Hi Joel,
Great question and one I asked several times before I built my 968 ITR race car. The GCR lists the stock brake rotor size in the Improved Touring Category Specifications. But as long as the car came with a OEM upgrade that was not installed by the dealer, the upgrade can be included. Typically these are brake and suspension modifications. More rarely exaust or intake modifications. The M030 upgrade is fully recognized and approved as a OEM upgrade that came with the car and is referenced in the shop manual. The upgrade must have been available in the USA from the manufacturer, no european only upgrades permitted. (A problem if I want to add a turbo and go Super Touring racing. Club officials have told me it's OK but I wouldn't want to get protested and lose - these racers love to become experts on rules lawyering.)
Page 355 of the GCR lists, "Parts or assemblies which the
manufacturer lists in factory service manuals or parts guides for a particular
model which supersede or replace original parts or assemblies are
permitted. Documentation of the superseding parts or assemblies must be
supplied to the Club Racing Department and the appropriate part numbers
listed on that particular model’s specification line."
So for example, many folks pull the torque tubes and just run coilovers. No can do with the 968. It came from the factory with both so you must run both. The 944 S2 is out of luck and must run just the torque tube and shocks. No coilover springs.
I have not taken the time to request that the Club Racing Board (CRB) add the M030 to the spec line in the ITCS but for the Porsche models that have an M030 option, it is recognized as a OEM upgrade and is referenced in the shop manuals. Make sure you have a soft copy of the shop manual with you at the track at a minimum, better yet a hard copy. I had Kinkos print out a manual for me.
I tried to lawyer up on the 3055 weight and got nothing but, "sure, you are winning and want less weight?" The on track performance is not supposed to be taken into account per the rules as there is a power to weight guideline with adders and detractors for front wheel drive or excellent torque. This gets into the area where the drivers aren't really sure how the CRB classes the cars. The 'Formula' was developed by the ITAC - Improved Touring Advisory Committee several years ago. All the cars that were newly submitted for classification like the 968 were run through "the forumula" and this left some of the old cars misclassed - some would have benefitted or suffered from being run through the formula but since they were established none were reclassed. I think the estimated power gain for the 968 in ITR trim was a bit overstated with folks thinking that 225 hp to the wheels was achievable. Not unless you want to make Pete a rich man. We are out of options for more power other than putting a full Motec ECU system in the car which I think would cost $10K for parts and more for tuning. And that might only give 5 hp more to what I have. Really study up on the rules to make sure you build a legal car.
I raced at NHIS this spring and won the race only to be penalized for missing the plastic insert that goes where the intake air enters the nose of the car. This made little or no difference to performance but cost me a win. This is one of the reasons I race SCCA - it is the most stringent on classifications and enforement of the rules. Unfortunately we are seeing more ITR cars show up with brand new full on race engines and unlike down south, people are reluctant to protest and I would be in that category. I'm not interested in making enemies. Down in the South Atlantic regions, folks get very aggresive with bending rules and protesting with more frequency than in the North Atlantic regions.
Be certain that if you are building the car, have your builder be very familiar with the rules so you don't have a costly and obvious non-compliance issue.
I hope you build one! Mine has met and exceeded my expectations. Now I just need to fingure out what to do about the changing landscape in my class, as in - holy crap these guys are pouring money into motors that scream like jet engines!
