself!

prg

I really do hope to see that car in the flesh. I plan to run the SCCA events at Hallet. If I see a beautiful blue Stohr, I will definitely look you up. I have a Lapis blue FM #66.
Patrick

prg

Anir,
I hope you aren't crazy because thats what I'm about to do this weekend

Patrick

SundayDriver

Well I did my first DE after a few races. I had never heard of them before. My very first time on a race track was an SCCA school, with only a dozen autoX events before that.

Southeast and Central Division in SCCA are well attended in both of those classes. I think that at TracQuest MidOhio (Memorial Day) there may be someone coming who rents S2000's. These are very similar in performance to FM/DSR. Check with Todd to see if that is the case. I am planning on using that event for some test time at Mid Ohio.

SundayDriver

I will keep an eye out - should be easy as we carry the same number.

Bryan Watts

The SE RULES as a place to run a FM. There are some excellent regional Star Mazda series that use the old car and pay prize $$, but the races are run at SCCA events. I ran the Star Mazda East Series in 2002 & 2003. It's organized by Velocity...ask Ken about it.

www.starmazdaseries.com : Star Mazda East Series

Anir

I want to thank everyone who contributed to this thread. It took a while, but I have finally signed up for a FM testing day with Ken Erb at Velocity Motorsports - VIR's south course on Friday, October 29th. Scheduled 6-8 thirty minute run sessions (about 225 miles), with trackside support, driver coaching, data acquisition, etc.

Should provide a pretty good intro to the car (and wear my a$$ out, since my last track time was RA a year ago). Can't wait!

Sanjeevan

WOW! you've got some self-control, i thought one can die taking risks like that, 12 whole months of no track. Open wheeling!, what a way to return, Congrats.

mds

Anir, you might also consider the ESPN Russell race series at Infineon. It is a year long series in slightly modified FMs. I did the series a couple of years ago, 40 days of driving total, 20 practice days and 20 race days for about $1k per day. It was a fabulous way to learn - you get excellent instructor feedback, you race against some really great drivers, you move into more competitive heats as your skills increase, and finally the hazardous, bozo drivers are kicked out early so you have the confidence to race closely. I really recommend it. See their web site at ESPN Russell Racing School.

Robert Henriksen

Have a blast Anir, I'm sure your face will be hurting halfway through the day from grinning. 'Course, your neck & shoulders are probably going to be sore - the g loads are tough when starting out.

Anir

Thanks, Jeeva and Robert! Mike, the ESPN Russell series sounds great, but Sonoma is 2,376 miles and at least two flights from Lexington. You gearheads in California have got it made!