Jonathon Rolstin

I thought there was a thread already but I couldn't find it - who is going to tmr? I'm taking my son up with me and will be in a blue cayenne. Where are you guys watching? Let me know would be fun to watch with others!

The Stig

I will be there. Getting there for 11am. Will look out for you.

Mr Fish Tank

Where is it?

The Stig

Mosport

gbuff

There were a few of them running with us today in the rain and wind--what fun!
Actually I enjoyed tons of open track as few cars went out....

Gary

Mr Fish Tank

Thx Stig

Jonathon Rolstin

Anyone have link to schedule? I'm going to be leaving by 11 or 1130 so my son can have his nap at home. Should be up there by about 930am

PPo

LOL!! I am a goof... I was there with The Stig, and only made the connection now!!

Doug, another rennlister, was with us also...

Looks like a lot of fun!

Jonathon Rolstin

Meh is all I have to say

samajam

I have been doing chump for about four years now. This year was twice at CTMP and twice at Calabogie. Now running a silver bmw e30 328 four door and a Mk2 golf in the past. It really is great way to exercise your inner kid and substantially improve your driving skills & confidence. Three wide going down the back straight at CTMP at 180+ is a rush! Went back to back with my 03 turbo and our BMW chump car at shannonville, it is quite remarkable the superiority of the chump in corner speed and quality and control of threshold braking over the turbo. To be fair it was my first track day with the porsche and I was running old hankook evo's vs scrubbed sticky rubber on the chump. I highly recommend the series.

PPo

Really? From a spectator perspective, I totally understand.

From a competition perspective, I don't think you can find a better $$$/fun car event for serious car guys on the planet. I have raced in more than a few series and looking forward to being a competitor next year. Going to be entering my 924S... I can't wait!

Jonathon Rolstin

Yes from a spectator perspective.

I somewhat disagree with $$/fun. I think you are probably around the same running costs as with any other Regional Racing event, and it largely depends on personal preference and what you want to do. It seems unsafe, lots of people doing pit stops that don't have much training, I saw fuel spill all over the ground on cold side of the wall for one team I was watching...

Other thing is, seems like a lot of standing around for some of the drivers and the enduro thing is not my style... I would prefer a warmup, qualify and some sprint races (IE any regional event) to this. Cost of the car is similar to some entry level regional stuff anyway.

Like I said it is a lot to do with personal opinion, but for those reasons, I would rather spend my money running a vintage car in VARAC. Which by the way I am looking forward to doing next year

Cheers

Jonathon Rolstin

PPo this is my opinion for the costs, but reading your posts again maybe you can offer some more real data on costs versus other series... Running costs are runnings costs, and no cheaper in chump I think... Divide by 4?5? drivers so maybe that makes it cheaper? Car build still costs all the same for proper safety stuff... So i suppose you save on building a motor if you're not cheating (which is pretty rare I hear), gearbox could be stock? Some trickery to fuel system is also in order... (so I heard)

So i just feel costs wouldn't be far off other stuff... what do you think?

gbuff

Man, some of those cars looked REALLY rough, though mechanically they may (or may not) be ......think I'll just continue to enjoy my track days.

BTW, I did speak at length with a Chumpster earlier this year @ Mid-Ohio, and he said that he sees this series going the way of SM as far as $$$$ being spent to be successful.

PPo

Having run PCA and Regional races, and having friends run chump. The cost to compete in Chump Car is far below the cost of others. When you divide all the costs by 4 or 5, it really makes a big difference.

After some solid research, our team is budgeting $5K per person to run the full year. That is operational cost. This does not include the car, personal safety equipment, and track equipment. Capitol costs are separate from that budget.

The unseen benefit is that you have 3 or more people HELPING you get to the track. Racing by yourself is a huge effort, and the energy to get organized every race weekend is tough. Spread the work between 4 good guys and its a great way to go racing. As I get older I realize the truth behind time is money... this is where the indirect money is saved!

You also get 2-4 hours racing per weekend. You will not get that much racing in PCA or Regionals in a weekend... and the entrance fee when divided by 4 is half the cost of the other events. You may get more practice/qualifying time, but much less racing time.

However Jonathan, I have to agree with that there was some pretty low brow stuff happening this past weekend. Some of the hardware was rather lame as well. Some of the driving was well... not smart... a car was rear ended half way into a full track double yellow.

I have seen other series mature, and I am betting that the level of competition, professionalism, and preparation will increase sharply in the next few years. My guess is that this is where people will WANT to run. The not so smart people get weeded out as they become uncompetitive.

Another thing to factor in is that the cost to be competitive is cheap. To run in the upper end of any PCA class, you need real dedication and $$$. Regional racing is okay, but it doesn't have the continent wide appeal and the short races mean competition is nasty.

Our long term plan is to be able to campaign Porsche based chump cars at Road Atlanta, Sebring, Mid-Ohio, Lime Rock, Watkins Glenn, and other US tracks. Trying to do that alone with regional and/or PCA means you are either retired, or your wife really loves you!! With a 4 guy plus team, it becomes achievable. Also, a well experienced Chump driver can rent a seat from top US based teams for a reasonable amount. This is why I am pumped... an arrive and drive in a southern state in mid-Feb would be an amazing weekend!!

Endurance racing is a total different thing from sprint racing. I can't wait!!!

When the team gets settled and going, we will put a call out for additional drivers as we progress.