pantablo

Miata Challenge
2014 recap
36 competitors
4 classes
7 tracks
$2,000 ‘purse’


The first rule of Miata Challenge: It’s not Fight Club.

These 36 participants took their fun to the track to really see how fun the car can be and to see just how wide a smile they can crack.

There are 4 classes:
-Street, aka I’m pretty stock and I think I have a helmet somewhere.
-Modified, aka I think I like this and want more.
-Super-Modified, aka don’t tell my wife what I’ve done to the car!
-Unlimited, aka there’s a Miata under there somewhere.

Every single class has as much fun as the rest. Fun and “smiles you can’t get off your face all day” have nothing to do with how talented a driver you are or how ‘sorted’ your car is. Nothing. These 36 guys and gals know that to be the truth.

This year, 2014, at year end this “gentleman racer” series offered up $400 to EACH overall class winner, $200 to EACH overall class 2nd place finisher and $100 to EACH overall class 3rd place finisher. That’s real money, not Confederacy IOU’s.

End of year results:
Street Class
Consistency more than speed alone wins series championships and this was proven true most in this class. Starting strong early in the year by late spring they probably got distracted by the wildflowers or the great BBQ nearby. Shame too as one racer missed the minimum number of events by one. While none were eligible for the overall year end results (due to not attending minimum of 4 events) they deserve to be recognized.

-dirtymiata (not his real name) was first in points.-Patrick C was second in points.-Eric Lin and Ryan Russell tied for third in points.

Modified Class
13 drivers participated in this class, including dirtymiata (not his real name). He must have modified his car and decided to run in the bigger field. Consistency paid big dividends here in this hotly contested battle.

-1st place: racer x (its tattooed on his neck so probably his real name)-2nd place: Javier Orellana who literally drove the wheels off his car, or at least one.
-3rd place: Alen Tseng in his thinly veiled “street” car.

Super-Modified Class
Here’s where the real action was. 19 racers…NINETEEN RACERS battled it out for bragging rights and the privilege of bringing good beer to next year’s pre race-night trackside BBQ’s. Incredible field, especially considering several regulars were sidelined this year! ONE point separated the first and second place finishers. UNO! And this without ANY paint exchanged! It was just brilliant to watch them in action.

-1st place: Emilio Cervantes. His real name is actually Jaime.
-2nd place: belwilliam, chasing Emilio throughout the series with a smile on his face (probably because he was driving one of Emilio's cars, lol).[William Chen]
-3rd place: Sonny Watanasirisuk, His real name. God I hope that’s his real name.

Unlimited Class
This class is the smallest class with just two competitors, probably because the cars are so incredibly fast and furious they spend more time racing in other state and national level races. Or not. The only one of the two that completed 4 or more events was the overall winner. The other one spent some time in Super-Modified too so he was pretty busy.

-1st place: Richie Wimmer. He was so fast I never saw him so I can’t really say anything about him.


It was a banner year.
Why did you buy your Miata? You probably have several reasons. It’s light. It’s rear wheel drive. It’s a perfect balance of weight distribution and responsive power. It’s a manual. It’s rear wheel drive. Girls love it. It’s so much damn fun!

Miata Challenge, it’s not Fight Club. No need to beat your alter ego up or blow up the world. All you need is a Miata in any reasonable condition and the spirit of good fun. The group of participants are all super friendly and actually help each other get faster, drive better, drink better beer, eat better bbq meats and keep everyone's car running and your smile plastered on your face. This was my second year participating and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend time in a safe environment with as encouraging and welcoming a group.

Join us next year, starting January, when there’s $5,000 in cash/prizes from sponsors 949 Racing-SuperMiata and TrackSpeed Engineering. That’s 50 benjamin’s worth of loot! Five-oh-oh-oh! That’s a lot of chedda!
[example: 949 Racing - SuperMiata has pledged the following to series champions of each class (not each event):
1st in class. 4x 15" wheels of any width color
2nd in class: $350 gift certificate at 949racing.com
3rd in class: $200 gift certificate at 949racing.com]


Humbly submitted,
Pablo; amateur wannabe race car driver, philanthropist*

*my philanthropy is limited to throwing my money at good beer and beef steaks.



2015 Miata Challenge Schedule (Sundays only)
January 25th, Buttonwillow (13cw configuration)
February 22, Auto Club Speedway (Roval configuration)
March 29, Chuckwalla Valley Raceway
May 17, Spring Mountain 3.4
TBD, Sonoma Raceway
June 28, Laguna Seca
July 12, Streets of Willow Springs (night time event)
Sept 20, Buttonwillow (13cw configuration)
October 31, Willow Springs
November 22, Chuckwalla Valley Raceway

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

nigelt

iTrader: (10)

This sounds like so much fun!

Excuse the noob question, but what would I need to participate? Helmet, obviously. Roll bar? Anything else?

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

That's it!

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

TSE inconel studs to hold your mkturbo setup together.

nigelt

iTrader: (10)

As in, just a helmet, or a helmet and a roll bar?

pantablo

Helmet. You can rent one from SpeedVentures when you sign up if you don't have one. And a roll bar (not a style bar). That's it. Just come out and have a good time.

nigelt

iTrader: (10)

So then, how does one register for this awesomeness? How much does each day cost and what time does the Buttonwillow even start at?

As an off-topic continuation of the roll bar question, can it be any roll bar? Like say the M2 sport which isn't approved for SCCA Solo I or NASA HPDE?

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

Speed Ventures - Track Events

Yup, any roll bar. Schedule varies with season and venue. Typically drivers meeting around 7am, first group on track around 8am.

pantablo

Emilio touched on it above but further that, to register for events go to Speed Ventures - Track Events for Everyone! and click on "competitions" on upper bar. Then click on Miata Challenge and you'll go to the MC page with event schedule, results and such. Not sure they have registration open for first even on 25th but they will soon. I'll be posting up in advance of each event as well.
Trackdays usually cost around $150 or so. There are groups from beginner/first time all the way up to race group. You seed yourself based on your experience and comfort level. The MC class you race in is a time trial. You get timed on each session you do. Your competitors may be in your group or in other groups so the miatas in your group wont necessarily be racing in your class. Its a ton of fun!

It can be any roll bar as long as its a 4 point roll bar, no style bars. Checking out the M2 sport it looks like it would be legal for this series. Buttonwillow is a super fun course too. My favorite.

Here's a couple laps of that track I did April a year ago. In my then mostly stock 1991 1.6.

You'd never get this in a canyon run, lol!

nigelt

iTrader: (10)

I'm in!

nigelt

iTrader: (10)

This rule kicks ***

nigelt

iTrader: (10)

Will you post here when the first even is open for registration? Or is there a mailing list I should get on?

emilio700

iTrader: (3)

No. You have to be a little bit proactive here. Visit the event registration website Speed Ventures - Track Events for Everyone!

pantablo

Emilio isn't completely accurate. You haven't integrated through the Speedventures site. However, I will be posting a reminder/info thread for each round which will include a link to registration. In fact, I'll be posting up for Round 1 within a day or so.