RE News 2026
A review of San Francisco Region’s 2026 road racing season and a look ahead at changes for 2027.
2026 Season Finale
We ended 2026 with a successful event at Thunderhill. It was one of the best attended finale events in many years. The newly paved track surface was smooth as glass and incredibly fast, leading to several track records being broken.
The new curbs provided a new, exciting challenge in turns 8, 11, and 14. They now require you to be on the “numbers”. The exit curb on Turn 15 was redesigned to prevent you from spinning into the inside wall. I watched several drivers drop wheels on the new curb and not spin right and hit the wall. I would say the redesign was a success.
2026 Entries
This year marks the first increase in overall entries since 2020. That’s not to say there are not things to be improved on (more on that at the end of this), but it shows growth in the right direction. I would like to take a moment and thank the people, initiatives, and improvements that allowed us to reach this goal.
Recognizing Those Who Made It Possible
Our Workers
I want to thank our workers for everything they do. This year, they were also open to trying new and different ways of doing things, and that’s not always easy. Their willingness to adapt and help us improve is greatly appreciated.
Our Board of Directors
Some may think being a board member is simply attending a monthly meeting and making some plans, and in the past, this was the case. However, change and improvement do not come without hard work, and our current board has stepped up to do the hard work in between meetings, in their free time, and often at events. Voting is open, so keep that in mind when making your selections.
2026 Initiatives and Improvements
Reno Region Partnership
Dave and Carol Deborde, members of Reno Region SCCA’s leadership, worked with us to integrate their Track Day/Time Trials into our March Thunderhill Region. It served as an important trial to determine whether that type of partnership would work in the future. It was an important first step. Not only did it work very well, but it also laid the groundwork for more of these combined events in 2027.
The Thunderhill Open
We continue to look for opportunities to make the off-track experience just as fun as the on-track experience. With that goal in mind, Thunderhill hosted The Thunderhill Open in May of this year. It was a combination of Road Racing, Time Trials, Drifting, food, drinks, and music. The event was very successful and provided valuable information and feedback that we can apply to future events. None of this would have been possible without Matt Busby (the Thunderhill President) and the Thunderhill team.
Improved Laguna Seca Load-In
For the past few years, we’ve held just one event annually at Laguna Seca, and it’s a big event. Typically taking over 3 hours to complete the paddock load in. This year we worked closely with Laguna’s leadership to develop an improved load-in plan, reducing the time down to 45 minutes, equating an incredible 75%-time reduction! Using this improved plan, we’ve been able to reduce load in times at Thunderhill and Sonoma as well. It’s nice to start our race weekends with a little less stress!
Online Broadcasting
Board member Bill Booth put together our first ever live broadcast for the September Sonoma Regional. This was a major value-added initiative we wanted to test this year and Bill made it happen. We learned what worked and what didn’t and how we can make it even better for our next online event in 2027.
Driver Workshop
Board member Bob Sachs brought professional driver Andy Pilgram to hold classes at our Sonoma Regional. Bob and Andy put together three classes to help our drivers get professional information to help them become better on track.
Financial Performance and Leadership
Financial Performance
This year, we’ve tried new things that cost us money. But, as I’m pleased to say, for the second year in a row, we’ve been able to break even operationally. Why is this important you might ask? It is important because when I say we broke even, that means we did not need to use our Thunderhill dividend money to cover our operating expenses. This puts us in a position to invest in the future of SFR Road Racing. We now have the financial stability to try new things, improve the experience for our drivers, and move our program into a new era that recognizes what today’s drivers want.
Leadership
Our first and most important move this year was hiring John Hunter as our Regional Executive Director. John previously managed the Time Attack program at SCCA National, and we were fortunate to bring him on board with SCCA’s blessing. He has years of amateur racing experience and will be the consistent face for SFR’s Road Racing experience.
Looking Ahead to 2027
Schedule
We have put together a great road racing schedule for the 2027 season. We worked with both Cal Club and Oregon SCCA regions and, for the first time I can remember, we have zero overlapping events! This is great for drivers and shops alike as they won’t have to decide which event to attend over another.
And, for the first time in many years, we have two events at Sonoma! A Major/Regional in the spring, and a regional in the fall. Add Laguna Seca and Thunderhill, and we’ve got a great mix of tracks and opportunities to race.
But a great schedule isn’t the only part we’re working on.
Reducing Contact
San Francisco Region, along with other organizations, have been surveying drivers to learn what would encourage them to race more often. One message was very clear. Drivers want less contact and damage on track.
Contact takes the fun out of racing and often—because of the cost of repairs—can keep drivers from returning. We all want to win; it’s the goal of racing. However, most of us don’t want to win at the expense of others.
We’re developing a program for the 2027 season aimed at reducing on-track incidents and encouraging cleaner racing. We want drivers to race hard, have fun, and go home with their cars in one piece. There’s more work to do on the details, but we believe this is an important step toward making racing more enjoyable and affordable.
Strengthening our Events
We’re also looking at ways to bring more activity and excitement to our race weekends.
Our first combined event with Reno SCCA showed us the potential of bringing Road Racing, Track Days, and Time Trials together. We’re looking forward to building upon that relationship and exploring more opportunities in 2027.
John is working to build relationships with other motorsports groups, including those running their own road racing programs, to explore opportunities to bring them into our events.
Why? Because a fuller, more active paddock is good for everyone. More people, more activity, and more opportunities to enjoy motorsports make for a better weekend, whether you’re racing, working, or just spending time at the track.
We’re not looking to change everything that makes SFR Road Racing what it is. But we also recognize that what drivers want and expect continues to evolve, and we need to evolve with them.
We’ve learned a lot this year, and we’re putting that knowledge to work as we plan for 2027. There are still details to work through, and we’ll have more to share as those plans come together.
I believe we’re heading in the right direction, and I’m excited about what’s ahead.
Happy New Year! See you at the track in 2027!
Mike Smith
