MX5 racing

geeveejay · Post by **geeveejay** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 8:49 pm

I am relatively new to NZ having joined the masses leaving the UK. Since arriving in NZ I have bought a 1991 Roadster, I am very impressed with it , to the point were I drive this daily instead of my Sti Impreza . I have competed in various level of motorsport, and have been trying to find something to get into here in NZ. I have been looking at the E3o BMW championship, I dont think I could see myself buying a BM though!. It seems to me there is a missed opportunity in MX5 racing. Has this ever been tried here? and would there be any interest? There is a succesful series in the UK with the cars very strictly controlled. ie control suspension tyres wheels etc, this is open to 1600 cars. I note there is also a series in the US.
Trade me is full of suitable cars. I would welcome any ideas or suggestions. I have been in touch with the UK series co-ordinator who seems pretty helpful. They are currently developing a cage that fits under the hood,this would open up targa style events marking up part of a series

SLYDIT · Post by **SLYDIT** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:18 pm

There were attempts to get a racing class going a few years ago but it didnt get off the ground..

The way the racing classes are arranged here in NZ, the MX5 misses the boat in terms of competitiveness. It doesnt qualify for classic car status and it gets lumped in with modified Imprezzas and Evos in modern classes. With this narrow scope for a class to run in,, many are unwilling to spend the money on a race car that has no where to race.

Also with the RX7 race class already running, there is a shortage of parts for the MX with gearboxes and diffs going to the RX7 crowd instead of MX owners as they will pay more for these parts.

so in other words....don't hold your breath.

SLYDIT · Post by **SLYDIT** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:24 pm

There were attempts to get a racing class going a few years ago but it didnt get off the ground..

The way the racing classes are arranged here in NZ, the MX5 misses the boat in terms of competitiveness. It doesnt qualify for classic car status and it gets lumped in with modified Imprezzas and Evos in modern classes. With this narrow scope for a class to run in,, many are unwilling to spend the money on a race car that has no where to race.

Also with the RX7 race class already running, there is a shortage of parts for the MX with gearboxes and diffs going to the RX7 crowd instead of MX owners as they will pay more for these parts.

so in other words....don't hold your breath.

Post by **jif** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:22 pm

On 25/02/2008, SLYDIT <mx5talk@mx5forum.co.nz (mx5talk@mx5forum.co.nz)> wrote:

There were attempts to get a racing class going a few years ago but it didnt get off the ground..

yep, it was mostly due to Tim Nevinson (now with Classic Car magazine) ... didn't it peter out because he, ironically, went off to the UK?

On the plus side, the lack of that racing class has meant affordable hardtops, torsen LSDs and forged BBS wheels - unlike in the States ! :]

[Posted via external email]

MN · Post by MN » Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:47 pm

Yes but it may be possible to run a series in conjunction with say the Taupo Winter series. We could race in their class C and most of us would be at the back (stock) or towards the front (turbo'd) and get points for finishing relative to each other, a series within a series as well as getting points for their championship. 4-5 rounds in a central location. If we put our minds to it it could be quite simple really. However getting a spec suitable may be a challenge. The 3 fives racing at Taupo last year for the 2 rounds I did were all to different specs but 2 of us were quite close in lap time.

Cage design is done and dusted and well proven as legal, running top up or down so no issues there.

Growler · Post by **Growler** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 10:38 am

I was involved with Tim Nevinson and someone else from Lotus (For the love of me I can't remember his name). I had written up some rules and regulations for an MX5 standalone class (And still have them). I had about 30 people interested in racing so had the numbers.
It kind of tapered off because A)Tim wanted the car to be stock standard where I wanted to allow some minor modifications [brakes etc]) and B)No one was interested in running it further. At the time I couldn't put the time needed to run it by myself.
I still have good contacts in the Motorsport field so if we had confirmed numbers and good numbers I (With the help of a small committee) could get this off the ground again.
Mazda NZ spoke to me quite a few years ago about starting something but that fizzled. A friend of mine who races a Chevron said they would allow MX5's in his class but I said that wouldn't work as they aren't competitive. (For a start a Cheron weighs 600something kilos compared to an MX5 at 1000something kilos). The latest is someone trying to start a class for sportscars like the MX5, Honda S2000, Porsche Boxter etc. Buy a Honda S2000 and you will blitz them!.

Growler.

Gordon Tucker · Post by **Gordon Tucker** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 8:01 pm

Don Mclean at Autoway Services in Hamilton has just built up a track/targa NA. If you contact him, he will be able to tell you about the sportscar series in the planning.

geeveejay · Post by **geeveejay** » Thu Feb 28, 2008 8:28 pm

was interested in the comments, I have been in touch with the coordinator of the UK series ,its well worth looking at UK site max5racing. The British series seems to run around a pretty standard car. Whilst I like modifying vehicles I can see the arguements for and against. I would not want to labour around a circuit, but then if the cars are relatively standard it keeps the cost down and should be easier to police. Some of the best racing I have ever witnessed was Mini 7. These wernt fast cars but I have seen a race recieve a standing ovation due to the action in it. I suppose there is always the possibilty of running two classes.
One of my work colleuges here races in the Alfa trophy he felt that the due to the age of the early MX5s now they are the same age as some of the Alfas that run in classic race series. My own thoughts were control tyres, suspension, some brake mods and limited engine, such as exhaust and induction, also removal of carpets and trim, the British series has a control cage as well, which is a good idea, as weight can be more strictly controlled I have read through the BMW series regs, these are very strict and even allow or the swopping of ECUs between vehicles these are worth a read through too as there are some good ideas in them, the BMW series currently have 80 plus registered. I am sure there will be enough people out there ho would be intrested a grid of 20-30 cars would be good starting point.

I am currently looking to sell my Subaru I brought in from the UK. Once I have the funds from this I am more than happy too put my money where my mouth is.

Growler · Post by **Growler** » Fri Feb 29, 2008 11:20 am

geeveejay wrote:was interested in the comments, I have been in touch with the coordinator of the UK series ,its well worth looking at UK site max5racing. The British series seems to run around a pretty standard car. Whilst I like modifying vehicles I can see the arguements for and against. I would not want to labour around a circuit, but then if the cars are relatively standard it keeps the cost down and should be easier to police. Some of the best racing I have ever witnessed was Mini 7. These wernt fast cars but I have seen a race recieve a standing ovation due to the action in it. I suppose there is always the possibilty of running two classes.
One of my work colleuges here races in the Alfa trophy he felt that the due to the age of the early MX5s now they are the same age as some of the Alfas that run in classic race series. My own thoughts were control tyres, suspension, some brake mods and limited engine, such as exhaust and induction, also removal of carpets and trim, the British series has a control cage as well, which is a good idea, as weight can be more strictly controlled I have read through the BMW series regs, these are very strict and even allow or the swopping of ECUs between vehicles these are worth a read through too as there are some good ideas in them, the BMW series currently have 80 plus registered. I am sure there will be enough people out there ho would be intrested a grid of 20-30 cars would be good starting point.

I am currently looking to sell my Subaru I brought in from the UK. Once I have the funds from this I am more than happy too put my money where my mouth is.

It would be so easy to allow some modifications and control what was done. You could say that weight removal is free as long as the car is no lighter than say 850kgs. You can also control the integrity of the chassis by saying that all cars need to be registered and warranted (I have seen some dodgy engineering practises on race cars in the past!).
You could have a standard roll cage (MANZ Approved) as long as it works well (Picking up all of the suspension points etc).
If people are really keen I can resurrect the rules I had written and go through them again.
Somewhere I have a full set of rules and regulations for the SCCA Miata racing class in America as well.
Let me know if anyone is interested.

Growler.

MN · Post by MN » Fri Feb 29, 2008 9:05 pm

I'm really interested as I've raced mine before and will probably do so again this year at Taupo, but I'm not driving to Pukekohe from Wellington, just too far.

I'd be interested in seeing the proposed specs and discussing them. If the class specs don't suit then I won't change my car either, that includes keeping it fully carpeted with air con and radio. Its a weight penalty I have to live with and happy to do so. Basically stock with minor suspension, brake and tyre size mods would be fine for me.

Post by **zorruno** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 2:23 pm

Growler wrote:If people are really keen I can resurrect the rules I had written and go through them again.
Somewhere I have a full set of rules and regulations for the SCCA Miata racing class in America as well.
Let me know if anyone is interested.
Growler.

I'm glad this is being talked about again, although it is unlikely it would be something I'd ever find the time to compete in I'd definitely support it & help where I can.

Growler - if you wanted to place the copies of those docs here you can upload/attach them as zip files.. unless they are huge. Otherwise I could put them somewhere else.

If there is enough general interest, I can start by opening up a specific MX5 racing/motorsport topic on this forum for discussions.

cheers

kiwipete · Post by **kiwipete** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 10:43 pm

MX5 racing

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Pete

[Posted via external email]

Keith Jones · Post by **Keith Jones** » Mon Mar 17, 2008 9:21 pm

I've just spent an excellent weekend at Pukekohe with the NZ Sports Car Club racing at the Historic Racing Club meeting. After getting a decreasing number of meetings each year with the Auckland Car Club I was looking for another club to join. I noticed the comments in an earlier message about MX5s not being competitive but decided to give it a go and signed up for the NZSCC racing series.

What I found was quite encouraging. There were effectively two groups of cars, the out and out sports cars - Sakers, Nemesis and Radical - which were lapping in the 60 to 65 second bracket, but also the Chevrons and similar cars lapping in 70 to 75 seconds. I ended the weekend at the front end of this second group.

Talking to the main club organiser, Grant Johnstone, he said that they would love to have more MX5s competing and are looking at ways of changing the club's profile and meetings to try and attract more would be racers who might have been put off by the fast lap times of the top cars.

I found them to be a very friendly bunch of guys with the goal of getting good size grids of similar speed cars that would provide entertaining racing for both competitors and spectactors, not just looking to be the fastest thing on the track.

They have their AGM in June in Taupo which I will be attending. If there were sufficient MX5 racers interested I would be happy to present a case for us having a sub series for MX5s within their series. We may have to have have two groups, one for mainly standard cards with only limited modifications and the other for open cars with unlimited mods. This would be a lot less hassle than trying to arrange our own series.

The next NZSCC meeting is in April at Manfield, which I won't be entering, but maybe interested MX5 members might want to go and have a look at.
The final meeting is in May at Taupo which I will be at.

Keith

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