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First off, huge thanks to the tireless efforts of Matt and Tony (and others) for moving this ahead in some form of reasonable fashion - I've been a bit out of the loop with my insane schedule this year (17 of the last 19 weekends were at tracks all across North America).

The big deal here is the support from Mazda - with that, we have some leverage. I don't have an exact number (as nobody does right now), but I'm certain the engine will cost much less than what Carl is predicting. The fact that this bolts directly into any of the Duratech spec cars from the UK is a great thing - and pretty much mandatory to open the market to new cars. 175 h.p. is about what the original YAC came in at, and that is an engine that is substantially heavier than the MZR - and the performance was GREAT. Those who feel that the current Pinto cars have a great balance of power and handling have not truly experienced how much more fun "just" another 25 horspower or so is. As for the gearboxes, I defer to the UK cars, who run 200 hp, do standing starts, and have NO gearbox problems. Even with MK9 gears. We just don't have enough tire (read grip) to make the drivetrain work much harder. If the cars were to go to 8's and 10's, we'd open up a big can of worms in terms of driveline reliability. I like that we are keeping the 6's and 8's...

That being said, all the new cars being produced in Duratech form already use a rear wing - not a terribly effective one, but that's the point. The UK spec wing is no more effective aerodynamically than a really well designed tail and spoiler - it's just easier to get right. Certainly, a good aero guy will capitalize on rear deck/wing interaction, but as I experimented with greatly (and spent tens of thousands of dollars on), this interaction only yields minimal benefits compared to other development items (geometry tuning for new spec tires, shock developement, etc.). The wing truly helps differentiate the "new" S2 from the old - and as stated above, when a guy gets passed by a car with a wing, he knows the car has the Duratech in it and he's not really competing with that car. I know on the Van Diemen, that the original "low" tail was not as effective with or without the rear wing. Even in the UK, the newer spec bodywork features a higher rear deck and a spoiler that interacts somewhat with the wing. A wing will NOT completely outdate all the bodywork out there - just gives everyone one more place to tune on the car..

I have spoken with several of the vintage and club guys about why they don't want the pinto upgrades - these guys largely focus on either regional or vintage racing, and really only dabble in Nationals to support the class numbers. Most of these drivers would continue to dabble in Nationals only if they didn't have to change their cars to keep running all three venues. They already know they are not chasing guys like Fergus and Mercer for overall wins - but they wouldn't mind racing for their own "Pinto Class" victories if the big dogs all switch to the MZR. In regional competition, I think it would be likely that two actual classes of S2 will crop up - sort of like the days when "SS2" was around on the west coast for the pre-DB2 chassis. In Nationals, everyone would have to run together - as we do now with the other "wings and things" cars. Oh, and Carl is dead on about the uprated pinto ending up being a "package" deal that will need to be tuned on to maximize - change the cam, and there may be a reason to make the minor changes to the combustion chamber you're allowed, different valve grinds might work - who knows - but someone will spend the money to sort it out, and make all the other engines obsolete (again)...

My discussions with SCCA directors (and Jim Julow) lead me to believe that if we put together a decent proposal for a "new S2" class, one that has cost controls built into it, and that fits well between SRF and CSR/DSR, they will guarantee us five years to get the numbers up. It's during these initial years that we need to "sell" the class - that includes manufacturers (such as myself) and competitors all gearing up to let the racing world know how cool the new class is, and how cost effective and fun the racing can be. Not an easy task...

Everyone is freaked out about not making the numbers - but if the class doesn't evolve and bring in new cars and drivers, we won't make the numbers anyway. Look at the herculean effort put out this year (several guys showing up to National races just to start the race and park it!), and we still ended up 24th and barely above 2.5! The status quo won't get it done - new cars and new blood have to come in - up from the SRF ranks and down from the D/CSR ranks - but those guys need a reason to do so - and a better, more cost effective S2 is a good start...

Keep on task here - we're closer than we've ever been to getting this right! And think about the wing - I'll be glad to provide input or data as needed, as I have run these cars both here (ACRL days) and in the UK with the rear wing fitted, as well as two decades worth of time running without the rear wing...

EP