Register for the 2015 Tire Rack Georgia Match Tour!
With the first Match Tour of the year a resounding success at the National Corvette Museum, eyes once again turn down south to Moultrie, GA and Spence Field for the next stop on the Road to Lincoln. The Match Tour series has seen some substantial changes this year, after a few years of trying out different formats, and from all accounts, the new format has nailed it. Competitors and administrators alike were singing praises from Bowling Green of the new layout, and it’s poised to be yet another exciting addition to the Tire Rack SCCA National Solo Series. So, why should you come to Dixie for this next step of the tour?
1. CONCRETE! Spence Field is one of the only concrete sites in the Southeast. Anyone who goes to Lincoln knows the importance of testing and refining a setup on concrete. What was once a home to a P-40 Warhawk training squadron, now becomes the most grippy autocross site in Georgia. The surface is relatively smooth and unbroken, with seams similar to what one may see in Lincoln. Thus, it provides an ideal practice and setup surface ahead of Nationals.
2. The Match Tour Format. In years past, some derided the Match Tour series as unnecessarily complicated, with some understanding of multivariable calculus a prerequisite for sorting out the shootouts. This year, the format has been pared down, and in effect, is a Champ Tour on Saturday, with a Shootout on Sunday (though the course does not change between days). The top 8 indexed qualifiers from Sunday morning go into the Super Shootout, while 9-16 are in the Club Shootout. All other competitors are eligible for a Bonus Shootout, in which the competitors are randomly drawn. This also means that...
3. Tons of runs! Saturday, all competitors get six runs, split between the morning and afternoon. The best times from the morning and afternoon are summed to determine class champions. Sunday begins with qualifiers for the shootouts. Once these are determined, the Club, Bonus, and Super Shootout begin in the afternoon. This means that every driver present gets a minimum of 9 runs, and potentially many more. Get ready for a lot of seat time!
4. The course. Historically, due to the almost square layout of the concrete pad, the courses in Moultrie do not end up being power driven courses. This is not a site where having the best power in class will give you an advantage. Spence Field rewards precision and momentum maintenance. Low horsepower cars will be challenged to not give up any speed, and higher powered cars have to be wary of losing time out of slow corners with wheelspin. Thus, it gives a rather neutral ground for many different cars in class. One never knows when an underdog might be victorious!
With less than a month to go, start getting those travel plans sorted, the tires ordered, the meat smoked, and the beer brewed, and come on back down to the heart of Dixie. As always, sololive.scca.com will be providing live timing, and keep your eyes and ears peeled on uStream for continuous event coverage.
