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Old 18 Apr 2018, 01:57 (Ref:3816282)   #248
FormulaFox
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FormulaFox is heading for a stewards' enquiry!
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Originally Posted by jjvincent View Post
Add 200 hp to a GT3 car and it becomes an unreliable machine that costs a fortune to operate. You can get 25hp safely but after that, it becomes a point where you are flushing money down the toilet.
GT3 engines are capable of far more than you give them credit for. They're often talked about as the basis for low(relatively) cost LMP1 engines for a reason.

That said....

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Thus, GT3 becomes too expensive to run. No need to run it when a 25 year old chassis and an LS motor for $40K will be suffice.
While you disagree on the reasoning for it, you seem to be ignoring that I'm making the same point on this matter.

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As for TA, who are exactly the people that WANT these high hp cars? It's not the fans (because they don't show up today) it's not the competitors (because they don't show up today) so,

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Originally Posted by broadrun96 View Post
Exactly what jjvincent said, who are these fans? It's not like TransAm had people beating down the doors to attend the races or teams to run TA1.
The Trans Am fanbase may not be as big as it once was, but it does still exist. Trans Am lost a lot of it's following thanks to mismanagement in the wake of the manufacturer departure in the late 90s, true, but to act like there isn't a fanbase is...well, ignorant. Same with acting like there aren't any competitors, because the fact of the matter is if there werne't anyway, the series wouldn't be running.

Trans Am may not be up to it's former glory, but to say nobody's watching and nobody's participating is just...wrong. ESPECIALLY on the participation side.

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As for the race, great they're wide bat guano crazy cars but there's one car and the rest of the field. Ok, now maybe 2 but Dyson and Francis could have started a lap after and still won at Road Atlanta. They both sound spun at T1 from Francis pushing Dyson wide and yet I believe they were still up a lap on EVERYONE. The TA2 race was actually a race, TA1 was a romp and boring after the noise got to be too much and my ears were bleeding.
And thus we get to the part of my point that it's starting to feel like is being DELIBERATELY ignored.

We got a little sidetracked with whether or not you could make TA1 and GT3 race alongside each other viably, but that really was ignoring the original point of the comparison to begin with. It wasn't really supposed to be about whether it was possible, or even if it was a good idea, it was supposed to underline the issue that's keeping the TA1 participation down: It's too expensive for Trans Am's current situation.

Compared to a GT3 car, a TA1 car is a steal. But it's just plain too pricey for where it IS racing, and that's reflected in the very matter you bring up - there are only four or five(though RA didn't show it) real competitors in TA1.

Yet in TA2, there are MANY teams that will tell you they'd love to be in TA1, but the budget for it simply doens't exist. Ask the fans that do attend and watch, and the majority will tell you that as much as they love TA2, they also want to see TA1 become a big deal again

Which brings us to this...

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If they don't find a TA1.5 I don't think TA1 is long for the world.
...which is a huge part of my point. Trans Am needs TA1, yet it's unsustainable in current situation. Thus, what you term as "TA1.5" becomes something that needs to be sought out.

It's not a problem just for TA, either - GT1 is one of the SCCA's weakest classes in participation(you woudn't know that from the Runoffs last year, but the entry requirements have been relaxed so much that NO class looked bad last year, even the eons everyone knows are on borrowed time), yet VERY few want to see it go away.

The is of upgrading TA2 cars, which I am now going to refer to as "TA1.5" for the sake of simplicity(though "TA1.8" would be more accurate to the potential of the upgrade :P ), has benefits beyond just the Trans Am Series. At the very least it could breathe life into a fading club class, and if the SCCA doesn't hold onto it too jealously it can be option for other series struggling with car counts that want cars that are near-GT3 quick but without the price tag.

TA1.5 is a necessary direction.

Let's put it like this; TA1 would be in great shape if it could get...four or five more competitive full-time entries. Do you really think losing four or five cars would hurt TA2? (especially if, as rumor suggests, the TA West Coast championship will be shut down after this season)
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