Mikelly Posted May 1, 2003 Share Posted May 1, 2003 So, what is the deal with us anyway??? Man I can't tell you guys how much the whole West Coast Nationals and my comments that followed have filled up my mail box. I wanted to clear the air, so here goes... ZF Racing LLC has one goal, one mission. My goal has been to put a car on the map at the SCCA SOLO2 Nationals. That has been the goal from DAY ONE! Steve and Ian contacted my former business partner three years ago and here we are today with a very quick car, and two very good drivers. For the past two years I've posted about how these two guys have worked hard to compete in the Northern California region and how over most of 2002 they got TTOD at more than 75% of the events they entered. These guys are quick, and yes the car is a minimalist car, but that is what it takes to be competitive at the level we are shooting for. We know the car ONLY had hood and door skins. But it can per the SCCA rules. This car is purpose built, no bones about it... Again, That is WHAT IT TAKES to win. And you want to know something else? We're gonna take the rules even further to their limits with this car. You guys and gals haven't seen anything yet! Ian is a ZCAR guy, and he has owned some very quick Street turbo Zs. Steve is more like myself in the sense that he wants to compete. Doesn't matter what you put him in, he is gonna try to beat you with it. And this gets us to the hot water I seem to have gotten into with some folks who are near and dear to the event and it's sponser last weekend. Far as I'm concerned the whole issue from last year is over, done, finished. It was fun to poke a stick about this years turn of events, but apparently it stung a little too much with some folks, and it really was not the overall intention. I wanted to prove a point and in my wonderfully Irish TACT (Or lack there of...) I stepped on peoples toes a little to firmly. Sal at MSA has hooked me up and helped me out over the last 15 years, and I bear him, nor his company no ill will. Am I happy we had a good showing? Damned straight. But from this point forward I consider it a done deal. It was an autocross school, nothing more. My guys came to learn and they did. They have every year they have attended and I certainly wouldn't want them to be excluded from future events. However, this Us vs. them thing stops here. Regardless of how it all began, and everyone can sit and point fingers, The buck stops here. I instigated it after last year, and for that I'll take full responsibility, but it ends now. I wish MSA and their staff the best of successes in 2003 and beyond. ZF Racing LLC has been on hiatus for almost 6 months now while I completed my shop. I'm just now to a point of dusting off some new ideas for products, as well as building my own company cars, and I do NOT want to tarnish the hard work people like Steve, Ian, and John Williams have put forth for the sake of my name, and my ideas. I don't want their efforts to be somehow over-shadowed by my own comments, or the actions of others. So from this day forth I'll let the actions on the tarmac speak for themselves. I'll be happy when we win, and scratch my head and go back to the drawing board when something breaks or we lose. But we will be pointed in the right direction, with eyes firmly glued toward the future, not focused on the past. It isn't about beating others. It is about being the best you can possibly be. We aren't there yet, and we have a ways to go, but steve and Ian have built the foundation. With the new recruits I will have waving the ZF Racing flag this coming year (I'm seeking drivers on the east coast and in the Texas region), I think we'll achieve the intended goal of being our best. Thanks! Mike Kelly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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