Is the Gastropod class coming back for 2020?

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

And therefore my point.  I'm one of the guys who would try to win (even if it's a "lesser non-official" class).

If I truly want to be not competitive, I can show up, pay no entry fees, run my car for a couple passes during the fun runs, and have the pleasure of knowing I still have an awesome car (but no trophy).

I bought the car assuming the rules would be similar to last year. Since they are not, it's not as good a fit for the class. Doesn't mean I won't enjoy it.

Its a competitive event.  People are gonna compete.

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

the idea is to be the best of not giving a berkeley... 

if you wanna try hard bring a set of Hoosiers and do that.... otherwise show up, do your best and just be cool. 

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

Its a competitive event.  People are gonna compete.

there's a difference between showing up to compete

and showing up and competing while you hang with buddies and we all have a friggin awesome time and the results fall where they do. 

the latter is how team Traccord showed up and did one lap last year. 

we did the best we could in each competitive event, but we were there to be a part of one lap. 

In reply to spacecadet (Forum Supporter) :

Doing my best to me includes using the recoup if it exists.

Not doing so is adding a self-imposed extra set of limitations which cuts my budget by a third.

Ive been to the event many times with a car that was not competitive.  I've also been with no car, and I've also run the event on a tandem bicycle.  Single speed.  Coaster brakes. 42 second quarter mile.   Wearing another man's pants.  I'm perfectly capable of playing without competing.

Since the rules are not what I thought they were, perhaps this car is not a good fit.  That's not really a big deal to me. But I DO understand how much the rules impact what cars are brought.

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

You do you. Let's hang out this fall. It'll be fun. 

I'm the total outlier here, have only been to one Challenge, and won't be competing this year.  And I've already said the G-pods rules (or the thread I was directed to) had me pretty confused.  But I've gotta side with SVreX here.  The simplicity is nice, but adding in the full recoup like the rest of the event and then saying that trying to compete to win the class is against the ethos of the class doesn't seem to make much sense.   If there's no class winner or Gastropod trophy then fine, but if you get something for winning then you can't say competing to win is against the purpose of the class.  Just adding my .02, even though it's probably not worth half that.

In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :

You're at no more of a disadvantage than I was last year. Cars purchase price at $500 and no extra bits to sell. Still went. Still have fun. Going again this fall with at least one car. 
 

do it or don't. Just pick one, bring a car or don't and have fun. Pre-world closure I was planning to drive Tubey down and hang out Pete Gossett style because that looked cool too and I'd have already blown my money on one lap and an Alaskan cruise. Now ... we'll now I get to do it with a new person. This is gonna be fun. 

In reply to sethmeister4 :

*sigh* do you people sit up lol night trying to make things more difficult than they really are? Because if you have that much free thinking time I might have a few projects I could use that brain power on. 

Basically the only definite rule is a tire limitation that effectively nukes your chances of being competitive outside of a class that isn't even really an official class. So I don't see how this is complicated. 

In reply to Daylan C (Forum Supporter) :

Nothing complicated.

I bought a car that I intended to use a particular way in the Gastropod class.  It was a great fit to accomplish my goals based on last year's rules.

Today I learned the rules have changed, and it's not as good a fit as I thought it was to accomplish the goals I had.  All I was doing was confirming.

I don't see anything complicated about asking if the recoup rule had changed.

In reply to bobzilla :

Didn't really take much brain power at all to make the observation that I did.  I see the side of the simplistic rules, but I totally see SVreX's point.  I also didn't read through the whole 36 page thread about the discussion for the rules for the class last year, but I suspect that it was maybe overcomplicated.  Hence the goal of simplifying it.  I'm down for that, I was really just curious, but I felt like it needed to be said that SVreX's position and points are not ridiculous or in-valid.  That's all, I'm done now.

BTW, the tire limitation does not nuke the chances to be competitive in the autocross.  I've placed among the top finishers in the autocross several times, and only once was on good tires. 
 

Just a thought. My $0.02

I love the idea of the Gastropods a lot, and am seriously considering if my entry will fit, or if I can make it fit.  But I do have one reservation: if ever there was a class where Miata was the answer, this is surely it, and I'd hate to see the Gastropods become the GRM Challenge equivalent of a spec-Miata class.  At that point, I wouldn't be interested anymore. 

So a question:  how many Miatas showed up in the Gastropods last year?

In reply to darkbuddha :

None that I recall. Wait. Maybe one. 
 

edit: yes the purple Miata. 

I guess I missed the point of the Gastropod class. I saw it as the least convoluted way to arrive in a fixed price car and participate in three events in order to have fun and learn stuff with your cheap  slow(ish) car with a self declared group of like-minded people.  I never saw it as something to be taken too seriously. If there was a timed advantage over the other participants it was going to be happenstance and distant second in priorities after just being at the challenge and seeing what it was all about and meeting some of y'all. More a voyage of self discovery than a competitive event. Not sure why the Gastropod class needs ANY rules other than safety.

IF placing matters and there was a need to be at the top of the heap, then the actual GRM Challenge is being run at the same venue at the same time with a well defined rules matrix. It is a brilliant event with some dead-serious participants who would put F1 lawyers and accountants to shame when it comes to rules interpretation.

Pete

^Agreed^

How many are still planning on running Gastropod this year?  Debating on whether or not to do some weight reduction on the Impala, either before heading out to Gainesville, or in the hotel or track parking lot.