At 08:31 PM 06/19/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>Brad Cox asks:
>"Do you folks think the S2000 will ever catch the Miata in Solo2?"
>
>An interesting question, which raises another question. Didn't it take a
>while for the Miata to be developed into a successful autocross car? I'm
>not trying to make a point here; I'm actually asking the question. I can't
>remember, but it seems like the car (Miata) was originally written off as
>being too "twitchy". Those of you who were some of the first to autocross
>Miatas, how long was it after their introduction, that they became strong
>autocross contenders?
I was the first to win a Nationals trophy in a Miata (8th place) in 1991,
over 2 years after the car was introduced. Bob Klingler won the first
National Championship in a Miata in 1994, 5 years after the car was
introduced in 1989.
The Miata was thought to be only an ok autocross car for the first couple
of years it was out. Partly that was because of the lack of development and
partly because of the skinny 185/60-14 tires we were forced to run on then.
Luckily for me BFG forgot to send the 185s I ordered on the truck to the
Seattle Divisional and I got stuck with 195/60s instead (and which I later
used for Nationals).
Maybe it was the tires or maybe it was dumb rookie luck but I was 3rd
fastest of 40 after first runs at Nationals that year, finished 4th the
first day and 8th overall after the second day. Needless to say everyone
was surprised and wondered who the heck I was and what I had done to my
car. The next year the 008RS tire came out in a 205/55 size and the Miata
has continued an unbroken string of trophies to this day. However it took
Bob Klinger and his red '94 R to finally bring the Miata it's first
National Championship and it was not much later that the class became
nothing but Miatas.
IMHO the S2000 is already almost there, at least for tours, and it stands a
good chance of winning this year. Who knows how good it will be in 2 or 10
years?
- Alan Dahl
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