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Originally Posted by MikeK
Oh I forgot about the mini!
CHANGE THE DAMNED PAX FACTORS!!! Damned cheater cars
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The PAX factors for 2006 totally boned the G-Stock Army. And who knows what things will be like with all the changes to Street Prepared and boost. I'm laughing my ass off if we ditch the PAX Championship and the new PAX factors/car classes would have allowed Miata's to suddenly be super-competative.
Mike, I think you hit the nail on the head in describing what it takes to win at autocross. Your statement holds true, not only for the PAX Championship, but also for the class chapmionships as well. If you want to win, you have to cross the line first. Being the best driver isn't the only thing that puts you in victory lane.
Look at MSC... does anyone think he went from being the most dominant driver in the history of F1 to a mid-packer over one off season? No, he's probably still the best (or close to) driver in F1. The difference is that Bridgestone couldn't produce a competative tire, and the Ferrari's lost some of their technological advantage to Mercades and Renault. 'Course, the other thing to note about the similarities to F1, all it took was Ferrari (the ousted champs) bitching to the FIA (Reno SCCA board members) enough to get the single tire rules changed (dropping PAX) for next season.
The longtime Reno SCCA members need to realize that as part of the evolution of the sport, the cars that were traditionally autocross monsters are now not as competative. For example, the Miata was an amazing car when it 1st showed up. For the first time since the british sports cars of the 60's was there a fun, quick, balanced car in the US. And since the SCCA was founded by people driving little british sports cars, it's obvious that the Miata would fit right in. Add the reliability of a Japanese car to the package, and you suddenly have a very dominant car.
The problem is that the Miata's strength is being bested by technology. The Miata was competative because it was easy to drive at the limit and had great manuverability, light weight, and enough power. Well today, we've got cars like the STI. Sure it's not a finesse car, but it's got 200hp *more* than the Miata, and technological advantages that make it just as easy to drive as the Miata. Of course it's going to mop up... and it's really not just the altitude advantage.
The bottom line is just as Mike put it, if you want to win, you have to drive well, with the right car, in the right class. That's what racing has *always* been about. If you used to be the champion, and now you're not, you have to ask yourself "what part of the 3 parts am I missing". Just because the answer isn't "well I guess I'm just not the best driver anymore", it doesn't mean that the competition is unfair. Sometimes the best driver doesn't win... look at Kimi and Michael in '05.