MX-5 Club Racer At Willowbank - 23/24 Aug 14

[gslender]

About 30-50k price differance

So much better paint jobs then !!


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[tbro]

Well done to Sonke,
you started and you finished, not talked about it, you did it ""CONGRATULATIONS""!!!!!!!!

15 out of 19 of the fastest race cars ever known to man

Good one mate.


Also well done to Faster Pastor!!!

So health permitting, I'll have someone to race next year

Terry

[adidistyle]

Well done Sonke.
He finished the 1hr race having only one off at T2, didn't break the car, didn't hit anything, didn't get penalised, and didn't piss anyone off (that I heard about).
Drove the car onto the trailer, packed up, and is probably at home having a beer right now. Good one.

DSCF6965 small.jpg

[gslender]

So, how does Sonke's car compare to the other MX5s on the track? Is it better tyres, brakes, better mods/engines or just simply better driving?

So nobody can give a serious reply?

[Trackphotos]

So, how does Sonke's car compare to the other MX5s on the track? Is it better tyres, brakes, better mods/engines or just simply better driving?

So nobody can give a serious reply?

Most likely the driving. Most of the competitors there are in their own cars, with a hell of a lot more experience in them than Sonke has in a borrowed car. They may be operating on a higher budget with more power squeezed out of the engine one way or another, or they may be running in 2B where Sonke would be in 2F class. Modifications allowed are very different between the two, and the time difference on a ~90sec lap is easily a few seconds a lap. Basically, lots of variables, but experience counts for a lot. Sonhke doesn't have it, and I'd expect he was at least a little bit reserved when risking somebody else's car, and his $5000 deposit ;)

[gslender]

Few posts up it mentions that it was his car. So are they fairly close cars (2B or 2F) and that primarily the difference is how well you pedal - is that the case then?

G

[Trackphotos]

Few posts up it mentions that it was his car. So are they fairly close cars (2B or 2F) and that primarily the difference is how well you pedal - is that the case then?

G

He must have bought another new car then I suppose. Not the silver NA he had, and not the red NA his daughter had. Maybe QR ex-rentals came up for sale again.

2B is a good bit faster than 2F, with built engines, aero, and most other things much more open to modification. Most 2F cars in ProdSports will be similarly-modified MX5s, where the driver is the biggest factor. In 2B, the field is a bit more varied. Natsoft shows the top 9 cars in race 1 were 2B, with one invited car in there too. All of the 2Fs were behind them. 2B best lap times ranged from 1:14.5 to 1:22.7, where the fastest 2F managed a 1:24.3. However, I only just noticed that with the exception of Steve McLellan, all of the MX5s are in 2F. The performance of all of the MX5s, Steve excepted, should be very similar to each other. It comes down to the driver.

[toppertee]

I ran a pretty stock mx5, on the straights a front running 2f car just walks away from me. Nearly all front running 2f cars are sporting built motors which are around 10-15k which need to be rebuilt every 30 hours or so.
Nearly all of the cars don't meet 2f regs... Diff ratios, flat top manifolds, non conforming supension mods, the list goes on It's all done with a wink and a nod.

Open the head on most of the cars you won't find Mazda pistons. These front running 2f cars are very well built, with a shed load of time and money spent. The figure of ash's cars was around the 80k mark and another bloke who was on here fish, said his was in the same ball park.

Don't really think there is more than a second between a good PSCRAC driver and the rest.

I sheard a ride with a good pscraq driver, the differance in are PBs was 1/2 second. I hardly light the world on fire.

IMHO....

[JBT]

Great result for your first time out Sonke.
The next club sprint day will feel like a cake walk to you by comparison with the cut and thrust of door to door.

[ljs18]

About 30-50k price differance

So much better paint jobs then !!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, better paint jobs too. All cars were modified to meet 2F or 2B specs. However 50k would not get you a quick 2B. Have a look at my105 Brian Ferrabee is selling his cars. He spent about 60k on the 2F and 100+ on the 2B.
I ran a stock NB8A where the interior, aircon and power steering have been removed and a roll bar installed. Everything else is stock. On top of that the six speed broke and I had to run a five speed with a tall diff. That was a pain in the back. Still 6 seconds better PB than with my NA6 on the national circuit.

[JBT]

Given that the car was stock, 5 speed with the tall diff, the result wasn't great at all...it was excellent mate.

[Trackphotos]

I ran a pretty stock mx5, on the straights a front running 2f car just walks away from me. Nearly all front running 2f cars are sporting built motors which are around 10-15k which need to be rebuilt every 30 hours or so.
Nearly all of the cars don't meet 2f regs... Diff ratios, flat top manifolds, non conforming supension mods, the list goes on It's all done with a wink and a nod.

Open the head on most of the cars you won't find Mazda pistons. These front running 2f cars are very well built, with a shed load of time and money spent. The figure of ash's cars was around the 80k mark and another bloke who was on here fish, said his was in the same ball park.

Don't really think there is more than a second between a good PSCRAC driver and the rest.

I sheard a ride with a good pscraq driver, the differance in are PBs was 1/2 second. I hardly light the world on fire.

IMHO....

I hadn't realised ProdSports was such an unprofessional category. Sorry to hear it.

[gslender]

Well, don't everyone get all snooty!

If $7K cars are having $50k-$100K spent on them then you can't really tell me that its just up to the driver and experience. Clearly a large part of the pack is spending to win, not including plenty of modifications beyond just a fairly straight and stock NB built to the simple 2F or 2B regs. But hey, maybe it is just all spent on fancy paint jobs ?!?

No big deal and don't mean to take anything away from ljs18 / Sonke (I assume one in the same) - such awesome effort for him to give it a go and get out there. Would be keen to meet up and chat further about the experience and what you thought of it all !!

BTW - If stating the bloody obvious isn't encouraged then I guess that's why some folks stay away... not everyone has big fat cheque books to waste on motor racing like that!

[JBT]

If $7K cars are having $50k-$100K spent on them then you can't really tell me that its just up to the driver and experience.

Of course it's not. Did you ever believe it was?

[gslender]

If $7K cars are having $50k-$100K spent on them then you can't really tell me that its just up to the driver and experience.

Of course it's not. Did you ever believe it was?

Yeah sorry JBT - just trying to understand if more folks like me got involved would it even be worth bothering. I know from a vehicle perspective I'd need to undo modifications and/or improve safety but wasn't sure if it was even worth bothering - other than helping fund the track costs, what more would I get out of the effort if I'm unlikely to catch the guy coming 2nd last, because I'm just short $20k-$40K in my expenses. Like taking a knife to a gun fight !?

I know I have heaps and heaps to learn and will focus on attending more MX5 track days, but I remain interested in the concept that is PSCRAQ, but admit the thought of racing around the track where most are spending 5x me just seems like the wrong type of racing for me - not that I know of what other options exist....

Still, credit to Sonke for giving it a go. I'll be keen to hear more from him on what his thoughts are!

G