September 30, 2001
Magnaflow Vintage 2.5 Challenge
The fifth race of the season is only a few days away at Willow Springs (October 6 & 7). If you have not gotten your entry in, there is still time. We have been advised that the late fee for this race has been waived by HSR-West so you still enter and not pay the higher fee. With the points race still too close to call, this should be another great race weekend at the "fastest track in the west".
Unlike Laguna Seca, the pits will be open and spectators are encouraged to attend. There is a $10 gate fee for spectators but that covers both days.
We broke the VSRG food budget on the dinner at Laguna Seca so we will not be providing lunch at this event but we will still have a "happy hour" after the last race on Saturday.
Laguna Seca was awesome with a large turnout of cars, great weather and best of all, close racing action. Horst Kwech and John Morton were on-hand and spent a lot of time in the 2.5 pits talking with members. The Road and Track photo shoot took place both days during the lunch break as well as after the races on Sunday afternoon.
We hosted a "happy hour" after the races on Saturday and invited all of the HMSA members and personnel as well as workers.
The VSRG Dinner on Saturday night was great fun with 75 drivers, members and family in attendance. The high point had to be John Morton and Horst Kwech sitting side by side when we showed the video "Against All Odds" !
The Sound Level at Laguna did present a problem for a few cars however we found that HMSA and the County was easy to work with and allowed members plenty of opportunity to try to get the sound level down. As we are likely to encounter this issue at other tracks (and again next year at Laguna), we suggest that members work on their exhaust systems so that an additional muffler(s) can be easily added when needed.
The best news is that HMSA has indicated that they plan to invite us back next year!
The current issue of Vintage Racecar Journal noted on the editorial page that VSRG is a "successful example" of common interest vintage racing group banding together to represent their membership's common interest. We are quite flattered to be put in the same category as the Big Bore Trans-AM and Historic Grand Prix organizations by this publication. We feel that our success comes from multiple sources and not just the efforts of the organizers.
To paraphrase a line from the movie "The Right Stuff", "what makes this bird fly is our sponsors". As all of you are aware, Magnaflow stepped up early to support this series and that opened the door that made the organization viable and the series possible. Our product sponsors, Classic Datsun Motorsports, Alfa Parts of Berkeley, Dave Bean Engineering, JAE Parts and Brecht BMW provide rewards for drivers at each event and Sparco will provide the series Champion with a new drivers suit. In addition, Dinan Engineering and Sparco have provided shirts, hats and other goodies for our raffles at each race. Ed Swart of HSR-West also deserves our thanks and support as he spent a lot of time with us in the early stages of the series and gave VSRG the opportunity to race with HSR-West well before any other organization expressed an interest. We ask all members to support these firms whenever possible just as they support us.
In addition to the sponsors, a great deal of the credit for the success of the series and the organization goes to our members. People outside of VSRG have commented on the fact that our membership seems to be a tight-knit group that will race hard on the track but socialize after the races. This mixture of competition and social interaction sets VSRG apart from most organizations whose members simply race and then leave the track. We would like to thank everyone for their spirit and enthusiasm.
Speaking of Sponsors, Classic Datsun Motorsports has become a dealer for a new Vintage line of raceware from No-Fear. We got a preview of this new product line recently and it is great looking stuff. As you would expect it is FIA certified and uses the latest in protective wear materials and design. In addition to the vintage look, No-Fear will also offer a new line of designs for which they have become famous. Les Cannaday of CDM indicated that they should have info on their web site (www.classicdatsun.com) once the line is officially released .
Contacting the Rules Committee:
If you have a question regarding the rules or the proper interpretation you should submit your question via e-mail to rules@bsedan.com . Questions will be forwarded to the committee members and we will provide a response a quickly as possible. We strongly suggest that your question provide the specific rule(s) you are concerned about as well as any details regarding parts/components that are to be considered. As questions are answered, the answers will be compiled for an on-line reference so that all members will have access to the answers. The committee will not consider questions on or just before race weekends so you should send your questions in at least 30 days prior to a race.