That incident really messed things up. After the flag dropped again, they had what, another three laps left? I can honestly say my resentment towards the SCCA has once again grown a notch in regards to classification. I just don’t think many of those ‘new’ cars belong in H Prod. I know it’s not a vintage organization, but if they made a fair attempt at pushing the smaller, older cars (even that 1980s MR2), people would come, and the fields would build up in size.
The very shortened race was a huge blow to the MWB group. A full race would have been of benefit to the X1/9's as the FWD cars tend to overheat the front tires, slowing slightly the last few laps, plus the inevitable mechanical failures during a full race
With basically no time left, Matt was forced into extreme measures, a quick spin out of 8th place, closing on 7th, sealed his finish. I don't know where Brayden was, probably 10th/11th, and he had the same fate. Next year will get here with a much better finish.
One of the negative things the X1/9 is saddled with goes back to the first couple of years they were raced. Compared to the rest of the fields they were so sophisticated the X1/9 quickly was known as being a little too fast, had superior handling, superior OHC engine, and the strongest non-flexible chassis. IMO, It has never escaped that opinion of its merits. SCCA has tried to weight control the performance of the modern cars in H Prod, but things are now reversed for the X.
The single OHC is now racing Twin OHC engines. The basic engine design is good for the X, but with the latest Twin Cam modern engines, which are cross-flow head designs, a single-cam non-crossflow head is behind. After all, when you have superior horsepower numbers the extra weight in the modern cars, once in motion, will out accel the older engine design. The British cars are further behind in engine design but are very lightweight. Coupled with decades of engine development, they make a lot of power and are fast.