[davidimurray]

Personally, I wouldn't remove them. Think when your car is upside down sliding down the tarmac (or even worse a field) on the hoop. There will be a huge bending moment applied at the base of the hoop. There are 3 likely scenarios that could lead to failure, 1) the bolts shear - unlikely, 2) your weld to the plate fails - unlikely, 3) the suspension mount plate deforms - possible.

The brace basically allow the load into the hoop to be better distributed t other parts of the car - and that includes slidin forward and backwards as well as the triangulation providing stiffness.