TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Sports Car Club of America Board of Directors made several noteworthy changes to the Club Racing program at its Oct. 16-18 meeting. In addition to its regular business conducted, changes were made regarding the Formula Ford class, minimum driver age, Showroom Stock vehicle age limits, Spec Miata tires and the classes eligible for the Runoffs.

Formula Ford
The Board of Directors approved the Club Racing Board recommendation to accept the 1.5-liter Honda Fit engine into the class, offering a modern, low-cost alternative to the venerable 1600cc Ford engines moving forward. The proper class name has also been shortened, simply to “Formula F” or “FF.”

The new engine is an addition, rather than a replacement. SCCA recognizes that many racers will retain the Ford engine configuration that has been used for 40 years. It is the intention of SCCA to maintain competitive parity between the powerplants for many years to come.

Minimum Driver Age
The Board approved a proposal to lower the minimum age requirement for participation in Club Racing to 15 years old on a conditional basis. Drivers must have previous racing experience (ie. karts, midgets, etc.) and must be pre-approved by their Divisional Licensing Representative. These drivers will be under strict scrutiny of event officials. Full details are requirements will be available in the December Fastrack News.

Showroom Stock Age Limits
The Board approved to extend the sunset rule in Showroom Stock from 10 years to 12 years, giving all cars an additional two years of eligibility beyond their year of production.

Spec Miata Tires
The Board approved language to complete the transition from the Toyo Proxes R888 to the Toyo Proxes RA-1 tire in National Spec Miata competition.

Beginning January 1, 2010, both tires will be eligible for National competition. On the third National race weekend in a respective Division, only the RA-1 will be permitted for dry and wet use. SCCA recognizes that race weekends may include multiple Nationally-sanctioned races.

Both tires will be available through normal Toyo Tires distribution methods.

National Championship Runoffs Classes
The Board made language changes to the General Competition Rules (GCR) to include all 29 National classes in the Runoffs beginning in 2010. It also set a minimum number of cars required at the Runoffs (10) to recognize a National Champion. A full story on the subject is available here: http://www.scca.com/newsarticle.aspx?news=3805.

Full details of all the business conducted at the October Board meeting will be available in the December 2009 Fastrack News, which will be available at SCCA.com Nov. 20.