SCORE and BITD ban 2 Speed Underdrives after Andrew Myers finished 4th overall in the Blue Water Classic!
Last year S.C.O.R.E. opened up the rules to allow Underdrives, and B.I.T.D. and S.N.O.R.E. changed their rule books to mirror the changes. The rule books are so similar, that the same number system is used in all 3 rule books!
Several racers contacted us and two stepped up to build new trucks built around our 2 Speed Underdrives, Andrew Myers and Cody Waggoner.
Our 2 speeds have been around since 2016, when we won the Pro2 Championship with Rob MacCachren. At the end of the season, the 2 speed was unceremoniously banned!
Our 2 speeds have been around since 2016, when we won the Pro2 Championship with Rob MacCachren. At the end of the season, the 2 speed was unceremoniously banned!
Although it wasn't a win, you would have thought it was as no sooner was the race over, the top 5 finishers were pulled aside and informed that 2 speeds would not be allowed next year!
With BITD slamming the door on them, they looked at racing series SCORE rule book online and then it was found that the SCORE rule book had been modified, and very recently!
In their haste to stuff this rule in before the BAJA 1000, the SCORE tech guys even misspelled unit!
Interestingly, what is also added is (Effective 1-1-2019)... which was thrown in there to back date the rules and make the Myers and Waggoner trucks illegal this year and beyond, otherwise the trucks would have to be grandfathered in next year.
Waggoner's truck is still being built, so there isn't much that can be done, but Myers has a couple of races under his belt already this year.
Pictured below is a 3D cad rendering of the B2T2 2 Speed Underdrive.
What really stinks about all of this is that the S.C.O.R.E. tech guys said that they didn't amend the rules recently, and that the rules have been in place since 2019.
This doesn't jive for three reasons.
One, we have the rule book from last year which says nothing about 2 speeds and is dated from March 23rd, 2019.
Two, a competitor of ours told Andrew Myers over the phone that he helped them with the rule changes recently.
Three, both BITD and SCORE haven't updated their official rule books online.
This doesn't jive for three reasons.
One, we have the rule book from last year which says nothing about 2 speeds and is dated from March 23rd, 2019.
Two, a competitor of ours told Andrew Myers over the phone that he helped them with the rule changes recently.
Three, both BITD and SCORE haven't updated their official rule books online.
The two 6100 trucks that we made Underdrives for this year are vastly different from each other and from the Pro 2 trucks we work with normally. So we had to repackage our 2 speed internals to fit the frame designs.
The V2T2 version designed for the Herbst built truck is shown above.
The C2T2 version designed for the Armada built truck is shown below.
So the picture is getting clearer, and it is just as we have said it before, racing isn't conducive to innovation anymore. We have one competitor that doesn't understand the meaning of competition.
It's a small world in racing, and word gets around fast. We hear what's going on and we know who is taking aim at us this time.
All racing series are clubs, and if they don't want you playing in their incestuous sandbox, they will find petty ways to push you out. There is nothing we can do about it legally. If they want to, they will make everything spec and funneled through them... at a cost to the racer, and eventually the race series.
We have seen it all before many times. Where is USAC / CAN-AM / CART / APBA / POPRA / SBI / UIM CLASS 1, and many more now?
Recently, when we were banned out of offshore boat racing worldwide, we turned to offroad again because it was, at the time still unlimited.
Now are being banned directly for the 4th time in 5 years in offroad.
Sadly, it is clear offroad racing is taking the lowest common denominator route...
Why, you say?
We have been told to our face, "We are afraid that you will have a performance advantage." - Tommy Morris - former LOORS Tech Official.
Isn't that the point, to make something that is better that the rest? We can't make a product that is inferior to our competitors or what we have done before and expect to sell one?!?
The hidden meaning is that our competition can't overcome our advantage, and they know it.
Anyone can buy an underdrive from us, so the performance advantage is available to anyone that wants it.
Then the argument turns to cost. Our Underdrives costs more money upfront than a single speed planetary Underdrive.
But over a season, a single speed planetary costs you more money. Because performance wise, a planetary driven truck in qualifying, in the race and all season, is not competitive... you can't tune it to every track and the track conditions.
And if you aren't competitive, you can't win. And if you can't win, you are going to try something else... and that choice should be up to the racers, not the guys writing the rules, nor the guys making inadequate products for the racers.
It's a small world in racing, and word gets around fast. We hear what's going on and we know who is taking aim at us this time.
All racing series are clubs, and if they don't want you playing in their incestuous sandbox, they will find petty ways to push you out. There is nothing we can do about it legally. If they want to, they will make everything spec and funneled through them... at a cost to the racer, and eventually the race series.
We have seen it all before many times. Where is USAC / CAN-AM / CART / APBA / POPRA / SBI / UIM CLASS 1, and many more now?
Recently, when we were banned out of offshore boat racing worldwide, we turned to offroad again because it was, at the time still unlimited.
Now are being banned directly for the 4th time in 5 years in offroad.
Sadly, it is clear offroad racing is taking the lowest common denominator route...
Why, you say?
We have been told to our face, "We are afraid that you will have a performance advantage." - Tommy Morris - former LOORS Tech Official.
Isn't that the point, to make something that is better that the rest? We can't make a product that is inferior to our competitors or what we have done before and expect to sell one?!?
The hidden meaning is that our competition can't overcome our advantage, and they know it.
Anyone can buy an underdrive from us, so the performance advantage is available to anyone that wants it.
Then the argument turns to cost. Our Underdrives costs more money upfront than a single speed planetary Underdrive.
But over a season, a single speed planetary costs you more money. Because performance wise, a planetary driven truck in qualifying, in the race and all season, is not competitive... you can't tune it to every track and the track conditions.
And if you aren't competitive, you can't win. And if you can't win, you are going to try something else... and that choice should be up to the racers, not the guys writing the rules, nor the guys making inadequate products for the racers.
It's a strange world we live in these days. As unknown as we are in the outside world, remarkably, within the social media world we have had two memes made recently on the subject of our 2 speed underdrives.
It's a a complement for sure, but it feels like a backhanded one.
For those of you thinking about Underdrives for your 6100 trucks, just weigh this one thing out while doing your research...
How many ratios does a "good ol' fashioned" planetary underdrives come in - that you can actually use? You'll find out one maybe two ratios are available.
This is only an underdrive chart, the overdrive chart would be just as big, but the inverse of all these ratios. There are even more ratio combinations that are possible too with the ratios we have here, but they don't make sense for offroad racing.
The Weismann Underdrives are a powerful tool for the racer, and the racers who use them - love them.
Andrew Myers debuted his brand new 6100 this year, the truck was built to the 2019/2020 BITD, SCORE, and SNORE rules.
A quick look at the SNORE rule book, and one will find that it is still legal to run 2 speed Underdrives in the their 6100 class.
SNORE has said that they are not introducing a rule to ban our 2 speed underdrives, and they see the merit in the 2 speeds.
Let's hope for racers like Andrew Myers, that SNORE stay true to their words.
The ominous W... who knows what we will come up with next for our customers... all in the name of racing by the rules fair and square!
A quick look at the SNORE rule book, and one will find that it is still legal to run 2 speed Underdrives in the their 6100 class.
SNORE has said that they are not introducing a rule to ban our 2 speed underdrives, and they see the merit in the 2 speeds.
Let's hope for racers like Andrew Myers, that SNORE stay true to their words.
The ominous W... who knows what we will come up with next for our customers... all in the name of racing by the rules fair and square!
