As some of you know, we had our first protest of a TT Pro 40 engine during our past races on May 8 & 9. To make a long story short, the engine in question was box stock with one exception. The low speed idle screw had been ground or cut off so that it no longer protruded into the throat of the carburetor. The explanation offered was that this modification was only done so the engine would shut off at the end of the heat when the throttle and throttle trim were pulled back..... possibly this situation was brought about due to a bad muffler bearing or maybe the crank was cranky..... or maybe the real intent was to improve air flow through the carburetor so as to gain a performance advantage
After a conference was held amongst club officials, it was decided not to declare the engine illegal THIS TIME. Our rational came from one very lame source only.... this was our first engine protest in two years since our club got back into pylon racing and rule enforcement at both our field and at Sepulveda Basin (Valley Flyers field) had pretty much been on the honor system (bad plan to trust any racer that much on a regular basis) for quite some time. We felt if we declared the protested engine illegal at that time, we would likely be faced with going down the line and finding quite a number of others illegal as well. We were in a bad place and the blame belongs entirely on us as administrators of the rules.... not the racer being protested. I'm a competitor too and if you gimme an inch, I'll turn it into a mile IF YOU LET ME. In any case, we decided to let it slide that time and then give everybody fair warning that such things WILL NOT BE TOLERATED in the future. I personally also saw a couple of TT Pro 40 mufflers welded together and even though I understand the most logical reason behind such a thing is to prevent loosing the tail cone and not for a performance advantage, the fact remains this is not box stock and is obviously severely modified. Therefore in summary, for all future APRA events held by our club, SGVRCL at Whittier Narrows, you must have a stock low speed idle screw installed and it must not be altered in any way. Back it out till only half a thread is holding it in if you like, just make sure it doesn't fall out or you will be disqualified, if caught
Welded mufflers also will no longer be allowed unless you are prepared to cut it apart on demand. It's just not good enough to stick a dowel up the tip to see if it hits SOMETHING such as the baffle. We must be able to disassemble the muffler for a complete inspection should it become necessary for whatever reason. Don't forget, the CD can check anything at anytime just because he/she feels like it.
In closing here, I want to make it crystal clear, we are not trying to get nit-picky about rules. We just want to take temptation out of the hands of a few and strongly encourage everyone to leave these motors alone! Per the AMA rule book, you can change bearings, gaskets (head shims) and the nuts and bolts..... NOTHING ELSE! Our belief is the main focus for this class should be directed towards your thumbs/flying skills which everyone seems to agree is at least 95 pecent of the battle. I've had lengthy discussions with Barry Leavengood of the Valley Flyers Club at the basin and would suggest everyone get ready for uniform rule enforcement at both of our fields. I'm sure Barry will make his own comments to this effect as well.
Thanks for your time and understanding,
Stan Shoun
CD - SGVRCL