San Diego match tour

[MurrayPeterson]

Super fast course, with lots of 3rd gear.  There wasn't much time difference between BS, CS, STS
(http://sololive.scca.com/SATURDAY/index.php), although the NC that won CS was a good bit faster than everyone else.  Gearing?

CS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqRNsfMDJKE
BS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsIfWgoNtfg

[Reijo]

Super fast course, with lots of 3rd gear.  There wasn't much time difference between BS, CS, STS
(http://sololive.scca.com/SATURDAY/index.php), although the NC that won CS was a good bit faster than everyone else.  Gearing?

CS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqRNsfMDJKE
BS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsIfWgoNtfg

Max was in 4th in an NC (CS) and he has won Nats a couple of times in the past ... I think Scott Lewis (don't know him) may have figured out something in the course that no one else did or had better car prep etc.  Basically he beat Max by 0.5 or so sec. on each day ... so consistent on that basis.

R

[PedalFaster]

I don't remember if Scott Lewis has ever gone to Nationals, but he's pretty quick, so I'm not surprised to see him leading CS, even in an NC. I'm as guilty as anyone of getting hung up on the car of the day, but ultimately the speed differences between most of the reasonably competitive cars in a class are smaller than the differences between good and great drivers. Keep in mind also that the times were in the 98 second range; Scott's margin is equivalent to a 0.533 second lead on a 60 second course, which is healthy but not monumental.

Max posted on Facebook that he was running Rivals, and had trouble getting enough heat into them to get them to work. He also hasn't spent much time in that Miata. Those two factors probably explain why he's uncharacteristically far back in the standings.

[E6Cueman]

I'm not familiar with the Match Tour format, but of note to me is that DS beat every street class except for A.

[PedalFaster]

Don't read too much into that. The DS winner, Mark Scroggs, is a multi-time national champion who also has a ProSolo title and a Solo Triad win to his name. As far as I know, other than Max and Michael Heinitz (the ES winner),  no one else who ran in Street this weekend has much of a national-level track record.

[Reijo]

Yeah, some key names were missing ... like the Berry family.  The Match Tour does not seem to be as popular as the regular Tours ... San Diego Tour used to get 300 or more entries typically.

[MurrayPeterson]

They limited the registration to 200 drivers (no idea why), and filled it completely.

[Reijo]

They limited the registration to 200 drivers (no idea why), and filled it completely.

Oh, right ... like the Pros ... can handle only so many if you have the shoot-out in the afternoons.  In a sense it is a half-event or so ... so max. 200 ...

Reijo

[Reijo]

Scroggs was 3rd in PAX ... no mean feat .... DS Camaro with the turbo 4-cylinder.  Interesting.

Reijo

[PedalFaster]

Regarding participation: another factor to consider is that the San Diego Tour and El Toro Pro were historically on back-to-back weekends. This year they were split up, and as a result I think a lot of people from Oregon and Northwest Regions decided not to bother with either.

[Wayne Dyck]

Scroggs was 3rd in PAX ... no mean feat .... DS Camaro with the turbo 4-cylinder.  Interesting.

Reijo

Looks to be that Mark is again co-driving with Des Toups. And if I'm not mistaken Des bailed on his 2015 EcoBoost Mustang, which Mark co-drove to 3rd in FS at Nationals last year. I recall a post, he felt the Camaro 1LE V6 3.6 L would be the DS unicorn, rather than his EcoBoost 4 cylinder. IMHO Mark Scroggs is the alien, not the car.

[PedalFaster]

The V6 Camaro 1LE ended up going to FS rather than DS.

Des sold his Mustang and bought a Cadillac ATS, which shares the same platform and motor as the Camaro, but has smaller physical dimensions (good) and skinnier wheels (bad).

[E6Cueman]

A little note on said car: http://www.camaro6.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9531356&postcount=39

Seems a bit scary as a Twin driver.

[Reijo]

I had heard about the 4 cyl. Camaro and did not pay any more attention to it.....kinda like the 6 cyl Camaros and Mustangs back in the 60's.  But this one is a different beast!   5.3 sec. 0-60 mph, 14.0 sec. 1/4 mi. at 100 mph (btw, that is the same as the S2000!).....and the same as the 1970 Chevelle 454!

Hmmmm......and $26k they say in this article.....over 30 mpg ... 200 lbs or so lighter with a cast aluminum engine, and, of course, decent suspension (independent all around) with big tires/wheels/wheelwells .... There is something to this!   

http://www.automobilemag.com/news/2016-chevrolet-camaro-turbo-review/

I would consider one ...

R