Good question Kurt. Not sure at this time. The DD2 is strong on top, every bit the Honda. The spec Honda would still be stronger off the corners so there could be problems with that. The relative strengths are in different spots of the track and it could make passing difficult.
However, lets look at trends. 2 years ago, our Pro class often had over 20 entires. That’s right over 20. Now, it can’t draw better than 5 at most events. How many are saying right now, that’s the class for me next year? If any thing, the class is dying. Spec Honda is going the other direction. Last year, only 3. This year, some of the closest shifter racing we’ve seen. Will that trend continue next year?
In part, I think that depends on what Stars does. If they adopt a Spec Honda class, look out, it will grow and quickly. If not, it will contiue to have pockets of strenght but not take over. And shifter sales will continue to flounder.
Who would go to DD2? The obvious customer is the Tag Master guy who wants to go faster, shift gears, but doesn’t want the brutal power or maintenance of a traditional shifter. He is not going to want to be on the track with a hot shot kid in a spec shifter. He will get lapped and the kid may not be a gentlman when he comes by.
Combining classes is NOT the answer. Eliminating classes is! No matter how you combine them, it doesn’t solve the root problem. It hasn’t worked in the past, why should it work now? We use to think that 3 karts made a class and that’s one reason we have so many. On a club level, that’s fine. But on the regional level, it’s counter productive. Its time to raise the standard of what makes up a class. If a class can’t draw 6 karts on a consistant basis, we need to give serious consideration to eliminating it on the regional level.