SCCA’s autocross series kicks off at South Georgia Motorsports Park this weekend
The Tire Rack Solo Championship Tour, one of three types of national tour events in SCCA autocross, gets started this weekend and next with a Southern doubleheader that includes the Dixie South Champ Tour at Georgia Motorsports Park this weekend and the Charlotte Champ Tour at zMAX Dragway the following weekend. And given the proximity, these two autocrosses offer competitors the ability to get two events under their belt in the span of just nine days.
The Solo Championship Tour is run much like the Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Each event is a two-day affair where competitors tackle a different course each day, and the best time from each course is used to determine the winner. The standard SCCA autocross classes are used, and Championship Tour events are also part of the Solo Triad, the triple crown of national SCCA autocross events.
Mazdas of all stripes are common at autocrosses, but this is especially true of the Miata. The fourth-generation car that began with the 2016 model year is especially popular in C Street, where it usually makes up more than half of the class. Furthermore, the majority of the MX-5s entered for the Dixie and Charlotte Tours are the latest version, dubbed the ND2, which begins with the 2019 model year. A couple of standout names on the Dixie Tour are Darrin DiSimo and Rick Cone.
Things in C Street are bound to get a bit more intense a week later where not only will DiSimo and Cone be present, but so will D.J. Alessandrini, who was consistently at the top in this class in 2018. But it’s not only Miatas; there are also a few drivers entered in RX-8s that have interesting competition histories beyond Solo. 2014 MX-5 Cup champion Kenton Koch will be there – his wife Dani, a fierce competitor as well, will drive the car in C Street Ladies – as will Tom O’Gorman, who has pro racing championships to his name as well. It will be interesting to see which driver, and which platform, comes out on top.
Street Touring Roadster isn’t all Miatas, but it’s pretty close for both rounds. Mark Shrivastava is the standout name on the Dixie Tour entry list, but at Charlotte he’ll be joined by Bryan Karwan and Andrew Pallotta. Pallotta is the 2018 C Street National champion, and apparently he’s looking for a new challenge. STR has a whopping 28 entries at Charlotte, with 20 of them being some generation of MX-5 – three different generations are represented, with the majority being NDs.
Mike Kuhn will be contesting both events in his D Street Prepared RX-8, and he’s a force to be reckoned with as he trophied in the class at last year’s Solo Nationals. Also entered in both events in Super Street Modified are Eric Anderson and Randall Wilcox in Anderson’s 1996 Miata. They’ll have a wide variety of cars trying to beat them at the Dixie Tour.
Many other Mazda competitors will tackle the “Road to Lincoln” during the Solo Championship Tour as it makes its way across the country. After the Southern start, it goes to Mineral Wells, Texas; Crows Landing, Calif.; Romulus, N.Y.; Lincoln, Neb., for a doubleheader event with ProSolo; Bristol, Tenn.; Packwood, Wash.; and Peru, Ind. See scca.com for more information. hn