I am going to pull the two DBR ITA MR2's out of storage and get them track ready. Both are going to need the motors refreshed and the backup car will need some work to the cadge to bring it up to current SCCA spec's.
However after doing a bunch of research I have come to the conclusion that they are not competitive in SCCA any more. They are a mid pack car at best. Yes we can still run IT and I guess we just want track time racing it is an option. However the competitive side of me does not like this option. So I was looking for other places to race it in.
There is always autocross but after road racing this is kind of a let down. Still fun but not my first choice. What about raleigh cross? I was watching some video of that on Youtube the other night and that looks like it could be a whole lot of fun. I could step it up to EP or FP but that requires serious $$$$ that I really am not ready to sink into this car and again it really is a stretch to think it is competitive in these classes.
Any ideas? Is there a place in NASA for these cars? I have not looked at there ruel set but I thought that they used a HP versus weight formula. I also have to look at what EMRA is doing. It has been a while since I have looked at there rules and they seem to be a bit more aligned towards the older cars (or at least they use to be).
Any Ideas?
dean1484 wrote:
What about raleigh cross?
Probably a no go unless you live in North Carolina. 
Freaking google auto correct gets me every time 
In reply to dean1484:
I would look into Ice racing. Your car would be very competitive as it sits, you would only need to put on studs and maybe lighter springs.
Autocross style
http://www.boston-bmwcca.org/EventDescription/2010/ice-racing.aspx
Wheel to wheel road racing on frozen lake.
www.icerace.com
What is your situation? Can you afford to buy a class leading competitive car? Do you have the talent to put it there? If so, buy what you need to win.
On the other hand, if you can get these cars cheap, and freshen an engine, and be on the track for a couple grand, where you will improve your skill set without breaking the bank, start here.
The great thing about IT racing where I am, is I always seem to have somebody to race. May be a class up, but so what...
Chat up the smarty guys over on improvedtouring.com They may have some ideas on development or you may be able to get it bumped to itb.
Kj
Streetwise Guy wrote:
What is your situation? Can you afford to buy a class leading competitive car? Do you have the talent to put it there? If so, buy what you need to win.
On the other hand, if you can get these cars cheap, and freshen an engine, and be on the track for a couple grand, where you will improve your skill set without breaking the bank, start here.
The great thing about IT racing where I am, is I always seem to have somebody to race. May be a class up, but so what...
I hate the idea of just spending $$$ to win but I do understand it. The current situation with Miatas in SCCA is a whole topic for another thread. I am not sure that the current formula that makes the miata the go to car can last, or should be allowed to last. With out competition things get boring. Anyway like I said this is another thread.
The simple answer, like this will surprise anyone here, is to go get a Miata. Most, if no all my friends that race have done just that. The old adage of "if you can't beat them join them" really is true. They are just such a great car. So well sorted, a much more modern suspension and enough motor to really scoot. It really is a great package!!!!
But I don't want a miata. I really like the MR2 and we have two cars plus a boat load of spares for them. The reality is that I should forget about being competitive and just go have fun. IT is just so hard to do as everything we have done in racing has always been with the concept that we actually had a chance to win what ever we entered. Now not so much.
I assume you are talking about 1st gen MR2s. If so, they have been reclassed into ITB. Just need new stickers, and 6 inch wide. They seem to have some potential there...
Just race it. Researching race results on the interwebs isn't exactly determinant of YOUR results in the car. The IT classes are very much determined by talent as much as competitiveness of the car on paper.
Heck, I was running in the back of the pack in ITA in my SM a few months ago and the guy in front of me won ITC.
That is a good point I forgot about the reclassification. Well we will see I am just excited to be getting it out and running again!!!!
dean1484 wrote:
I am going to pull the two DBR ITA MR2's out of storage and get them track ready. Both are going to need the motors refreshed and the backup car will need some work to the cadge to bring it up to current SCCA spec's.
However after doing a bunch of research I have come to the conclusion that they are not competitive in SCCA any more. They are a mid pack car at best. Yes we can still run IT and I guess we just want track time racing it is an option. However the competitive side of me does not like this option. So I was looking for other places to race it in.
Any Ideas?
SCCA has moved the MR2 to ITB with a change in weight. It has to carry ballast depending on how light the cars were built but it is now a competitive car in that class. My buddy won ITBthis year with MCSCC in his 1985 ITB MR2.
jimbbski wrote:
dean1484 wrote:
I am going to pull the two DBR ITA MR2's out of storage and get them track ready. Both are going to need the motors refreshed and the backup car will need some work to the cadge to bring it up to current SCCA spec's.
However after doing a bunch of research I have come to the conclusion that they are not competitive in SCCA any more. They are a mid pack car at best. Yes we can still run IT and I guess we just want track time racing it is an option. However the competitive side of me does not like this option. So I was looking for other places to race it in.
Any Ideas?
SCCA has moved the MR2 to ITB with a change in weight. It has to carry ballast depending on how light the cars were built but it is now a competitive car in that class. My buddy won ITB this year with MCSCC in his 1985 ITB MR2.
May be there is hope for the old girl after all!!! I am now really excited to get this up and running!!! I don't remember the weight at the moment. I know it was over the limit of the ITA spec due to upgrades to the cadge.
This is excellent news!!!!!
There is a "unicorn" MR2 built to the limit of the IT rules floating around the south somewhere. I originally built it in 2004 for a gentleman in Little Rock. He then sold it, in 2006, to a guy in Memphis I believe. It's an 85 that began it's life as a TRD built Showroom Stock car. It had never been registered or driven on the street.
Here the specs:
- Full 8 point 1.5 x .095 DOM cage.
- Aluminum fuel cell with submerged/sumped EFI pump mounted in the front trunk area.
- Full spherical bearing suspension bushing conversion.
- Custom front and rear camber plates.
- Custom strut housings built around the old GC Advanced Design double adjustable strut inserts.
- Engine built to the letter of the rules.
- Transaxle with TRD LSD.
Do to health issues, the original owner was only able to run it a handfull of times before selling it. I lost track of it after he sold it to the guy in Memphis. I'm still bummed that I never got see whether or not it could be competitive. It was still in ITA at the time, but the ITAC was in the middle of getting cars moved around and we were fairly confident that it would get bumped down to ITB with a lower weight.
dean1484 wrote:
...due to upgrades to the cadge.
Cage has no "d" in it.
Sorry, the grammar police in me came out again.
As you were.
Just me typing to fast. I do suck at spelling. Dyslexia is a bitch. People can corect me all they want and it does not help. It is like herpies it never goes away. You just have good days and bad days.
Really old post, i see
My exhaustive search for a RWD former Long Beach celebrity Celica to campaign in SVRA Group 8 fun helped me discover that the Mk1 MR2 is also vintage eligible in SVRA. It may not be YOUR cup of tequila but it might be someone's. You said you had TWO.....?
Not any more one sold the 2nd one is in need of a motor rebuild and I would have to talk to the owner and see what he is doing with it.
I built an ITA MR2 back in the early 2000's. I always wondered what happened to it. What did you end up doing with the second car?
The backup car was sold locally. To someone one I don't know. The primarly car is still in storage. I never got to updating it as work crushed me shortly after I posted this.
Here are some photos from a couple years back of the cars
Primarly car (this is a really really old photo). The frount valance was changed.
This was the backup. A friend of min owned both of them. I really wanted to purchas the backup car from him but it was sold with out me knowing (I was out of state for a while with work)
Hillclimb! I believe any SCCA IT legal car is also an SCCA hillclimb legal car.
steamcorners wrote:
I assume you are talking about 1st gen MR2s. If so, they have been reclassed into ITB. Just need new stickers, and 6 inch wide. They seem to have some potential there...
SCCA has always hated these cars for some reason. They've never been classed competitively. It used to be in ITA with CRXs and still carried ballast to get up to minimum weight, while having less HP. Now it's in ITB....meh. Take them vintage racing.
IF you want to endurance race - http://www.worldracingleague.org/
It's an endurance racing league built more around old already-built track cars than building a new race car under some arbitrary dollar point.
As to the engine... what mods are you allowed? I recently did some flow bench testing.... and on a stock 4AG head, SI "competition" standard valves did flow better then either stock, or Supertech....
In IT you have to use stock internals. There are very few engine mods, all bolt-ons. At some point I think the SCCA did allowed computer mods, but those did not benefit the MR2 in the same way as some, like the CRX. That was after my time however.
What about the Scca production class? Is it more money because of the engine work?
