Well, Junior.....I'm not sure why you are getting so upset when other people answer your questions. I have a full time job, and can't always be on here.....
When we started putting this class on paper, we asked several key people in "the know", so to speak, about R1 motors and what ranges they would suggest for this class. We ruled out the 2009 because it IS much faster than the previous models - AND it's the most expensive.
We knew that only the people with more money would be able to afford the fastest motor out there, and it was just too big of a power difference anyway. We didn't go with just a single year model, because think of how hard it would be to get a motor for just one year, if everyone started buying them? We wanted to have a range of years that people could purchase easily and readily.
The older motors are less expensive (a goal of our class), and we were told they were still competitive with the 08's. This has proven to be true, actually - I have a 2002. I now have TWO, 2002's, because they are cheap enough that I can have a spare....and because I am not worried about 10hp, not when you are talking 120+ at the rear wheels. It's not like the difference between 45HP and 55HP. It's not like the difference between a single cylinder 800cc and a twin 800cc. Given the slightly better torque in the older motors, it probably evens out pretty nicely. As I've said before, the reason we took my car out of contention for LOORRS early to start production on this kit, was so we would have track time with different year motors, and could compare and see if it was even an issue - BEFORE the 2010 season starts. IF it's deemed to be an issue, and IF the 08's have a noticeable advantage, then steps can be taken before the season starts to compensate for that - such as adding some weight to the 08's.
Besides, other things will make more of a difference than 10HP, like tire size/brand/tread and suspension setup, center of gravity, etc......I never said this was an EXACT spec class. If it were EXACT, then we would all be in the exact same vehicles, made by the exact same person, with the exact same motor. What I have said was....we are making this class as close as possible to a spec class, to achieve the same goal as a spec class.
Like I said, I HAVE an 02.....another SR1 that's up and running has one, too. We also have two people with 08's.....we will be running with each other enough to determine what, if anything, needs to be done to even up the cars. It's worth it to ensure there are plenty of motors to go around, and that there are motors for everyone's budget.
As for the RZR/R1 stuff.....yeah, for this first year we are trying to keep it simple. The reason for this is in the first paragraph of our proposed rules. We are trying to pull the Rhinos BACK into the field - to ADD to the field, not pull cars out of classes that already are up and running fine. The Teryx's and RZR's have great classes to race in and are competitive with each other. The need we saw was with the Rhinos that had all but gone extinct in short course racing. We would like to run just Rhinos/R1's for the first year, to get the class going, and get some experience out there.....then we'd like to open it up to other manufacturers. After a season, we will have a much better idea of what to watch for, what will make the racing better, how to keep things even, and what the series likes/doesn't like.....we just don't want to bite off too much initially.
That was my first time short course racing and the first time jumping the rhino. I was bottoming so hard in the rhythm section, I broke something on the car almost every time I went through there! Ive definetaly got a lot to learn about short course racing this year. Im just glad Ill be able to do as many races as I want and not worry about loosing a motor and ending my season in the middle of March because I cant afford to fix it!
