• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Blankety-Blank Miata!

Share this page

aeronca65t

aeronca65t

Great Pumpkin
Offline
OK, I'm driving down the straightaway at Summit Point last weekend, minding my own buisness, doing about 5900 RPM in 4th.
There's a right-hand hairpin turn at the end (Turn #1) so I'm on the brakes, dropping into third and watching the Spec-Miata that's coming up on my right.
I can probably out-do him in the turn, but I can't brake as late as him, so I move over to the left and let him have the preferred line.
Let me re-state that: I handed him the better line on a golden platter.
I practically gave him an engraved invitation to pass me.
So what does Dumb-Bell do? He bashes into me, pushing me another three feet to the outside. Fortunately, it was all rubber contact from his tire, so no real damage to me (helped by the fact that I steered away from the dummy...not easy when I was running out of road at about 65 mph).
I love my street Miata, but these Spec-Miata racecars seem to have an overabundance of low-skill drivers. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif
SP-Bash.jpg
 
James Bond extendable knife edged knock-off's!
 
Nial- I looked at the EMRA list of cars/classes and was astounded at the number of them racing. I am so used to GrandAM where RX8's are the usual Mazda product, didn't have a clue there was a whole class of them out there. Neat pics of the contact...how about the one that turned you around?? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
UPDATE~Blankety-Blank Miata!

UPDATE:
I called our Chief Steward to show him this picture.
We have a "little red book" where incidents are reported (and if we see a pattern with a certain driver, we give him a "time out" from racing).
Anyway, I found out that this car had been totaled in a one-car accident later in the day....the guy went off on the straightaway and hit a concrete barrier.
This was during the enduro and I actually saw the accident (but never realized it was this car....there was tons of Miatas).
Fortunately, the guy was not hurt, which is good.
We still can't figure out why the guy lost it on a straight....maybe something in the suspension failed?
I told one of the other guys and he said: "Hey, what goes around, comes around."
I'm not that cynical. I'm sorry to hear that he wrecked his JellyBean and I'm glad he wasn't injured.....even if he did bash me.
 
Re: UPDATE~Blankety-Blank Miata!

Both incidents might be just signs of bad driving?
 
Re: UPDATE~Blankety-Blank Miata!

The picture certainly shows some very close racing, the four of you are all over each other!
Must be pretty exciting; I look forward to seeing you in action next summer, perhaps at Shannonville or at one of the Michigan tracks.
Simon.
 
Re: UPDATE~Blankety-Blank Miata!

This is one of the reasons that I've been steering towards entering vintage racing as opposed to SCCA. Too many drivers without enough skill who think they are the second coming of Jimmy Clark. I've also seen so many racers out there who think it's NASCAR and bumping is a part of the game.

It's so easy to overdo it in a Miata. You feel right on top of everything until that very moment you're saying "oh @*$)!"

Of course, that's probably because I'm one of those low skill drivers. The only reason I have a racing trophy is that in my Corvette I simply out-horsepowered most of my competition! (And out-lucked those that had the edge on me.)
 
Re: UPDATE~Blankety-Blank Miata!

Sam - I've a friend who runs an MGB GT in historic - he's trying to get me to buiild one....is it (a) fun (b) expensive?
 
Re: UPDATE~Blankety-Blank Miata!

Lately I have been thinking about building up my BMW into a vintage racer. I've thought it would be alot of fun, and I wouldn't have to worry about all the SCCA chaps who will wreck your car as soon as pass it.
 
Re: UPDATE~Blankety-Blank Miata!

Tony:

Here are some links to the two major vintage clubs...they both have events in the southern US.

https://www.svra.com/

https://www.hsrrace.com/

And the Panoz Race School is a great way to get some seat time in the southern US.

https://www.panozracingschool.com/home/home.aspx

Walter: We have a few 2002s racing in our club series. Note that the right front wheel is off the ground in this one that's following me.

emra_sprite_bvrun_03_a.jpg


Dart:
I'm still waiting for the enduro snaps. In know our photog didn't get my last spin...he was in another part of the track at the time.
 
Re: UPDATE~Blankety-Blank Miata!

I owned a MGB-GT briefly, but I've never built a racer. The MGB club has a few guys that race seriously here in SOVREN, and a few years ago, they said they could build a mid-pack MGB roadster for $15,000...which is pretty cheap for a decent car made-to-order.

On the other hand, a local racer sold a Lancia Fulvia for $5000 a year or two ago. Can't get much cheaper than that. (Sure it is a front-wheel-drive car, but it sure is pretty.)

As for the dynamics of a MGB-GT, they are fun cars -- unlike the roadsters, they actually have a slight rear weight bias, which means oversteer. They are heavier, hence slower...but you can strip weight from all over the place for vintage racing.

Aeronca is the guy you want to talk to about the costs of campaigning a vintage racer.
 
Re: UPDATE~Blankety-Blank Miata!

Nial, in my experience racing with the Miatas I've noted that they very rarely break. (Or <u>brake</u> , for that matter.) It sounds as though he just got in way over his head.
Gee, it's too bad that there's one less to worry about.
Jeff /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif
 
Re: UPDATE~Blankety-Blank Miata!

Miatas, and Neons for that matter... cheap, easy to maintain, parts readily available, drive it to the track, race it on the track, hopefully drive it home again, doesn't take much in the way of technique... or skill for that matter.... but a good driver is a different matter. We get up to 15 Miatas in their race group at Waterford Hills, they requested, and were given, a split grid at the end of last season... a couple or very good drivers, most fair to middling but willing to learn and improve.... and a few who should never have been given a race license... it's just too easy for them... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonono.gif

Having said that, and I never thought I would ever say this.. but we have so many Spec Miatas and Spec Neons in their relative classes that it has become very entertaining to watch, it's all down to the drivers and their skill... or lack there of!!

RG /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/england.gif
 
Back
Top