About B-Spec racing

The more I read about B-Spec racing, the more I like it. Sounds like a relatively cheap ticket into some fast & close racing, with reliable and simple cars. I hear that a Fiat won the first race. In other threads I've seen where you can get the Ford Racing bits for the Fiesta, and the Kia stuff, but does anyone offer the B-Spec components for the 500 yet? I take it there are Mazdaspeed or Racing Beat or whatever parts for the 2 as well.

The winning Fiat:

Mazdaspeed has a kit for the 2. Interestingly, the 2 is the cheapest to build, but when one of the other car mags did a group test of B-Spec cars at Laguna Seca recently, they liked it better than all of the other options.

You can watch Rounds 1-3 of B-Spec (with Touring Car classes too) From Miller at world-challengetv.com . The racing for one of the rounds (Round two maybe?) was absolutely awesome for being a brand new series; They really hit the parity right from the first round.

For the record, Grand-am is also offering B-Spec races at certain events with its other two series, and SCCA classed B-spec cars with one of their showroom stock classes.

I just did some work to my boss's wife's Fiat 500. KW variant 1 coilovers. Magnaflow cat back exhaust. Ferodo pads and braided lines. Team Dynamics wheels with Dunlop Direzza Stars pecs. I did not get the chance to do a cold air intake or a ECU flash.

She let me take the car out on track. It was pretty good, much better than I expected. The lack of torque lets the rest of the car down.

I bet an ECU reflash would help the car a lot. Everything seems to roll out of the factory with a really lean tune these days.

I can't wait until all these cars are 2-3 years old and you can really pick one up cheap...

SlickDizzy wrote: I bet an ECU reflash would help the car a lot. Everything seems to roll out of the factory with a really lean tune these days.

Don't you mean a really rich tune? :confused:

SlickDizzy wrote: I bet an ECU reflash would help the car a lot. Everything seems to roll out of the factory with a really lean tune these days. I can't wait until all these cars are 2-3 years old and you can really pick one up cheap...

Reading the B-Spec rules, i don't see where an ECU flash is legal. They have a TC/ABS module to make sure it's not intrusive, but nowhere does it seem to allow a reflash.

(that, and they are all rich, for component protection)

A Mazda 2 won the Grand-Am race at Homestead. There's quite the thread going on over at Mazdaracers.com right now, between the owner and driver of that car, and EVERYBODY else.

I saw a Fiat 500 in the flesh for the first time yesterday. It was cute, considering the awful pea-green color... It'd be nice if it were capable of being turned into a little go-kart.

I want to like B-Spec, but my gut tells me Spec E30 would be cheaper and more fun.