GTS Racing

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I was talking with a “new to the car world” friend the other day and he had watched a recent road race on the Speed Channel and was a bit confused with the classes and “what make them think you can run a Ford Focus against a Corvette…that’s a no brainer….” he says.   So I walked him through the classes and I think he understood that they may be on the same course at the same time but they are only competing  against others in the  same class, although they do have to contend with the others.

Last post covered the GT class with the likes of the Corvette and the Aston Martin DB9.  The GTS class is it much more stock and closer to the what you and I will drive around town….well…sort of…!

With cars like the Kia Optima and the Pontiac Solstice (well what’s left of them) you might be thinking yeah…I’ve see those in the ‘hood’.  Well….sort of….

The Kia has 370 hps – yeah…all that from a 4 cylinder aluminum engine.  That’s only 70 MORE!!! horse power less than the Lotus Exige that runs in the GTS class as well.

Optima - in racing colors

Optima – in racing colors

 

 

 

 

Exige

Exige

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This class also has the Ford Boss 302 Mustang (420 hp), Dodge Challenger (420 hp) and the Camaro (422 hp) along with Maseerati Trofeo Gransport (385 hp) and the Scion FR-S (330 hp).

Maserati Trofeo

Maserati Trofeo

Boss 302S

Boss 302S

There are six classes for GTS: GTS1, GTS2, GTS3, GTS4, GTS5, and GTSU. All cars will be classed
on a power to weight ratio. A vehicle’s classification and minimum allowable weight (as the car
would exit the track with the driver) will be determined by multiplying the appropriate class
weight ratios by the vehicle’s power. “Power,” as used here, will be determined from a minimum
of three consecutive dyno pulls, and shall be defined as:
a) the horsepower value (WHP) from the single run with the highest horsepower reading (for
cars with higher horsepower than torque);
Weight
———————————-
WHP
or,
b) the average of horsepower and torque from the single run with the highest average of those
values (for cars with higher torque than horsepower):
Weight
———————————-
(WHP+WTQ)*.5
The following table shall be used to determine each car’s class based on the calculations
determined using the above methods.
Minimum ratio for                                          D.O.T. Approved Tires                                               Non-D.O.T Tires
GTSU                                                                             No limit                                                                  No limit
GTS5                                                                                  6.6                                                                            7.2
GTS4                                                                                 8.5                                                                             9.0
GTS3                                                                                  11.0                                                                         12.0
GTS2                                                                                  14.5                                                                          16.0
GTS1                                                                                  18.5                                                                         20.0


This all seem a bit formal, because it’s pulled from the SCCA guide for classes.

Thanks for reading.

Tim

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