blumojo

I have a SCCA Novice permit and would like sign up for my first SCCA driving school. I would like to drive my stock 00 C5 for the driving school but do not plan on racing it in competition. Will I be required to install a transponder, roll cage, on-board fire system, and a 5-point harness for the driving school? Thanks

redvetracr

blumojo,
I would think the answer to be "yes" to all the above. In addition to all personal safety equipment, helmet, suit, etc. You do realize you have to "race" to obtain your license don`t you?

blumojo

I know I will have to "race" but I thought the driving school conditions would be highly controlled. I participated in a two day Track Time High Performance Driving School (SCCA accredited) where you could drive as fast as you were capable of and pass in designated zones. We had SCCA instructors and SCCA track stewards running the program and we were not required to have 5-point harness, roll cage etc... Don't misunderstand me, I am in no way opposed to this type of safety equipment. I just do not want to spend the money to install the equipment on a vehicle I do not plan on racing "competitively", nor do I have the money to buy a dedicated racer.

rbeckham

Blumojo - You need to get the GCR (General Competion Rules) from SCCA (www.scca.org). Short answer is for Touring class (eg T1) even for the school, you need a 6 or 8 point cage with door bar on the drivers side, 5 or 6 point harness, window net, hand-held extinguisher mounted with metal to the cage.

Engine compartment fire system, fuel cells, transponder are not needed.

blumojo

rbeckham, thank you for your reply. I have already ordered a 2002 GCR but have not yet received it. I quess you can't have your cake and eat it too! I am not ready to modify my C5 at this point in time. I will either have to rent a racer or find a partner to split the cost of a used vehicle. Thank You!

rbeckham

Blumojo - I know exactly how you feel. I had to make the same choices about whether to chop up my car and deal with the kinds of things required by SCCA on the "roll cages," "drivers restraints," and "required driver safety equipment" specified by the GCR. This is of course all after you have had to consider the allowed engine, wheel & tire, brake and suspension (mainly suspension) mods to make the car half-way competitive.

I sort of lucked my way into doing this stuff on a budget with a used cage, cast-offs from real racer friends, and a Corvette tech who is a Corvette racer and really knows what he is doing and helps me out as a moonlighting thing.

But you can do this and preserve the integrity of your car on a budget without ruining it, I think. I have, for example, saved my original carpeting (my car has only 12,000 street miles) and put Pep Boys $39.95 carpeting in the car to hide the cuts and welds, and hopefully it will look presentable when I remove the cage, replace the carpeting, and am ready to sell the car.

This is a car I still drive on the street, though I have a permanent bruise on my left thigh from getting out of the car with the Sparco seats and the cage. But I still have my original leather sports seats and will reinstall them easily when and if I want to sell it.

I guess my message to you is - Do it! Do what you need to do to get it on the track! You bought a Corvette, So what do you intend to do with it?

ghoffman

You will need a drivers suit with Nomex undies (unless it is a 3 layer) with the required SCCA patches on it. I will send you a 2001 GCR offline....

rbeckham

And obviously a quality SA2000 helmet, nomex duds, skivvies and socks, and probably shoes, gloves, etc. It seems never to end. Fun, fun fun! You can probably wear some of this stuff for skiing too, though. That way you will not catch fire on the slopes.


[Modified by rbeckham, 10:59 PM 2/22/2002]