Speeds5

And honestly it’s because it doesn’t make sense to build a GT car. You have a mish mash of various builds and cars couldn’t be more different and there’s absolutely no parity. The beauty of Spec classes is that everyone is on level playing field and that’s what racing is all about. Not to mention it keeps costs somewhat down relatively speaking.

In many conversations I’ve suggested PCA need to transition to 4-5 Spec classes and 1 GT class with all the various GT3/GT4 factory cars and all other GT builds all in one with some BOP factor. But it’s not sustainable to have 15 different GTC and GTD classes. We have a new one every year Porsche releases a new
model. Number of classes and number in each class keeps getting diluted. They need to condense the classes and prioritize new racers moving to the classes they think have a long runway.

ProCoach

Well, this reflects the larger picture of how club racing has changed over the years.

PCA CR was founded for anyone who wanted to race a Porsche car (or Porsche powered prototype) in an age where racing and running what you liked took precedence over insuring parity. It was a social event and a bastion for those who built and modded their own cars, or bought historically significant cars and wanted to race them with other Porsche racers. Heck, there were even open trailers, for goodness sake!

Now, time is so much more of a commodity, the cars have advanced so that few can touch, fix or mod every subsystem on the car, that parity and time saving is now the prime driver.

Not that one is better than another, but every club-level program (SCCA/BMWCCA/NASA/etc) has experienced this as the cars and the times change.

I love SPC, a great step up from the popular SPB class. Modern, reliable and safe cars, great competition, solid, limited spec.

Speeds5

Some of us still have an open trailer….

Jas0nn

I'll start a GoFundMe for your trailer ...

But then you have to start one for my sticker fund.

Deal?

Speeds5

Deal. Please add a tow vehicle while at it. Wife not happy I take the family SUV.

Nowanker

Drivers, as well as cars?
Heard a funny joke about 'Midget Racing' once....

caymancyr

I am all in for condensation. Most classes, even at the big races, now only have two to four cars. This turns the "races" into glorified DE's. I started in E Stock with 10 to 30 E Stock racers at most venues. You could buy a used truly ready to race S2, 911 or 944 Turbo for $20K. Those times are gone along with the class. Evidently, air cooled 911's turned from compressed carbon to diamonds in the past 10 years. Now, you might as well race something more modern as it will cost less and you can find parts. I'm GTB1 and I love the competition and my fellow drivers. From my perspective, we truly have fun (before, during and after racing), share ideas and (cleanly) compete like rabid dogs. However, GTB1 is a bit on the pricey side. I see SPB and SPC (both also populated by some great human beings) with good numbers and would think that ME-1 could bring up a more available, less expensive group of cars into racing. We can only hope that a continued effort is made by PCA to consolidate classes to allow people to race and find ways to expand classes by introducing new models to grow class numbers with the well thought out BOP limitations. I'm crossing my fingers.

519Kris

One thing that’s stood out to me is the almost complete lack of Club Racing representation in Panorama. Why is that the case?

We’re an untapped well of content for Pano readers. There’s a pool of potential new entrants for CR reading Pano. And it’s one more way to keep racers engaged.

docwyte

Meh. Roundel has pages and pages of club race coverage in it. I could really care less. I mean, I get it, if you club race it's nice to see pics and a write up of the races. There needs to be a balance though, between the current zero coverage in Panorama, and the far too much coverage Roundel does.

ProCoach

There are just so many places to race. Especially in Porsches. PCA Club Racing is just one of them.

I do remember being shocked driving over the Sebring bridge and seeing seventy factory-built race cars on the grid waiting to go out the first time. I thought "man, this is the best kept secret, if you have one of these P-cars." That was fifteen years ago.

For me, that was the high point, at least until the Pirelli Trophy series for 981 GT4 CS came along for two years.

Now, DE's seem to be providing more value for a broad section of PCA members.

It's always been odd to me the tenuous relationship PCA CR has with the National Club. The National Club likes them when it suits them, but almost would rather not be bothered. At least that's the look from afar.

LuigiVampa

There are two ways to look at this.

One is that the number of club racers in a rounding error's worth of people compared to the members of PCA as a whole. A little over 2000 registered club racers versus 165,000 general members.

Two is that club racers are the people who actually drive these cars the way they are meant to be driven and provide a certain level of prestige and authenticity to PCA.

I think without club racing PCA loses a big part its mystique.

docwyte

I find it odd that Porsche does the Parade every year without a club race or DE. I'd be far more inclined to attend if I could do a DE too.

Jas0nn

100% agree - A couple years ago (2022), the Parade was in the Ponocos the same weekend as the Watkins Glen Club Race. Seems like there could have been an easy and smart way to enhance both events by bringing them together in some ways ...

Matt Romanowski

It could have changed, but the DE/Club race at a Parade is a bit more complex. The Parade is run by PCA and they do not host any DE or Club Race events. A region has to hold a DE/Club Race in conjunction with the parade timing. It's been done over the years. Tremblant had a Club Race (27 years ago - history!) and there have been some DEs that complimented the Parade, but it's up to a region to do it.

519Kris

This is another symptom of the actual problem.

PCA National Run Offs!