TOPEKA, Kan. (March 15, 2018) -- The Sports Car Club of America’s Time Trials Board released a series of updates to the proposed Time Trials Nationals rules and it is available online at www.sccahq.com/time-trials-rules.
Updates include naming of each of the four levels, adjustments to rules, a preliminary record book and the publication of all feedback received through March 6th with responses from the TTB. The updated rules are available now and will be open for comment and input until April 6th. The TTB is targeting April 16th for the rules to be finalized.
The guiding light in this process is the concept that Time Trials is a quest for speed, and while there are a number of preparation groups to allow and encourage participation at varying levels of commitment and investment, the rules are being written to create space for creativity, development and progression more than parity or balance.
The rules are also intended to fit between established motorsports participants and to those who have not found their place in competition motorsports. This is to say; many current competition vehicles may very well fit into a TT Nationals classification but there is an equal intent to create classes that appeal to enthusiasts who may dabble in track days, autocross or even other time trials series, but do not yet have a motorsports home.
As a result, these classes should be thought of as a unique rule set, positioned between Autocross and Road Racing. As with regional Autocross, SCCA Regions and Divisions have the ability to craft programs as they see fit and it is likely a Regional or Divisional program pulls a number of classes from each Autocross, Road Racing and TT Nationals rule sets to fit their local markets. For TT Nationals, it is the opinion of the TTB that the event should have a limited number of classes and thus will only offer the classes included within the finalized rule set.
The recommended naming of the four levels of preparation are Sport, Tuner, Max and Unlimited. The Sport Category is a basic and simple bolt-on level, intended to allow competitors to increase the driving enjoyment of their cars without the complication of numerous set-up adjustments. Tuner classes give competitors the ability to install parts with a higher level of adjustability and Max is intended to represent the maximum level of modification while staying appropriate for the street. The fourth level, Unlimited, carries that naming to indicate that these cars are bound only by safety and the outer limits of sanity.
The most significant changes to the rule set can be found in the third preparation level, now known as the Max Category. Previously this level had sought to combine highly modified street legal vehicles and cars prepared to existing Solo and Road Race rule sets. Feedback on the concept was nearly unanimous that, regardless of potential lap times, there is a fundamental and cultural difference between street cars and race cars, and the two should be separated. From this, the updated version of the rules now restricts the Max Category to street-appropriate cars.
This, in effect means that any vehicles utilizing race tires will be moved to the unlimited category. This decision was made based upon research and data that strongly suggests that the vast majority of potential participants are most interested in competing on 200 tread wear rated tires, and the prevailing belief that offering a class for each existing rule set would be inappropriate for a National Level event.
To create an opportunity to engage partners and create recognition for both established categories and unique vehicle configurations, the goal is to keep a TT Nationals record book to serve as a marker of achievement within existing classes and vehicle subsets, so no matter where a vehicle’s preparation level falls within the TT Nationals classing, every TT or Solo or Road Racing competitor can vie for a record and try to break it every year.
Records will not be limited to SCCA classes. The intent is to offer superlative records such as overall track record, fastest street car and fastest electric or hybrid. Those interested can use the interactive rules page to suggest additional records to keep.
For more information on Time Trials Nationals, visit: SCCA Time Trials Nationals Home.
The Sports Car Club of America®, Inc., founded in 1944, is a 67,500-member motorsports organization that incorporates all facets of autocross, rally and road racing at both Club and professional levels. With headquarters in Topeka, Kansas, the SCCA annually sanctions over 2,000 events through its 116 Regions and subsidiary divisions. Much of the SCCA's activities are made possible with support from the following Official Partners: Chevrolet, the Official Truck of the SCCA; Hawk Performance, the Official Brake Products of SCCA; Mobil 1, the Official Oil of SCCA; Sunoco, the Official Fuel of SCCA; and Tire Rack, the Official Tire Retailer of SCCA. To learn more, please visit www.scca.com.
