January 14, 2021
This article first appeared in the November/December, 2020 edition of SportsCar Magazine. Everyone can read the current and past editions of SportCar digitally here. To become an SCCA member and get SportsCar mailed to your home address monthly in addition to the digital editions, click here.
American Sedan and Formula Continental committees work to build strong classes and tight competition
The Club Racing Board (CRB) appreciates the amount of time all of its Advisory Committees devote to the sport of SCCA Road Racing. These committee members spend countless hours reviewing and researching the hundreds of member letters received each year, selflessly dedicating themselves to the betterment of the sport. Most recently, the American Sedan and Formula Continental Advisory Committees have gone the extra mile to build a foundation that will revitalize their classes, and it’s worth taking a closer look at their efforts.
American Sedan (AS) presented a “What Do You Think” (WDYT) item in Fastrack spanning several topics, and they received solid feedback from numerous AS competitors. In an effort to reduce costs, the American Sedan Advisory Committee has recommended a few changes for the 2021 season. First, they are suggesting the removal of soft, autocross-style compound competition tires from the class. In their place, a list of approved tires has been generated. Second, the committee has increased the brake rotor size to 13 inches, so competitors do not have the additional cost of turning rotors down to the current specification. The committee is also working on “spec” engine packages for all of the models to further reduce engine costs for the class.
Earlier this year, a Formula Continental (FC) ad hoc committee was formed for the purpose of investigating and pursuing increased entries for this prolific class. FC has long been a core formula class, offering extreme performance at a reasonable cost. Due to the popularity of FC, it has been the target of many competing classes over the years. But despite this assault, FC realizes solid participation in various SCCA Regional and Pro series, in addition to SCCA U.S. Majors Tour events.
The FC ad hoc committee is comprised of Regional, U.S. Majors Tour, and Pro drivers, as well as suppliers, manufacturers, and series promoters. The initial meetings focused on defining the positive attributes of FC and improved messaging about the class, events, cars, and participants. A Facebook page was developed, which immediately gained a significant following and now boasts close to 500 active members. To review conversations within that group, simply go to Facebook and search for “FC Racing Group.”
While rules adjustments were not on the ad hoc committee’s agenda, there were a few rules that the committee felt were hampering participation. The most striking of those was the concept of a spec tire, which was recently implemented in the Formula F class and was well received by its racers. While FC is one of the last pure “formula” classes, the ad hoc committee believed a spec tire would be beneficial, especially if it offers improved mileage at a lower price point. Look for developments on this issue in the near future.
The ad hoc committee is further focused on putting at least 35 cars on the grid for the National Championship Runoffs in 2021 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which will also mark the 46th anniversary of FC racing in the United States. If you have interest in Formula Continental, please reach out to John LaRue at jlarue@johnblarue.com.
As always, the CRB appreciates all member input and is always looking for new members for our Advisory Committees. Any comments or resumes should be sent to crb@scca.com, with letters regarding What Do You Think items and rules suggestions being made at crbscca.com.
Words by Peter Keane
Photos by Jeff Loewe and Jay Bonvouloir
