Anglesey - BARC NW Concerns re Grid Size

[Trevor Williams]

All,
I received this in an email from John Leck today :-
Still only 10 entries for 2CVs thought it was more but 2 or 3 where just second drivers!
Getting a bit worried re 2 1 hour races with 10 cars!

If you haven't already sent an entry in, and are considering doing so, please do so ASAP

Cheers

Trevor

[Paul Robertson]

No surprise there then trev.
What do you think they will do?Cancel one of the races? i suppose now they are both part of the championship they can't.
Won't we be popular.

[Trevor Williams]

Paul
I am expecting contact with John Leck tonight. Don't know what they will do, though 4 grand is 4 grand in anyones money. If they can afford to lose that, fine. They have the right to cancel an event if it doesnt reach the minimum numbers, which are 15 according to the entry form
I wouldnt think they would be too poular with Dale know that he has gone to the MSA to get our regs altered!!!
Its not our fault, if they had done what we wanted rather than listening to others we wouldnt be in this position!
Did you get my earlier email? If so Imsurprised you havent wanted more info!!!!
Cheers
Trevor

[Trevor Williams]

All
Further to my post above, I have spoken to BARC NW this evening and this is the situation as it it stands now:-

We have 8 confirmed entries for our races at Anglesey

Unless we have a further 7 entries in the next few days, the chances are that the races will be cancelled.

In my opinion, if the races are cancelled, the chances of us going to anglesey in the future are VERY slim

The format of the events is what was voted in at the agm. If you don't support the events you will all be looking at 565kg of scrap metal in your garages in the very near future. If you dont come out to play, then we only have ouselves to blame when the club folds

Trevor

[Derek Coghill]

That would be a shame; I'm quite looking forward to a 300 mile trip rather than the previous rounds' 400+......

[Paul Robertson]

Iwas looking forward to 2 new circuits .How often does that happen ?

[Derek Coghill]

Well, yes, there's that too; actually, I'm just looking forward to going racing.

[David Sullivan]

What p*ss*s me off the most are the vast majority that just use the club for the 24hr race, i know that life & its to be expected but around 140 drivers & 35 cars contested the 24hrs & were struggling to get 10 for next weekend.

So what is the list of cars that are actually going to anglesey?

[Marc Fenner]

I know many of the drivers at the 24hr are hire drivers. Our car has been sitting there ready for hiring and not had one call about it!
Does anyone know whats happened to Cathrine? Does she need someone to take over the Hire list if she is too busy? If so i am happy to do so.

[Andrew Bull]

I fear the concerns raised at the AGM over endurance races being a larger chunck of money to shell out in one pay day are coming to light.  It was said at the time that enduro format and more importantly, laps per pound, were considered more important than actual entry fees being a large sum of money in one lump.  

The grave potential for doubling up of regular members and reduced grids was also noted at the AGM by the small number of people who could be arsed to attend (at least 10% of which were non racing full members).  

This problem of reduced grids does not just affect the drivers.   There is a whole social network built around the race calendar, from MWAGS, (Mechanics, wifes and girlfriends) to spectators and GB club members.  This will also be lost.  Just think, no more barby piss ups, outside Trev's camper.  No more innuendo, and Christian will never have the chance to get his kit off again if he wins.   Poor old Steve will never get married, and I'll have to sell the camper because it'll be surplus to requirements.  

Are we already in decline?  Of course.  Will we get  the 24hr again? not if grids continue as this.  Do you want to lose the club? I don't.  

Ive never been able to afford to race, but ive never made any promises to get on track.  Of course I'll always be at circuits, spanners in hand, with help for anyone thats in a pickle, and i think i can say the same for most of the mechanics that attend week in week out.  

Oh well, looks like we'll all have some fast road 2CV's anyway.  Maybe some of them might get entered in Mod-Con at registers day.  (2CVGB Reference).  

If you want to continue to race it, Belguim is a long way away and twice the cost of racing in the UK.

To make them compatible with another championship will be very difficult.  So think about the full consequences of any decision. lack of support means no more racing.  Then try and sell your race car.  

As a suggestion to help remedy this (see i trying not to be negative and provide ideas as well as complaint), maybe we could organise a few cars to be at a track day and run a "come and have a go" event.  If the club has money in the bank, spend it on something such as this.  It's no good not spending it.  Although i think it will be profitable for the paid up full members when the club is dissolved.

[helen deeley]

Isn't talk of folding the club a little premature? Admittedly theres a sad turnout for Anglesey but theres another 3 rounds after that! The enduro format got voted in, by members, so we're stuck with it for the remainder of this season. It may not be popular, but if we all make the effort to turn out & race, then go to the AGM we stand a chance of having a championship in a different format next season, as opposed to being bloody miserable & stuck at home because the clubs gone under.  :cry:

[Ben Allan]

We need to be careful about haranging members for not supporting without understanding why.  This is not Sunday football where playesr don't pitch because of a bad hangover.  If someone has a car and pitchs occasionally, they are making a very significant committment.

So if someone has made all of that effort, and the car is drivable, they have a very good reason for not coming.  They are not at home watching the telly.  And this reason will not always be cost.  Considering how many times my car blows up, the entries fees are a drop in the ocean.

As a club we have been consistently appalling at understanding who we are, why we pitch and why we don't.  Until we understand this we won't be able to stop the low turn-outs.

And before you ask , we won't be there.  The car is in bits but it can limp, more importantly I have to be in Durham on Fri/Sat and the others are all abroad.

Ben

[Paul Robertson]

I agree helen ,it does seem a lot premature but you have to look at the position that we are in at the moment.
 We had a good turnout for brands ,not as good as we were led to beleive it would be, but still a good turnout.
  Followed by the wettest 24hr we have ever had ,which destroyed some souls and also damaged quite a few cars.
  To then have a trek to the end of the world ,as a lot appear to see it ,would seem to be a step too far for many.They say they will be at silverstone  .Will they? Will the Barc want to give us another £10,000 worth of tracktime on the offchance that the silent/missing majority might turn up .I bloody well wouldn't, especially if we can't even make minimum numbers at anglesey.
 So you turn your attention to next season when we haven't had enough entries to acheive championship status .Who will provide races for us then? Where might the 24hr be held? ( snetterton has become so expensive in the past two years) Would we have to pay up front to secure this  ? What organising club has the officials trained to run a 24hr race if we lose the support of the barc and how much would they want to run it ? a lot more than the barc have ever had from us and a guaranteed sum i'm sure.
 In my opinion we should go to anglesey and use the clubs funds to pay the shortfall up to the minimum entry level .We are after all a racing club and not a savings scheme ,and those who don't turn up won't get the benefit.That way silvertsone should stay on the calender as well and we may still have a club to be part of next year.

Rant over
Paul

Isn't talk of folding the club a little premature? Admittedly theres a sad turnout for Anglesey but theres another 3 rounds after that! The enduro format got voted in, by members, so we're stuck with it for the remainder of this season. It may not be popular, but if we all make the effort to turn out & race, then go to the AGM we stand a chance of having a championship in a different format next season, as opposed to being bloody miserable & stuck at home because the clubs gone under.  :cry:

[Mary Lindsay]

What p*ss*s me off the most are the vast majority that just use the club for the 24hr race, i know that life & its to be expected but around 140 drivers & 35 cars contested the 24hrs & were struggling to get 10 for next weekend.

We bought our 2CV with the intention of doing the 24 hour race and then encouraging a couple of novice drivers (sons of team members) to compete in some of the other rounds in our car.

All of our 24 hour race drivers have been involved in club racing for many years. We were expecting, and looking forward to, some close but clean racing but were very surprised at the degree of contact during the 24 hour (our car was hit 7 times) and the car now needs major repairs to the rear end so is out of action. Even if it was OK to race I would not recommend the series as it stands to any novice driver. It is too  much like touring car racing; at times it was more like stock car racing.

Is the style of driving in the 24 hour typical of the series or were we unlucky?

[Matt Riley]

Mary - I don't know the exact circumstances so can't comment directly but it sounds like you were unlucky - our car, whilst not untouched at the end of the race, didn't take that many hits.

If you look at club racing in general which consists of, say, 20 minute sprint races - the 24 hour race is the equivalent of 72 sprint races back-to-back! Now I know all contact is best avoided, but if you received some sort of contact in only one in every ten sprint races (all of which took place in such appalling weather as we had at Snett this year) would that be considered so bad?

Back on topic re the low entry for Anglesey, I think there is a case for there to be a much longer gap between the 24 hr and the next race in the timetable: people spend so much time and money preparing for the 24 hours that a break seems to be in order the repair wallets; cars; enthusiasm; family peace - whatever! A two month gap seems reasonable - I suppose we'll see if that's the case once we see the Silverstone entries.