SCCA to Debut New Road Racing Bracket Enduro Format

Ed
By Ed Higginbotham
Mar 17, 2015

SCCA has come up with an interesting new take on endurance racing. It’s designed to be physically less burdening on teams, but still balance the field with a unique scoring method.

The events will feature 4 classes. The first will be an “open” class: whoever goes the farthest the fastest wins. However, the other three will use a format that balances cars and teams through time allowances, similar to drag racing. Teams will have a variety of options, including tire choice and set up, to run within their target times. If a car runs quicker than its target lap—determined by its class. The time is multiplied by 1.5 and put into a bank. Bank time is paid back in pit lane.

The SCCA Bracket Enduro will debut at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, June 6-7. And SCCA expects to have many more of the events going into 2016.

The format is designed to also appeal to former racers who may have found that their race car no longer fits well in traditional SCCA sprint racing classes. If it passes safety inspection, and is deemed eligible, it is legal regardless of configuration or modification.

The scoring details for this format are a little more confusing than most other racing series, but the SCCA Bracket Enduro is designed to create a fun, fair and affordable way for racers to experience team endurance racing, allowing a wide range of preparation, investment and performance to compete on a level playing field. You can find more information on their website.

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Comments
NordicSaab
NordicSaab New Reader
3/17/15 4:53 p.m.

I don't know why... but this sounds like a sandbaggers dream...

Is this intended to be a form of racing to pull drivers from Chumpcar/Lemons? It would seem yes because of a) the format and b) no need for a competition license.

drdisque
drdisque Reader
3/17/15 5:07 p.m.

I think it's also to give a place for owners of safe but uncompetitive non-crapcan race cars a place to race. Or for guys who have stopped racing because they own a car in a class that nobody races in their region and got sick of racing nobody. Cars that are "too expensive" or "too nice" to race in crapcan, but "too old" or "too cheap" to race competitively in classed SCCA or NASA competition.

I think the format is pretty brilliant. Sandbagging isn't rewarded. However, consistently driving at 95% is, which if you're enduro racing a club racing car is what you should be doing anyway.

bearmtnmartin
bearmtnmartin GRM+ Memberand Dork
3/17/15 8:12 p.m.

The old boys club has noticed with some alarm that they are loosing market share.....

mazdeuce
mazdeuce PowerDork
3/17/15 8:47 p.m.

This will be interesting. I'm looking for a place to road race in the next couple of years and I actually like where things are going.

dean1484
dean1484 GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/17/15 8:58 p.m.

Are lemons and chump car taking that big a bite out of SCCA? Or is SCCA trying to take away some of there market share? Interesting. Never thought I would see SCCA do this.

amg_rx7
amg_rx7 SuperDork
3/17/15 9:26 p.m.

In my region, SCCA, NASA, vintage and many other forms of racing are alive and well so not really about market share. It's more about more options for existing members and attracting new members.

JohnyHachi6
JohnyHachi6 Dork
3/18/15 12:32 a.m.

If they can combine this with other event going on during a weekend when they rent a track so they can make it cheap, I'm in. It's all about inexpensive track time to me... Chumpcar and Lemons do a good job with that. If SCCA is competitive in that regard, I'd gladly run with them.

Jerry
Jerry SuperDork
3/18/15 5:59 a.m.

I went to the Great Lakes Division SCCA training last weekend in Findlay. Yes, they realize they have to grow with the times and be more open. They realize Chump and LeMons are getting popular, so they're trying to open up a bit. From what I've read they're trying a few different new things this year, like some kind of Track Night during the week.

jimbbski
jimbbski Dork
3/18/15 9:29 a.m.

The enduro thing seems to be growing. Last year MCSCC tried a 2.5 hour race and it proved popular. This year there are 3 scheduled. Most will be either Sunday morning or Monday as two of the races are scheduled over holiday weekends, such as Memorial & Labor day. All are set to take place the day after the regular sprint races so most racers can run both. A link: http://www.mcscc.org/

z31maniac
z31maniac UltimaDork
3/18/15 9:45 a.m.
drdisque wrote: I think it's also to give a place for owners of safe but uncompetitive non-crapcan race cars a place to race. Or for guys who have stopped racing because they own a car in a class that nobody races in their region and got sick of racing nobody. Cars that are "too expensive" or "too nice" to race in crapcan, but "too old" or "too cheap" to race competitively in classed SCCA or NASA competition. I think the format is pretty brilliant. Sandbagging isn't rewarded. However, consistently driving at 95% is, which if you're enduro racing a club racing car is what you should be doing anyway.

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