A committee consisting of Sports Car Club of America® members and national staff has been hammering away on preliminary rules for the first Time Trials (TT) Nationals. Recently, the proposed rule set was the hot topic on an edition of Grassroots Motorsports Live!, which can be viewed through Grassroots Motorsports’ Facebook page or at the Grassroots Motorsports YouTube channel.
Heyward Wagner, SCCA’s Director of Marketing and Experiential Programs, was the guest on GRM Live! and said the rules unveiling began a three-week feedback period where SCCA® members and non-members alike can share thoughts and ideas. The rules are now available online for analysis at www.sccahq.com/time-trials-rules.
The TT Nationals rules were constructed to outline modifications/preparations that can be made in each of the four TT Nationals car classes. At one end of the spectrum is the “entry level” where simple modifications can be accomplished using tools purchased at nearly any local hardware store. At the other end of the spectrum is the “anything goes” class where creativity is welcomed and practically any car modification is allowed.
“Before writing any of these rules, the Time Trials Board discussed the purpose of the program. While other programs focus on parity, balanced performance and spec competition, it was felt that TT offers an opportunity to focus more on development, progression and performance,” Wagner said. “From this, we arrived at the idea that Time Trials is all about a quest for speed. So, the rules are designed to allow for more freedom and creativity than you might find in autocross or road racing. And, while that is important in establishing an identity for TT, it is equally important to create a culture for TT Nationals where participants can first challenge themselves to set a personal best or record, but also create a space for a collective effort to challenge the track.”
In 2018, TT Nationals joins the ranks of the SCCA National Championship Runoffs®, Tire Rack Solo® Nationals, DirtFish SCCA RallyCross National Championship and Unites States Road Rally Challenge. The event, slated to take place Sept. 28-30 at NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, opens with a full day of track lapping sessions for testing and practice or can be used for participants to earn their TT novice license permit.
The second day of TT Nationals will open with 20-minute seeding sessions used to determine run groups and orders, followed by a traditional time attack in the afternoon where drivers get one warm-up lap, then have a single lap to post their best time.
For the final day of TT Nationals, NCM Motorsports Park will be divided into sections for point-to-point runs. Each competitor will have multiple chances to put down their best time on shortened segments of track.
“This year we aim to establish SCCA as the leader in amateur Time Trials competition in the United States,” Wagner added. “Additionally, we will look to generate an event format for the TT Nationals that can be adopted in whole or parts by regions for their TT events. We want to help regions see how TT can be a useful tool for drawing automotive enthusiasts to the Club to have fun with cars.”
More information about SCCA Time Trials can be found at https://www.scca.com/pages/time-trials.
