PRO Class

[drum3]

Just wondering if we have a PRO class in our system.I was toying around with getting some of the top 10-15 drivers at Triad to run in a PRO pax class next year because I have had several weeks with no one in my class there.Up here its usually just me and Ryan and occassionally Tim in DSP. I thought if I could talk at least 5-10 people into running a PAX only PRO class next year it would make it more interesting for those of us with few cars or few well prepared cars in our classes. OK,how about it !!! Could we do an actual trophy and year end points class for a PRO Class ??? Would anyone else be interested in running a class like this ???????

[mseal]

I certainly would be interested in this idea. I realize that by looking at the pax for the year, I would not necessarily be near the top of a pro class, but it would certainly be more interesting than running by myself. No offense to the others in CS this year, but the level of preparation in most of the others in that class has hindered there ability to be competitive. By running pro, it would also open up some of the classes to the others and may increase there interest in competing on a somewhat more regular basis. In the event that some more competitive cars from other clubs were competing, like at the Commonwealth Games this year, would the option be available to compete in your regular class? I guess that would be a personal decision to be made event to event. Good idea worth considering.

Mick

[fullup1]

Do you want my car to win PRO class all the time? I mean, taking a beating in PAX is bad enough, but being in the same class?

Just kidding, I think a PRO class is a very good idea, since we generally know how a lot of the classes will finish at every autocross. I think since we all stand by the timer to see how other people are finishing in different classes anyway, this might be a good opportunity to just turn that into another class.

Aren't we allowed to use our own PAXing on the local level? Maybe the PAX indices for the cars running in PRO class could change based on the past event or two, that way the Stock indices wouldn't be so soft and the Street Prepared indices wouldn't be so tough. Kind of like a correction factor based on performance...like adding weight to cars if they win all the time. Of course this would only apply to cars in PRO class, so there would be a GSPRO, DSPPRO, HSPRO, etc.

[drum3]

Well,the paxs on other than stock classes are only hard if that car is NOT prepared to the limit of the class.So if you are not in a stock class and your car is NOT prepared close to the limit you shouldnt run in this class.
My friend Ken Kalill has his DM CRX,a very quick car,gets many FTD's, but is no where near its prepared limits and his PAX times indicate this.He wouldnt do well in this class because of this.
My car is still a long way from being prepared to the limit but its closer than most non-stock cars around and usually does ok in PAX.Now, if I had Phillip to run against in a PAX PRO class, then I would have more incentive to finish my mods and to drive the car at its limits !! Plus some new cars in DSP might not get frustrated at Me and Ryan running so far in front of them,and they can gradually build their cars to fit the class.

[rschumin]

Aren't we allowed to use our own PAXing on the local level? Maybe the PAX indices for the cars running in PRO class could change based on the past event or two,

OK, that is an interesting idea. Here is what I did. I indexed the class winning time for each event to the FTD for that event (class winner/ftd). Then I just averaged those up for each class across the 8 events so far this year. This index represents the cars and drivers that show up for our events. I think the same sort of logic is used to calculate the "real" PAX, but with a very different population of cars and drivers (those that run national events).

Class BRR Index
AS 0.922
ASP 0.932
BS 0.884
BSP 0.882
CS 0.918
CSP 0.922
DM 0.924
DS 0.902
DSP 0.955
EM 0.941
EP 0.853
ES 0.934
ESP 0.959
FM 0.978
FP 0.920
FS 0.928
FSP 0.890
GS 0.932
HS 0.901
SM 0.923
SM2 0.973
SS 0.928
STS 0.913
STS2 0.882
STU 0.913
STX 0.948


So maybe one of you who like the idea of a PRO class will work up the results for Mercer and see how it comes out.

[/code]

[DSPDA3]

By no means is the Acura prepared to the limit of DSP rules. Shoot, it's basically an STS-car with R-comps. Not even prepped to the limit of STS when I ran there last year. I would be willing to run a PRO class, but it would probably have to be in a well-prepped car, be it stock, SP, etc. The Acura probably won't be prepped to the limit for DSP for a while, if at all.

I like Ray's method of finding the 'BRR PAX' numbers. Judging from the indices, it looks like SM2, ESP, and DSP are our fastest classes. This makes sense. We've got the Moody Mustang, John K.'s Miata, Matt's STi, and Anthony in the Neon who regularly make up the top-10 times at each event.

But on the flip side, running the PRO classes would take away entries from the regular classes. Would PRO contenders be eligible for a year-end trophy in the regular class? Or are all PRO-entrants competing against each other for an overall PRO trophy at years end?

[glenthompson]

On the technical side, adding a PRO class is trivial. It would pretty much the same as the current Ladies and Novice classes. Adding our own Pax class while maintaining the standard pax is much more work.

[drum3]

Honestly I would just rather run the National PAX,if It gives someone like Phillip ,who is a good driver in a good car, an advantage,then I'll just have to drive that much harder. Although me and Ryan compete against each other I know he too worries just as much about placing high in the PAX and overall categories.We have basically been running this PRO class unofficially all year.I was Just wanting to force myself to shoot for higher goals,running against our best drivers in a class like this would do just that.You would have to be better than the best driver there!!! Would be possible to add this as a year end trophy/points class ???

[Imprezivblue]

Pro class can be a good thing, but there's another issue i'd like to bring up. If there's someone like me who isn't isn't eligable to win the points for the season in STS, there's a close race and i'd be "stealing points" if I drive halfway decently. I don't know if a "pro" class that's going to have season points is the answer. I know some people are big on season points and i'm not one of them but I don't think it's fair to the normal people running for points. I'd have no problem being stuck in some other class to ruin the points challenge. I'm out to compete and have fun. I could care less where you stick me, i just want to (and need to) work on my driving.

I don't know those were just some thoughts. . .

[ingrahammizzle]

edited - i saw the ESP index.

My car is a joke wrt national ESP prep. and it will be a joke next year in STU as well.

Would I run PRO? why would I, I am not all that fast and we already have FTD and FTP to compare stuff.

[drum3]

Pro class can be a good thing, but there's another issue i'd like to bring up. If there's someone like me who isn't isn't eligable to win the points for the season in STS, there's a close race and i'd be "stealing points" if I drive halfway decently. I don't know if a "pro" class that's going to have season points is the answer. I know some people are big on season points and i'm not one of them but I don't think it's fair to the normal people running for points. I'd have no problem being stuck in some other class to ruin the points challenge. I'm out to compete and have fun. I could care less where you stick me, i just want to (and need to) work on my driving.

The way I look at it if you run against me in a PRO class and beat me,then I didnt deserve the points.If we choose to run a class like this then we are saying we expect to drive our car to the limits of the class,and if we do we should have a good PAX time,if not then we lose.If you are worried about stealing points you can always run a Time Only.