May 29, 2002

To All Star FM Racers:

Everyone has been very busy lately with the racing season in full swing. Sears Point was an excellent event, with the Star Mazda race avoiding the foul weather that hit the Sunday races. Look for the race on Speed Channel Saturday, June 15^th. Points standings are here, along with Eric’s story.

The week following Sears Point, the West series ran a double at Thunderhill with the always quirky San Francisco Region. (They even charged $20 for lap times on Friday!) The results, and points are attached. Mike Anderson and Moses Smith are putting on a super show and the championship has only two races left.

Pikes Peak Oval is next and counts for both North American and West championships. Rigs can move in Friday morning; cars will be on track at 2:00 p.m. Friday for practice. The schedule and entry are enclosed. For this race only, because of the altitude, the permitted range of carb jets will be increased to allow air correction jets-free. Another addition to the Supp Regs is explained below.

Starting with the Pikes Peak race, any illegal parts found in impound on any Star Mazda Series race entry will be forfeited by the car owner without compensation and may be disposed of by Series officials. It is the intent of this rule to remove any such parts from circulation and to prevent them from being sold to unsuspecting used race car buyers. We hope you will all support this idea.

With the races starting to come hot and heavy, we are also including the entry forms for Mid Ohio, Road America, and Washington, D.C. Speaking of Road America, the June Sprints are the week before Mid Ohio, and many of you plan to run both races there. The Sprints FM race will have the same $15,000 purse, paid to the top 10 finishers, as last year. While we are on the subject, remember that the SCCA Runoffs, at Mid Ohio, will pay $25,000 in cash prizes, to the top 15 finishers, plus contingencies, bringing the total to over $40,000 to Runoffs FM racers.

The June Fastrack has several FM items. We have been advised that the new motor seals have been approved, at last, and that eventually the Club will officially recognize Daryl Drummond as the FM motor rebuilder. After rushing to print with the erroneous information, they are taking their time with the corrections. Is there a pattern here?

June Fastrack also published “For Comment” the Mark V gears proposal. We would appreciate your support on this one, since we know the MK V gears are much more durable and there are no performance issues. Cost is the same as Mark VIIIs for gears. The only concern is the conversion cost from Mark VIII to Mark V is about $800 because a different shaft is required, and you cannot mix MK V with MK VIII gears. We have always requested Mark V be an option so those who do not see the value are not compelled to make the change.

There was a lot of conversation about MSR at the last Comp Board meeting. It looks as if the car is not a problem and that the 13B should be approved for CSR. The issue seems to be how much “prep” the 13B will be allowed. That should make the sealed FM motors okay, with the possibility of a “street ported” 13B as well. These would definitely need the Mark V gears!

We ran out of the initial shipment of Star Reporters before the last mailing was completed, so we are enclosing them again. Sorry.

See you at the races!

Sincerely,
Gary E. Rodrigues