So I'm curious, what makes Koni Challenge so popular and full of cars, while stuff like
09-19-2008, 07:27 PM
#1
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So I'm curious, what makes Koni Challenge so popular and full of cars, while stuff like
Speed Challenge is losing teams left and right?
I'll admit I haven't followed it very closely. But still curious.
There were like 90 cars for Koni Challenge on the track today at Miller Motorsports Park. And a crazy amount of manufacturers too:
Mazda Miatas
Mazda RX-8
BMW 3 series (and multiple generations too)
BMW Z4
Porsche
Mustang
VW GTI
Mini Cooper
Think either G8 or GTO's as well.
So what gives?
I'll admit I haven't followed it very closely. But still curious.
There were like 90 cars for Koni Challenge on the track today at Miller Motorsports Park. And a crazy amount of manufacturers too:
Mazda Miatas
Mazda RX-8
BMW 3 series (and multiple generations too)
BMW Z4
Porsche
Mustang
VW GTI
Mini Cooper
Think either G8 or GTO's as well.
So what gives?
09-19-2008, 07:53 PM
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As a Koni driver, I think a lot of it is economics. Since the events aren't sprint races the cost
is spread across two drivers in most cases, which makes GS a bit cheaper to run than WCTC. That being said, although I don't have the numbers in front of me, I think participation in the GS class has dropped slightly from the 07 season at most races this year and a couple of multicar teams have either stopped running every weekend or stopped running altogether. The ST class has experience tremendous growth though, which is not surprising considering the significantly smaller budgets involved and variety of available reasonably competitive machinery out there.
09-19-2008, 08:04 PM
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Agree with Duncan. Cost, competition, stewardship (MUCH better than SWC).
Grand Am, while far from perfect, does a much better job with KONI Challenge than the SCCA does with SWC.
As for $'s, the cost of a top level ST team ride, though, isn't much cheaper than a top team in SWCTC.
Top SWC Touring Car rides are $18-$22K per race.
Top Koni ST Cars are about $13-$16 per driver or $26-32K per car.
Top GS runs about $15-22K per driver, $30-44K.
For fun, here's the other costs:
Top Rolex GT runs about $35-45K per driver, $70-90K per car.
Top DP's run $75-$90K on avg, per driver, per race.
Lastly, Speed GT is about $30-$45K per race for top teams.
Mike S
As for $'s, the cost of a top level ST team ride, though, isn't much cheaper than a top team in SWCTC.
Top SWC Touring Car rides are $18-$22K per race.
Top Koni ST Cars are about $13-$16 per driver or $26-32K per car.
Top GS runs about $15-22K per driver, $30-44K.
For fun, here's the other costs:
Top Rolex GT runs about $35-45K per driver, $70-90K per car.
Top DP's run $75-$90K on avg, per driver, per race.
Lastly, Speed GT is about $30-$45K per race for top teams.
Mike S
09-20-2008, 07:21 PM
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3rd , and emphasize the organization
I've been to several events to tag along with teams and from an outsiders standpoint the professionalism is outstanding.
09-20-2008, 09:42 PM
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If you're spineless and can't penalize Kleinubing for bashing Pobst in his SWCTC'07 championship run
there isn't much incentive to stay in any series that allows that kind of malicious behavior...
that incident (and more importantly the lack of response) really let down the average fan, let alone the drivers and crews who worked so hard to obtain honest results.
that incident (and more importantly the lack of response) really let down the average fan, let alone the drivers and crews who worked so hard to obtain honest results.
09-21-2008, 02:03 PM
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No wonder Dorsey made the comment yesterday on air..that the drivers make more
money than he and Fish.... Hey....is Randy going to be doing any PR stuff while at the Petit this year? if so when? Thanks....
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09-22-2008, 09:29 AM
#9
I hope STaSIS comes back in 2009...in either Speed WC Touring or Koni ST with a B8 A4.
They have now through the winter to prepare... could be a challenge, but they should be up to the task. I hope they can get Chip Herr back.<ul><li><a href="http://www.stasisengineering.com/race_center.aspx">http://www.stasisengineering.com/race_center.aspx</a</li></ul>
