Expect the 944 Cup class rules to change to merge the Prep 2 cars into Prep 1. With the NW Chapter of the series going away this year, very little reason to continue with the Prep 2 rule set which was designed to include the SCCA ITS 944 cars. With minimal changes, the Prep 2/ITS cars that may exist will be able to run in either the Stock or Prep 1 levels of class.

The current rule allowing a 10 lb variance for minimum weight will be deleted for 2013.

The 10 lbs is negligible for performance and dropping the variance will put us in line with the PCA SP 2/3 rules.

Also, the protest and appeal process provided for in race supps issued prior to each race with be incorporated into the 2013 rules.

Basically, protests for car prep and driver conduct can be made directly to the Chapter Director within certain parameters. Appeals of Chapter Director ruling can also be appealed to the Chapter Director given new evidence not considered in the initial ruling. And and finally, a ruling by a Chapter Director can be appealed to the National Director given certain parameters which are fact based and not opinion driven.

While these rules have not used very often, they are there in the rare case if needed to make for a competitive, fun, and safe race series.

Planning some changes that will effect legal mods to the engine, in particular the cylinder head.

Up to now we have relied primarily on the use of a dyno to control the power being procuded for each car. Our ability to arrange to have a dyno at each race has dwindled. Last year we did not have a dyno at any regional race and could afford to do so for Nationals that to Behe Performance.

With the swing of our schedule to include more PCA events, tech inspections of cars has instead shifted to PCA efforts to scrut cars. Last year PCA increased their efforts to inspect SP2 and SP3 cars. They plan to further improve their inspections in 2013 with more staff and more testing equipment. From a practical standpoint, we need to make some change to the Cup rules that will make better use of those resources.

An area we need to better define legality relating to engine power is the compression produced by the cylinder head. The current Cup and PCA rules do no define any parameters for milling. In Cup we have never specified or enforced any rules regarding milling of the head or the use of head gaskets. We have instead relied upon torque production measured by a dyno and have set limits accordingly by class, model and prep level.

We are currently in the middle of ironing out rules governing compression and head milling with PCA rulesmakers. PCA plans to focus more on this area with their inspections in 2013. The task is made difficult because of the lack of definition in this area in our current rules. We want a useful measure to maiantain competitive fairness in the series, while at thesame time not placing a hardship on drivers to bring their cars that were legal last year to the track next year and still be able to race.

Here is what we can up with for the first go round. PCA has suggested some changes that follwo the SP1 model. We are still discussing that approach to determine if such changes can be made given the wider variations of pistons allowed in SP2 and 3.

Stock

(g)Cylinder head and upper end of block may be milled and head gasket used that will bring compression ratio to achieve the maximum compression ratio of 10.5:1 for all 2.5L motors and 10.9:1 for all 2.7L motors. Milling of the head beyond the factory service limit is not permitted for any reason. An offset key may NOT be used to adjust cam timing.
Prep

(d)A tolerance of twenty five thousandths of an inch (0.025”) less than the factory service limit is permitted for truing of the head. Under no circumstances may the compression ratio be increased by more than one half (0.5) point over Stock.. An offset key may be used to return cam timing to the factory specifications.
Super Cup

Pistons are free given that they do not exceed 1mm (0.040”) oversize of the stock nominal bore size (either 100.0mm or 104.0mm, as appropriate for the vehicle. A tolerance of twenty five thousandths of an inch (0.025”) less than the factory service limit is permitted for truing of the head. Under no circumstances may the compression ratio be increased by more than one half (0.5) point over factory stock.. An offset key may be used to return cam timing to the factory specifications. (S2 is 10.9:1, 944Turbo 8.0:1, and 968 is 11.0:1). The weight of the piston assembly (Piston, pins, and clips) is no lighter than the stock piston assembly, +-4 grams tolerance for that vehicle, (710 grams for 944S2, 730 grams for 944 Turbo, and 704 grams for 968).

Been fighting for that for 2 years.... Are they bring out the Whistler for compression checks?

PCA is planning to bring out equipment to test compression at some races. Has been some question whether the Whistler works on the 944 engines because of some harmonics issue. But I am pushing them for a definitive solution to that. Absent a dyno, that would be an effective test.

More defintion is being added to the rear wing provisions for Super Cup:

.......no wider than the car body panels, or extend beyond the maximum factory body length by more than 1 inch.

As proposed:

12 Protests and Appeals

12.1 Appeal
Drivers may file an appeal of any ruling to the Chapter Director. Such appeals must be in writing and presented to the Director within 30 minutes of the end of the qualifying session or race. Director findings will only be overturned in the event of compelling evidence that was not available to the steward at the time of the original decision.

12.2 Protests
Any entered driver may lodge a protest against another driver disputing the mechanical
compliance of their competition vehicle. To lodge a protest, the protestor shall obtain a
a protest form, fill it out, and file it, along with a nonrefundable $100 fee, with
the Director who may accept the protest, may extend the time
allowed, or may reject the protest.

For the protest to be valid, it must meet the following conditions:
1. Be filed within thirty (30) minutes of the completion of a qualifying session or race and two hours before the start of the last race of the weekend.
2. Each part that is being protested must be named specifically and include presentation of evidence .
3. Each part may be considered a separate protest, in terms of fees.
4. Each part listed shall be accompanied by the rule(s) number that it violates and an explanation of the reasons the part is thought to be illegal.
5. Accepted by the Director.

12.3 Request For Action (RFA)
Any entered driver may lodge a protest against another driver’s on-track conduct. The
protestor shall obtain a “Request for Action Form”, fill it out, and file it with the Cup Director. The RFA Form must be filed within thirty (30) minutes of the end of the session in which the incident occurred. The Director may accept the RFA, may extend the time allowed, or may reject the RFA.


12.4 Bad Faith Protests
Any competitor having knowledge of illegal parts or modifications to another competitor’s vehicle has an obligation to immediately disclose that information to that competitor and the Director. To file a protest in violation of these rules will cause action to be taken against the protestor. This will not however, affect the acceptance, rejection, or outcome of the protest.


12.5 Appeals – National
Any decision made by the Chapter Director may be appealed to the National Director.
Any decision made by the National Director is final. The appellant must submit, in
writing, all of the details of the case, including references to all applicable rules, along
with any and all evidence, including a copy of original appeal form, and the fee of one
hundred ($100) dollars, to the National Director (in person, if present).

All items must be emailed to the National Director within three
(3) business days after the last day of the event. [Note- Appeals at the
National Championships will be handled on site, providing that the National Director is
present. In this case the competitor must inform the National Director of their intent to
file an Appeal within 30 minutes of being informed of the outcome of the last
decision. The National Director will then give the appellant a time frame in which all
evidence must be submitted. The intent is to come to a fair and prompt conclusion in the
case.]

The National Director, at his discretion, may grant written permission to extend the time
frame for both the appellant and the Race Director equally, in extreme or unusual cases.
The National Director may review the case based solely on the evidence presented
within the time frame. No new evidence may be allowed after the time frame for
submission has passed. However, the National Director may call upon either party, at
anytime, for clarifications.

The National Director shall make an effort to ensure that fairness and justice is served.
He will administer the case holding these two qualities in higher regard than any other
factor. The Executive Director has the power to make adjustments in
decisions and penalties in each case.

If an appeal is ruled to be “not well founded,” the appeal fees (both Regional and
National) will be retained and the National Director may increase the penalties. If the
appeal is deemed “well founded”, the National Appeal fee will be returned.

who decided that? and why?

We needed to have some limits set. An oversight when the wing rule was added for SC. This happens to be the same standard used by PCA for their Prepared classes.