Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Autocross and Open Track Proposed 2002 Solo II Classes: Good and Bad News

The good news is all the major G Stock competitors are going to D Stock:

Integra Type R
Subaru WRX
BMW 6 cylinders (325is-330is)
Eclipse/Talon turbo
Audi TT (180Hp)
Lexus IS300
Toyota Celica GT-S
Prelude VTEC

The bad news is the Neon ACR may drop down to G Stock and the Subaru Impreza 2.5RS and Camaro V-6 remain. Also some serious E Stock competitors come to G Stock to include older Celicas, the new Celica GT, and older Honda Civic Si, CRXsi and the new Honda Civic Si (infuryum).

There are other class changes as well, but let me post this before I lose it. Source: August "Sports Car" magazine, official publication of the SCCA.

What this means to us is that in most regions we will have less serious competition. There is a guy with a 99 Camaro RS V-6 who is very good and several guys in the Central Division with older Celicas that can clean our clocks. Then the old 86-87 Civic Si is very fast, believe me. The Neon ACR will probably be our most plentiful threat but since it has reliability problems we may start seeing fewer of them.

In other classes the older Corvettes (84-96)move down to A Stock as does the Boxster S. Officer Cartman, your normal Boxster moves to B Stock to play with the 63-82 Vettes, M3 (E36), Audi TT (225hp), SLK, and early Mazda RX-7 and MR-2 turbos. C Stock will be the old B Stock with Miata 1.8 and MR-2 Spyders dominating the Z3 4 cylinders. E Stock gets the Miata 1.6, and all non-turbo RX-7s and MR-2. The Porsche 924 turbo, 924S, and 8-valve 944 may be competitive as well. F Stock remains about the same with the pony cars.

So those who have waited and did not modify there SE/SVT for STS may do pretty well next year in G Stock!

Ohh I've been waiting, no doubt about it. I don't look forward to those Civic Si's though. Damn things are way to nimble for my liking. Any ideas on where the Sentra R is going? (I think R is the right version.. not sure though)

I took a cursory look at the revised edition the other day. I saw enough to turn my stomach. I can't speak for all the divisions, but here in the CenDiv there are some seriously good drivers that are going to put a damper on my year. There is a national champ that switched cars, and is now driving a Celica, my mentor in a Nissan 200SX SE-R, and a 4th & 9th place in Nationals Neon ACR duo...All moving to GStock next year. The Neon is probably the worst, as it has been prepped like no other. He has a set of 'stock' 'lowered' and 'balanced' springs. The car is hella fast to begin with, and Steve is a great driver. Couple this with the fact that the SE-R guy and the ACR guy both use Geez software to evaluate their runs. *sigh* These boys are seriously into it. It has been great this year, because they kinda took me under their wing, walking courses with me, showing me their Geez data, recommended tire pressures, et al. Now, though, it may change. It will toss an interesting dynamic into things, though.

I guess I will be glad to see the TypeR go get munched by the Audi S4, but it at the expense of having a lot of comrades suddenly become competitors.

I would almost rather see them all stay put. I am closing the gap week by week as my skills increase. I think my friends' input is invaluable to that end. The WRX is putting a crimp in things, but I am coming real close to the Talons right now...

Yeah I know what you mean. I've been getting closer and closre every week myself. This is gonna make things difficult for sure.

Good luck

Well, this really doesn't affect me, as I race STS, but G-stock is the most brutal class in both main venues I run. I was relieved to find STS is an easier class to be competitive in (fewer and slower drivers).

Of course, the one venue is largely ponycar (Milwaukee), and the other is a major blend, but a lot of G-stock in both. I think there were 2 that would have been STS at my last auto-X and there are like 5 or 6 at the other.

Found some old notes on autocrosses in your area Dave Andrews and Matt. These put the class change in perspective.

Rob Foley from your region drives a 00 Celica GT and is on the SOLO CLASSIFICATION BOARD. In other words he is one of the guys making the decision to in this case move his car to our class. A comparison of his times vs. Dave and Matt follows.

APRIL 14
Foley 00 Celica GT 49.903
Talon 51.798

APRIL 21
Foley 00 Celica GT 46.930
Matt Type R 46.376
Talon 46.815

MAY 12
Foley 00 Celica GT 48.068
Matt Type R 46.898
Dave SVT 50.209
Talon 47.469

At the Nationals last year Foley finished 11th in E Stock with a time of 115.964. The Talon guy from your region finished 19th in G Stock with a nearly identical 115.718. Foley is probably a better driver. For perspective Jack Burns, that Rrxp89 ran against ealier this year, finished 4th last year in E Stock in his 00 Celica GT with a time of 114.588, and he is a prior national champ.

The top Neon of Danny Shields, a multiple time National Champ, had a time of 113.565, a full second faster than Burns fastest 00 Celica GT. But he's in a class of his own. Most Neons had times comparable to or slower than the Celicas in E Stock, both old and new Celicas.

So our work is still cut out for us. BTW, the guy in the 99 Camaro V6 finished 11th in G Stock last year and he STAYS in G Stock. His time last year was 114.843 which would probably keep him in the top 10 of a new G Stock class with Neons and Celicas dominating.

You really know how to cheer a guy up about the rules changes don't you??


BTW, is it me or does something seem a bit fishy putting a 4-door sedan in the same class as the GT/touring Coups? Would I be off in saying that I think some people are looking for advantages match-ups for their current cars?

I'm most worried about the Neon ACRs, too. The top guy in DS in my region (John Souder) runs an ACR and based on the results shown in the following link (Northwest Ohio Region..just follow the "RESULTS" links) we'd be pretty neck and neck right now. BTW, yes I have won three of the four events so far and the bad showing in the second race was the result of multiple coning on my first run while the Eclipse was clean, then the rains came and I couldn't catch up. But...it's not about winning (although that's nice), it's about having fun while becoming a better driver.

I suppose I should add the link, eh?
NWOR Solo II