Re: Re: Re: Four motions for AGM

[Dick Roberts (Web admin)]

Posted by Good debate and ideas on October 08, 2004 at 09:23:12:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Four motions for AGM posted by Roy on October 04, 2004 at 19:47:11:

All:
This does seem to be getting some good debate and discussion going, and some helpful ideas are coming forward. The club is a democracy, with voting effectively slightly biased towards the views of active members, which is as it should be.
PAUL R - I don't think anyone would want to 'outlaw' this years engines for next year. That would not be at all helpful for anyone. My idea of making cams Citroen based and free, but no vernier, was to give the Club cam engines a slight head start. Others have suggested that the option of verniers on free cams should be allowed, so a new, third, motion will be tabelled by me and Roy saying 'cams must obviously and easily be recognisable as Citroen cams, but profile is free and verniers are allowed'.
This cam rule does give freedom to front runners to spend a lot of money getting ahead - but it also allows newcomers to get onto the back of the grid easily. I'm personally quite keen on a ballast handicap system to equalise cars, which would be easier to police than engine specs. Weighing cars is easy, quick and public. If engine power was equalised, better drivers would still be in front. Ballast slows down fast drivers as well as fast cars - and hopefully closes up the field. BUT - I'm not sure how ballast would work in the 24hr, unless drivers are graded in some way, as in British GT's.
STEVE P: I can often be foolish - but I try not to be stupid, by, for instance, promising 10-20 extra cars for the 24hrs.
GARAGE BOY - one of the few benefits of having few and grey hairs is that we tend also to have smaller mortgages and outgoings on kids etc. I think you are right - the cost of going racing, entry fees, travelling, etc, is now higher than ever, and possibly an even higher proportion of many peoples limited disposable income. It may well not be the cost of cams etc that is reducing fields, but simply the cost of going racing. The entry fee for Pembrey for the w/e is a lot of anyone's money.
'Big Thrills - Small Bills' is possibly a phrase we should now consign to history and we need to think up something more attractive for our series. I have not yet seen the AGM motion suggesting 2hr races, but Britcar and the Belgian series tend towards fewer longer races, and Britcar seems to be getting quite well established.
Best wishes, Martin H