SCCA grants FFR Roadsters an official Solo II classification

2006 SCCA Solo II Rules officially recognize Factory Five Roadster in prepared categories.

In the past, the FFR roadster had been able to compete in the SCCA A-production (AP) class but with a 10% weight penalty - adding over 200lbs of ballast (a huge penalty).  This in itself made competing on a level playing field challenging at best. 

With proposed rule changes slated for the 2006 season, the FFR roadsters would have no longer been able to compete in AP and would have been regulated to BP under the silhouette rule. Unfortunately, this would still have saddled Factory Five’s with a huge weight penalty - requiring roadsters to weigh in around 2700lbs, necessitating the addition of nearly 500lbs of ballast! (think about stuffing a sumo wrestler in your trunk).   

A few FFR customers went into action and started a writing campaign that ultimately got the FFR added specifically to the BP class with NO WEIGHT PENALTY!  A tremendous success and accomplishment!  FFR Roadsters with a 5.0 liter motor can now run at 2450 lbs right next to the original cars.  (A collective thank you goes out to SCCA Prepared committee chair Mark Andy for his help in getting this passed.)

Since the dawn of the replica/component car, the racing community has largely ignored, unnoticed, and even snubbed (due to their poor handling characteristics) them.  With the introduction of the Factory Five Roadsters design, however, some of the early customers, (Dave McIlvanie(sp), John Hannaford, Inman Lanier, Mark Jones, John Phillips, Richard Oben, the Mapstone brothers, James Creasy, David Borden and countless others) went to work and created a wining formula utilizing the FFR well-balanced, performance-oriented design.  Soon, their success, coupled with consistent top times and class wins started raising eyebrows and converting skeptics everywhere. 

More specifics on the new SCCA FFR classification:

-                      B-Prepared, X-Prepared(the new AP) and E-Modified

-                      weight based rankings based on motor size (although no weight penalties)

-                      push rod motors only  (no 4.6L modular motors)

for more information, check out www.scca.com or contact Dave Borden (david.j.borden@intel.com)

Autocrossing is not only the most prevalent, affordable, easiest and most accessible form of racing, but virtually anyone with a safe car and a helmet can go out and enjoy the thrill of Solo II.  It is also one of the funnest forms of racing, and it is the best and safest way to get your feet wet in motor sports.  It’s also a great way to learn how your car handles at speed and how to push it to the edge.  So come out and join your local SCCA group at a Solo II event soon. To find a region near you visit www.scca.org.

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