Rewards Weight [LAC]

[Matt Evans]

In Speed WorldChallenge, yes, there is a maximum rewards weight for Touring
Car at least, and I believe also for GT, which is what the RS6 runs in.

I don't know why you call it "BS" - it's a good idea, IMO.  The point is to
try and equalize car/driver combos in a field where the cars are inherently
unequal.  Let's be honest - a streetable RS6 is making similar power to some
of the prepared cars in that series, and also has AWD.  There is no way you
can have competitive racing if one team were allowed to take a 4.2L biturbo
AWD platform and start modding sans restrictions.  You'd easily be talking
about 1000hp and twice the launch traction, when the rest of the field is
generally making 5-600hp (afaik)

You should look at the car entries sometime for world challenge.  The RS6
runs with capped boost and a _Very_ severe restrictor.  The rewards weight
it carries is the least of its handicaps over what it might otherwise be.

After the CTS-V cars crushed everyone in the opening GT race, they got
tremendous "rewards".  Not just rewards weight, but severe chnages to the
car.  The rev limit was lowered 1000 rpm and a smaller restrictor mandated.
But, the story goes that the World Challenge CTS-V is basically a factory
backed  racer that happens to look like a streetable CTS-V, so its natural
that it would need some BIG adjustments to compete with "streetier" cars
fairly.

Bill Auberlain was running something like 250 lbs of rewards weight at the
end of last season in the Touring Car class.  That amounts to perhaps an
additional 10% or more weight in a class that is all about momentum.  It
really goes to show how phenominal Bill and the TMS team are that they were
doing well, even with the maximum weight.

I think the speedvision WC is great - the cars are recognizable things you
or I could buy, and in GT its especially great that there have been 5 events
and 5 marques in 1st place.  The point here isn't to determine which street
car is "the best", it's to let people develop real cars into something worth
racing and to get a good variety.  Fixed rules which have no flexibility in
them to adapt give us 1-make series - somebody figures out what car
maximizes the various defects in the legalese of the rules, and dominates
the series.  That's no fun at all.

Recent fun example of car classing defect - Some people on at Mini Auto-X
forum were complaining because a nationally competitive driver noticed that
he could run a B4 90Q in H-stock, where mini's ran.

That's a 170hp AWD car going against 115hp FWD minis.  The mini has perhaps
a 10% weight advantage over the Audi.  The B4 was mopping minis left and
right.