Decisions

I have to figure out what my plans are for next year's Autocross season. Autocross, or Solo2, is a form of motorsport where competitors race on a closed course, typically in a large stadium parking lot or airport taxiway. It’s much like a time trial, one car races at a time, shortest time to complete the course wins. Its fun, and as far as motorsports goes, it’s pretty inexpensive.





I have two cars that have autocross potential; a 1994 Mazda Miata and a 2005 Mini Cooper S. I just now need to decide which car I plan on running next year. I’m leaning towards racing the Miata, it’s inexpensive to maintain, performance parts are cheap, and its fun to drive. The Mini has superior handling and performance (in my humble opinion, many will disagree with me), but if it breaks its expensive, buying performance parts is expensive, the Mini’s larger tires are expensive – the whole effort will cost quite a bit more than with the Miata.

Over the next week, I’ll estimate the cost of building my Miata into a “Street Mod 2” car, and the Mini into a “Street Touring X” car, do a bit of a cost-benefit analysis, and come to some sort of a decision.