I have been competing in the local SCCA autocross season in our Mazda 2 which I have previously written about here. There is no set class that the Mazda 2 fits in listed with the SCCA. I looked to see where the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa, etc were classed but there was no information available. So this left me to classify the car myself.
I ended up choosing the STS category based on several factors. The STS classification is for small cars with engines under 1.9 liters, like the Honda CRX, Honda Del-Sol, Miata, Porsche 914, etc. The 2 fit into the class wonderfully as all the cars in this class handle very well and would provide a perfect challenge for the 2. After the second event I received an email from the local solo chairman that someone had brought up a question about the Mazda 2 competing in the class and he recommended I take it the national technical person. I sent over an email to the technical service specialist, running down the information about the Mazda 2 and what was going on. My reply back from the SCCA was we needed to be in ST instead of STS. The reason being that the Mazda 2 has back seats. Never mind anything technical about the car with power levels, weight, or any factors that actually make a difference. Heck, I could pull the back seats out if they really want it to be a 2 seat car.
The real icing on the cake was in the email I received back I was told there will be a change next year for the classifications for the Mazda 2. The SCCA acknowledges that there is a problem but they are not going to do anything about it this year. I politely replied back to the SCCA asking if there is anything I can do about it and I was told I should go out there and have fun. I hate to be spoil sport but my goal when I go out and compete is to win.
There is an upcoming autocross event soon which we will find out how well the Mazda 2 stacks up against the ST class. This should be interesting as we will be down around 60 wheel hp against several of the Honda Civics which inhabit in the class. I will post up the results after the next event.
Take a MS3 and kick some VTEC ass!
Class was scared…nuff said…
Dont worry, I have faith in the 2 against the Civics
The Mazdaspeed 3 get put in a different class than the civics.
The real bummer is all the points you accumulated in STS and have missed out on in ST. See you this weekend at Packwood, take the 2 to victory!
Wow, sounds fishy to me. I wonder if the SCCA official had just viewed the Royal beat down on Royal Purple’s Forum Wars or perhaps he just made a bad call, any who just kick some tail out in the cones Derrick! Kritz(MSF)
Does the Mazda2 only make about 50whp?
ST class does not allow major engine mods, the winning civics are running single cam low-displacement D-series motors. They aren’t powerhouses. They win because of their suspension design, not because of their power. They’re some of the weakest cars in that class, strictly speaking horsepower-wise.
If you are just competing regionally, see if the Solo director in your Region will let you keep running STS. If you go to National Tour events you will have to compete in ST. Solo SCCA rules are written on a National level. Regions have leeway to mold some rules to suit them (PAX classes, additional street tire classes, etc).
Yes, the SCCA is addressing this, classifications of the newer “B-Spec” cars (Yaris, Fit, Mazda2, Fiesta, etc). No, they cannot change rules mid-year. Check out the January and June Fasttrack publications on SCCA.com under the Solo section.
Also, the CRX’s you are competing against in STS are the same drivetrain as what is in the ST Civics, just a shorter wheelbase and slightly lighter. Both 1.6L engines (nope, no VTEC in the D16 engine), and not much over 115hp to the wheels for a complete build. So no, you won’t be down 60hp by switching to ST.
How I know? I currently own a 10/10ths ST classed 1989 Honda Civic, and have been autocrossing for 6+ years.
The SCCA official was right (likely Doug Gill you spoke with, technical director), go out and have fun. No substitute for improving your driving in whatever class you are in. 🙂 Also, good to see a Mazda2 build! I have already seen a Fiesta and a Fiat 500 at local events this year. Love the little cars.
Will,
I received an email from our regional director with the information about having to move classes due to another local member speaking up about it.
My question about the class change was more geared towards foresight of the B cars and a class for them. The 2 is not the first of these cars out in North America, The fit and yaris have been here for years.
There is a late 90s civic si coupe in the class competing in the class which has a 1.6 VTEC engine in it. I believe I have a plan to be able to compete with the older civics in the ST class but we will see how well that goes.
Any hints as to what your plan is to be able to compete with the civics? How far behind them are you?
That 90 Civic Si doesn’t have a VTEC engine if it is in ST. It’s the D16A6, single cam, non-VTEC motor. ’89-91 Civics and the ’88-91 CRXs both have this engine.
The single cam D16Z6 in later Civics and the dual cam B16 were the first Honda engines that offered VTEC, IIRC.
But it isn’t the power that is making the Civics fast in ST. It’s a tire size / weight / suspension advantage. Plus the amount of development that has been put into that particular car for several years. 😉 Hope that helps a bit.
However, looks like next year the 2 will be separated from the 89-91 Civics anyway in a new class: STF. Check out the latest Fasttrack from the SCCA: https://www.scca.com/documents/Fastrack/11/11-fastrack-july-solo.pdf
Good luck, and hope you keep driving and competing!