Whats happening to the MX5 racing??

[mazmad]

There have been a number of cars bought for the Cup which have not yet made an appearance for various reasons, and other newcomers are prepping their cars. So I remain optimistic going forward.

It would be great to hear from more players who have taken part this year or are likely to do so. Thanks for posing the question Zossy.

[Boyracer]

I think 10 to 15 cars is doing pretty good really, more would be nice....I'm not interested in points and trophys so I just pick events that I can afford or feel like doing.

Having all the races at Wakefield doesn't help, thats why I'm doing the Modern Sports Winton, Zossy...the Modern Sports are actually really good value, 2 one hour races incuding the garage for $395...

Will be interesting to see who runs at the Prod. Sports 1 hour at Eastern Creek....these events are always full of really fast cars with average drivers.

[mazmad]

Will be interesting to see who runs at the Prod. Sports 1 hour at Eastern Creek....these events are always full of really fast cars with average drivers.

Also watching with interest. Lining up with all Porkers and Corvette's doesn't sound like fun.

[zossy1]

Having all the races at Wakefield doesn't help, thats why I'm doing the Modern Sports Winton, Zossy...the Modern Sports are actually really good value, 2 one hour races incuding the garage for $395...

I agree with both points you make Lou - I wouldn't mind a round of the cup at SMP or elsewhere for a bit of variety, though I am learning WP more and more which is good for someone like me who hasn't done that many laps there (or anywhere for that matter). Perhaps we can tag into a FOSC meeting at some point?

I also agree that MSC is good value. It is, but the speed differential (in particular with the BMWs) is greater and the endurance component is tough on the car. Otherwise, I'd be racing it for sure. I'd still have to make some changes to the car to comply with the regs too - but that is not the reason I'm not doing MSC.

[mazmad]

Definitely on the cards to do an SMP round or two next year, Sth Circuit unfortunately. Thoughts?

What is the interest in trekking interstate if we can coordinate with our northern and southern compatriots?

[zossy1]

SMP South would be fine for a change - hardly my favourite circuit but it's a change

And I would certainly consider an interstate round, circumstances permitting... Getting harder to do long trips with the baby.

Definitely on the cards to do an SMP round or two next year, Sth Circuit unfortunately. Thoughts?

What is the interest in trekking interstate if we can coordinate with our northern and southern compatriots?

[david_syd_au]

I am certainly interested in running at other tracks, including interstate at Winton, Lakeside etc
so long as the event permits allow me to use my existing race license and log book.

[oztrackdays]

I don't really get the concern here, I am certainly one of the less aggressive and slower people to ever grid up,
it's why I don't bother racing anymore, to me racing is just a more annoying track day.

But if a car is 5 to 10 seconds a lap quicker than you it's super easy you just do your thing and let them worry about it.

The trick to learn here and it's the same trick for the Porsche Guy when he races something faster is how to let a car
by without it hurting your own lap time watch the more experienced guys like Lou or Daniel and this is something
they do quite well.

Remember if you go in a mixed race with Hyundai Excels then the MX5 becomes the rocketship
and there's not much to worry about is there.

[mazmad]

For me the fun is battling with someone around your own pace, whatever they are driving.

Being the sole mx5 in a flock of porkers doesn't provide that. Its like just doing a track day or sprint, out on your own. Not so much concern as lack of direct competition.

[Boyracer]

I am certainly interested in running at other tracks, including interstate at Winton, Lakeside etc
so long as the event permits allow me to use my existing race license and log book.

David, come and have a run at the Winton Modern Sports...

Zossy I don't understand your point about the BMWs being so much faster, they really are not that quick and they are not faster than the Turbo NBs, I actually don't mind running against the quicker cars, it's always fun when you can give them an nudge when they hold you up in the corners....

Why don't you QLD. guys just get rid of the 3 or 4 non MX5s ( and the Ginetta non Prod. Sports) and go back to the good old days when the MX5 class was so strong??

[MattR]

Thanks Lou, and then where the ƒü¢k do I run my fully compliant and legal 200SX production sports car I'm building??????

It already doesn't comply with modern sports car rules as a fully legal 2B car, and now your advocating getting rid of a another cheap to build and run car from a category that in some ways needs all the help it can get in attracting more cars and a variety of cars.

Would you be telling me to piss off if I was till running the old 240Z????? A car that in the late 80's and early 90's was a mainstay of Marque Sports cars, before the name change to production sports cars.

[Boyracer]

Matt, Where would you have been running the Datsun back in 2000s when the MX5 series was running??

[MattR]

In prod sports, or more correctly Marque Sports as it was known then.

When i first moved to Qld it was cheaper for me to commute to Sydney to race as the car and sponsors were down south for a couple of years. When I was ready to race the Zed I did a bit of racing in Qld, though mainly hill climbs. In 2000 I raced at Lakeside with the Marque Sports cars when we supported the Super Tourers.

I had an enforced brake from racing due to first, working offshore, and then health problems with my partner of the time, but there was always sports car racing up here for marque sports cars.

In any case we should always be encouraging more eligible cars to play rather than turning them away.

[mazmad]

Looks like 15 cars for this weekends MRA at WP.

[Celluloid Retina]

On the topic of other peoples views on the MX5 Cup racing this year, I thought i'd add my perspective...

I think I represent a fairly big chunk of the motoring enthusiast segment (as 'Shannons' and our latest Senator elect would put it), someone who is keen on cars and racing but hasn't really had the opportunity to get involved in their obsession up until this point. Racing is a fairly expensive thing to do, so it takes a bit of the disposable folding stuff to make it happen, but, i've worked hard to get to a point where that's just barely a possibility. Excellent, so it's time to get involved, what do I do now?
I looked into karting, a grass-roots mainstay that's launched a galaxy of stars, but i'm getting beyond the point of F1 teams coming a-knocking so it has to be all about the casual enjoyment in a friendly atmosphere. The more I looked into it the more bound up in in-fighting and bureaucracy the AKA seemed, with an emphasis on 50yo 2-stoke engines that need monthly rebuilds and new tyres thrown at them to have any chance. It's a discipline that has red-taped itself into a corner and really alienated potential newcomers (hopefully Mick Dohan at the helm can do something about that, but that's the way I see it as it stands).

So... we'll go full-scale. I looked into tin-tops and the more I looked into it the more sense the MX5 made (apart from being my "one of these days" car as a teenager). Bang for buck it can't be beat... but i'm preaching to the converted. I bought a track-day NA8 and did a couple of years of the club days and supersprints (the club days were more fun incidentally), but deep down I knew that racing was what had got me interested in the first place.
So, since we're amongst friends, i'll be honest, I then looked at what would be the best bang for buck way to go racing (circa late 2013). MX5 racing wasn't in great shape. It had a successful past but had petered out to filling the grids of other categories. I had a colleague that was racing historic Formula Vee's which looked like a similar investment, a great inclusive vibe and some incredibly close racing, so a good option. But at the same time the idea of making a decent investment (for a hobbyist) to end up with slower lap times, albeit with close competitive racing, just didn't quite add up (although, those that know me, know I would have loved the chance to tow something much smaller).

So, at this same time Craig and the other members of the MX5 Cup committee, started to get some momentum happening with the MX5 Cup for 2014, and from my perspective everything just fell into place. It had mx5's, which I knew were a great package, it was being touted as a development series that was inclusive for people just getting started as well as those that were well established. It also had the support of the MX5 club as well as the guys from Deckspeed - who could be a help and a resource for people like me that have more enthusiasm than experience. But most importantly from my perspective it had the right feel to it (in the words of Dennis Denuto - it's the 'vibe').

So that's where I went. I hired a car off the guys at Deckspeed for the first round (to dip my toe in), then immediately bought the best NB I could find and i've had the best 4 weekends of my life getting involved in the first rounds of this year. As someone who's waited in the wings watching every bit of international, national and club level motorsport I could get on a screen over the past couple of decades, its lived up to every hope and expectation i've had of it. From delusions of grandeur, to realising how much I have to learn, to having a first win, its been the full experience. But most importantly for me, every part of it has managed to exclude the high proportion of cocks and naysayers that you sometimes find in motorsport. We all spend too much money and too much of our precious time doing this thing that we love for it to be bogged down in petty turf wars and chest beating (I saw a bit of it at the Wakefield 300, but thankfully nothing in the cup).

I think this thing has the potential to get massive fields of 25 or more, as more people cotton on to the bang for buck ratio, and as more people from the club days realise that racing (in the right environment) is just as safe and easy as a track day (but ooooooohhhhhh, so much more fun David Lawler- back me up [without the video where you beat me]). That's where I started and with the level of competitiveness and skill in the majority of club runners, I can see competitive racing all through a field of 30, without much more risk to car and driver (the big thing i've learnt this year is that contact is as likely as you want to make it, we all know what we're doing, and we all have the skill to avoid 'proximity ' turning into contact).

As someone who's only just gotten involved in racing, i'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes...

Stu

PS: Speaking of that first win, video to follow shortly.