RX8Club.com - 2006 Solo-II/ProSolo Nationals

http://www.scca.com/News/News.asp?Ref=300

Quote:

2006 Solo Championships Get New Home, New Date

SCCA Staff Writers

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TOPEKA, Kan. (May 5, 2005) – Sports Car Club of America, Inc. has announced that the 2006 The Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Championships and The Tire Rack® SCCA ProSolo Finale will be held at Heartland Park Topeka, utilizing its paddock areas and road course. Additionally, the event dates move back one week and will be contested in late September.

“We’re very happy to partner with Heartland Park to create nearly a month of SCCA Championship competition in 2006,” SCCA Director of Solo Tasha Goodale said. “The new facility will provide ample room and amenities for the competitions and an improvement in the course surface. We’re also able to move the events a week later without stepping on the Club Racing Runoffs®, which will also be held at Heartland for the first time.”

The 2006 events will begin the weekend of Sept. 23-24 with The Tire Rack SCCA ProSolo Finale. Following the traditional Monday off, the four-day The Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championships begin Tuesday, Sept. 26, concluding Friday, Sept. 29.

“We hope to continue the tradition established by David Stremming and the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority of hosting a wonderful Solo event,” Heartland Park Topeka Owner Raymond Irwin “With the Runoffs and now the Solo event coming to Heartland Park Topeka in 2006, we are thrilled to be hosting the two largest amateur motorsports championships in the world in the same month.”

“Forbes Field has been a wonderful host for the last 10 years and will host this year’s events as well,” Goodale added. “We have to extend a special thanks to Dave Stremming and the entire MTAA for being a strong supporter of the Solo program for so many years.

“That said, we’re excited to move ‘down the road’ to begin the next chapter of National Solo history.”

SCCA sanctions more than 1500 regional and national Solo competitions each year, including The Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Tour and The Tire Rack® SCCA ProSolo National Series, as well as the annual The Tire Rack® SCCA Solo National Championships held each September in Topeka, Kan. That event hosts more than 1100 competitors, making it arguably the largest amateur motorsports championship in the world. SCCA’s version of autocross, Solo has not only been a part of the motorsports ladder system for many of today’s top sports car racers, but also remains a competitive destination in itself, featuring some of the closest grassroots motorsports competitions in North America.

For more information about SCCA and its Solo activities, please visit www.scca.com. For more information about Heartland Park Topeka, visit www.hpt.com.

I'm pretty happy about this move since most solo events are on asphalt already. The surface at the airfield has been degenerating over the years and would be too expensive to repair. Now it's going to be on Asphalt... YES!

Having nice, flat square sections of asphalt for 2 solo courses will allow for unlimited course design (whereas North course has to be designed around certain elements) and along with the facilities of Hartland Park are going to be very nice to have. (Shade) :D

Having it later in the year... that might hurt some and help some. Instead of having it happen RIGHT when school starts (which is hard for students/parents of students), it's a couple weeks later into the school season.... you can make plans for that.

It'll be cooler. Not the at times blistering 90 degree heat.

Not to mention... they might be able to hold another national event or two before the season ends... since it's a couple weeks later than it's been.

--kC