mx5 only sprint class in the South West

[binnerboy]

Dave,

ride height raised 10mm at the rear when I got the alignment done, so the dampers actually work now !

cheers

James

[binnerboy]

photos from the event here

http://www.jackflashphotography.co.uk/p381218115

the photos above are the mx5 only class. I came last in class , I had a great time though.

On to the next one at Llandow

[sandys]

It was an experience trying to go quick as you can with no trackday cone markers

This is an interesting shot.

http://www.jackflashphotography.co.uk/p381218115/h...

I didn't realize there was an MX5 4x4, that image makes me laugh.

[andylaurence]

I guess Garry's not running coilovers then! That photo shows just how much the track drops away for the second apex at Bobbies.

[Antracer]

im thinking its showing how soft modern 5's are. massive body roll. which mark won the 5 class anyways?

[sandys]

A nicely tuned mk1 took the win for that round, sounded great full chat down the straight closely followed by 2 mk3s, I was in 3rd place with mine

It was quite a close class really between all the models, quite a few first time sprinters, myself included (first experience of rwd for me with the purchase of the 5 in Jan) , so next year I would expect better times from everyone.

Edited by sandys on Monday 30th March 11:37

[andylaurence]

Whilst that might have been the case overall, if you look at the times on the second lap, it was Mk3 > Mk 2.5 > Mk 3 > Mk1, so it appears that the generation of car isn't too important. Interestingly, some of the MX5 drivers who've bought cars that were already lowered and stiffened have had to raise them to actually get enough suspension travel to work - lower and stiffer isn't always the best way!

[sandys]

Mine has yet to have money spent on it, it is like Garrys stock bar lowering springs, so lots of roll, feels nice enough though, its hard to say really where all the models would actually fall as not many were stock, do stock MX5s exist a few were running trackday tyres from list 1B for example, plus coilies, engine mods etc, the Mk3s were on road tyres though.

[mx5tom]

I'm quite interested in the Llandow round of the MX5 sprint. I tried looking on the BMC website but couldn't see a date, have I missed it?

[sandys]

Here you are

http://bristolmc.org.uk/mx5challenge/
http://bristolmc.org.uk/llandow-sprint/

Edited by sandys on Monday 30th March 13:38

[sandys]

I was thinking about it, it would be good to restrict the regs to List 1A next year, keeps costs and complexity reasonable and would also be compatible with the HSA A2.1 class for MX5s also.

[binnerboy]

Sandy, my wife would like that as that would be one less swt of tyres in the garage !

[sandys]

I don't mind buying tyres but want to be able to use them effectively, with sprints being such little track time, its a lot of dough for very little payback, as you are unable to use the List 1B tyres for other fun stuff the MX5 can compete in like Autosolos which also form part of the MX5 challenge they seem a little OTT allowing them, I burn up enough tyres in the Autosolo championships, it would annoy to have a set of tyres in the shed I might only use for 30mins a year

[andylaurence]

1A tyres were considered for the championship, but in an effort to align with all the other non-championship sprints/hillclimbs in the area, 1B tyres were allowed. Most of the competitors that had signed up at the beginning were existing sprinters and they already had 1B tyres, as do many track day drivers. I'll canvas all the regular competitors at the end of the season to decide what changes (if any) are to be made for 2016.

[HorneyMX5]

A separate FI class would be good in the future as they're are a lot of boosted 5s around now.

[andylaurence]

There may be lots of boosted MX5s, but they are already competitive in AutoSolos and Sprints as they fit neatly into class A3. The reason the MX5 Challenge was started is because the MX5 is a massively popular car, but is unfortunate in the class structure for sprints as the 1840cc capacity puts it in the 1800-2600cc class, yet a Lotus Elise can easily beat it and that fits in the class below. The MX5 Challenge created a place for MX5 owners to compete cheaply and competitively. There's no need for a boosted MX5 because they can already win their class and therefore have a shot at the overall Bristol Speed Championship.