We've yet to complete the final two events of the Winter 2021 Series and we're already at that point when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of... well... racing and winning.
Yes. It's time to start thinking about the Spring 2021 Drink Drive Championship Series!
For the Spring, we're stepping things up a notch. The spec vehicle will become the BMW '03 M3. This two-door coupe ups the horse power and performance. Competitors used to the '89 M3 will find the 03 to be at least as easy to drive.
The exact series specifications are still being hammered out, but we can share with you the highlights. A full rule set will be posted here in the next couple of weeks. In general, the cars will run at near stock weights. The level 1 weight tuning provides sufficient range to accommodate success ballast, however highly successful competitors are likely to be running a tad heavier than stock weight. I for one am going to blame this on the new requirement that roll cage tubing is to be crafted of only the finest depleted uranium. (I've been told we're not to worry, there's some metalurigcal process involved that renders the uranium "almost harmless". I don't begin to understand the details, so please don't ask.)
The tuning rules will be largely the same as for the '89 M3 Evo cars: a fixed gearbox, and most other tuning elements free. Exact gearbox settings are still being worked out, but it's likely to be north of 150MPH. The series will be running on the full set of sport compounds as provided by the series' new tire sponsor -- expect to see an announcement on that in January.
Also new for the Spring 2021 series: all DDRS competitors will be required to use the DDRS number ball when displaying their car number. We had a lot of gripes from the folks in timing and scoring with some car numbers not being entirely legible, or being in all sorts of different locations. Putting the numbers in a common number ball should help the T&S folks to better identify the cars. Trust me, you don't want a visit from the Bad Number Fairy. We were assured that if everyone complies, we will be spared that. (For those of you wondering, "if our cars have transponders, why does it matter?" Well, it does. Transponders sometimes fail to read, and without a good manual backup system, there's no way to make sure that results and laptimes are accurate.)
The full series schedule will also be forthcoming in a large announcement in January, but expect to see a five or six race series, with much the same format as you've experienced in the Winter 2021 series. The slightly faster '03 M3 should expand the range of venues at which we can race. Races will be every third Saturday (same as for the current series), and expect a special awards banquet/support series season finale a week or two after the DDRS series wraps up.