To Frank and others who have picked a thread out of my survey response...let
me be clarify a bit before a class war starts out of all of this....smile
I'd love to see all the Trimphs race...including some of the screaming rallye
and later SCCA cars (including the later TR8's, etc).
My comment was in response to whether I would want to race with them or
not....and I would not. I happen to like to 1967 cutoff we've enjoyed for
many years in VARA and indeed prep my car to a class we call EP 1. The "1"
designation (as opposed to the "2" designation of a Triumph prep manual
Kastner replica like our #190 car which Pual Smock now drives) says the
second car we built and I now drive, is in the strictest sense a replica of
the technology the club racer had when he drove to the Santa Barbara ranch or
Pomona Fairgrounds in the 50's and 60's...removed his spare tire.... and
raced with fellow enthusiasts on straw bermed street courses. Today we add
the necessary modern safety equipment of course.... but my car has all the
required street gear reqired to license the car (indeed it IS street
licensed) such as an interior, carpet, pass seat, full width windscreen,
heater, lights, bias ply tires, SU carbs, stock displacement, can run on pump
gas and even has a radio!!.
I enjoy racing with the handfull of us who participate in this level of
preparation but that does not mean it is for everyone and I did not mean that
I did not want later TR's racing. I may have missed the intent of the
question as I was simply stating that I had no interest in racing in the same
class as those of later GCR or vintage pedigree.
With respect to '72 and later cars, VARA has maintained a 1967 cutoff (not
1972 as other groups) for the last 15 years or more and only recently started
a Group "3" designation for cars up to 1972 (by default that would mean 1967
to 1972). If sticking to the rules of the class in which I subscibe to race
makes me a purist so be it....and I take no offense at that....but the cut
off has benn argued and maintained for many years in Vintage racing for
exactly the reasons that Susan stated.... 1972 was a generation of technology
change that simply displaced the technology we have raced with in our
1950/60's vintage autos. Maybe not so revolutionary for Triumph.... but in
the open field of "vintage" that means that my agricultural TR4 would have to
compete with 7000+ rpm revving twin or overhead cam Japanese hardware with
full coil over or McPherson suspensions and five speed close ration gearboxes
in 1200 pound cars.
I just don't have much interest in spending my track time dodging closing
rice rockets when by maintaining a technology/age cutoff I can spend it
competeing with like prepared cars. I have to assume it's a lot like dodging
the D Sports racers we occasionally fill the grid with at some of the smaller
race venues......I don't really enjoy that either but understand the
economics of the mix at times.
Now ,if the various sanctioning bodies start to grow the 1972 or even later
vintage cars, I say GOOD. Good for FOT, good for the Triumph marque and good
for all the owners who want to race that vintage. But give them their own
class to race in. I'd love to watch that sort of wheel to wheel as much as
formula 1!! But I have no interest in being on the track with Slagels TR8
closing on my in turn 9 at Willow.
So hope that clarifies.
Let all Triumphs race (love to see SCCA Spits still beating modern Miata's,
etc.)
Let post 1972 autos be as vintage as they like ... and give them their own
classes (although I still say they should go back to steel and get rid of the
fiberglass if they want to race 'vintage'....but that is a personal opinion)
Keep the 1967 Group 1 and 2 preparations racing together.... and even the
group 3 up to 1972 cars .... but give the 1972 and later their own classes.
I'd love to help with a TR FOT race event if it's at Monterey or other
significant west coast track. And would love to race it as well.
But I prefer to race and bench race rather than 'show' to race at a spectator
event and get more track time rather more 'press' time .... but again a
personal preference so don't hold that against me.
OK...more than four bits in this one...hope it helps.
Cheers and Happy Holidays to all FOT
Bill Burroughs
E Ticket Triumphs
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